No. 22 Butler tops Owls

Friday’s first two games in San Juan ended with the same score. Temple’s other loss came against No. 1 North Carolina.TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPNUABOUT TEMPLE (1-2): The Owls let an early 12-2 lead get away against Butler and shot 38 percent from the field for the game – just below their seasonal mark (38.5). “They’re good kids and I need to figure out a way to get them better shots and I’ll try to help them what to do to be more successful”.

Temple had trouble on defense on Friday, particularly in rebounding. When the horn sounded to end the game though, it was the Hurricanes that looked like the ranked team after a dominant performance.

In his first career start, the 6-foot-11 Konate had 11 points, four rebounds and a block for the Gophers.

In three games this season, the Owls have allowed 26 offensive rebounds in the first half. “Those are the kinds of plays you have to make against a team like (Butler)”. Additionally, the Hurricanes also managed 10 second-chance points, in comparison to Utah’s five points.

The Bulldogs ran their first two games at pedal-to-the-floor pace, shooting 62 percent and following a program-record 144-point opener against The Citadel with a 93-59 rout of Missouri State on Thursday. No Bulldog epitomized the offensive frustration more so than Kellen Dunham. But the Gophers used a 17-2 run to take a 56-50 lead after a Joey King floater in the lane with just less than eight minutes left.

The Bulldogs didn’t have great statistics except for two: five turnovers and 21-of-25 shooting (84 percent) on free throws. “Then we had a few hiccups – couple bad shots, stepped out of bounds a few times. The other thing he does so well is he cuts so hard that opens up lanes for others and that’s a tribute to him”.

Gavin Ware and Craig Sword each scored 20 points for the Bulldogs (1-2), who got no closer than 18 points after halftime in an ugly follow-up to Monday’s home loss to Southern.

“I was really pleased with our guys’ ability to share the ball”, second-year Bulldog coach Chris Holtmann said.

Not a bad way to start the stay in San Juan for a veteran team picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Not into numbers One day after dishing out 10 assists, Butler redshirt freshman Tyler Lewis didn’t have a single one Friday. However, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t contribute.

“Perhaps we weren’t executing like we needed to”, Coleman said. “10 assists and no turnovers”. “But again, I think we’re learning more about our team and who’s going to step up at what time”. “I’ve always thought the aggressor wins when it comes to the foul line and we pretty much got punched in the mouth, and we didn’t do a very good job of responding”.