Hurricanes beat Butler to win Puerto Rico Tipoff

Finally facing their first game with real adversity, the unranked Canes defeated the No. 22 Butler Bulldogs 85-75 to win the Puerto Rico Tip-Off title. The Red Raider’s starting 5 scored the vast majority of their points, and they staved off a furious comeback from Mississippi State in the waning moments of the game. “I’m really happy we were able to come to a place like Texas Tech, come to Lubbock, where they’ll celebrate you and you’re not just tolerated”. “We need to be in better positioning”.

“We’re not really caught up in what people want to rank us and things like that”, McClellan said. “We had all of our bigs in foul trouble, which is hard”. I compliment (Mississippi State coach) Ben Howland, he did a great job, certainly changing his defenses. “Our guys responded in a good way, but tough to do that against a good team”. Forward Jaylen Bond added 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Hurricanes also scored 19 points off turnovers, part of a formula that has worked so well to start the season. Conversely, the Red Raiders committed 10 turnovers.

Tyler Ulis scored a career-high 21 points, and Kentucky beat Wright State. He has secured double figures in Tech’s first three games of the season.

“We haven’t had a lot of post presence lately”, said Gophers senior Carlos Morris, who had 15 points.

As for Taylor’s struggles, on the year he is shooting a mere 25 percent from the field and 19 percent from 3-point land.

Jones had 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Tech received solid contributions off the bench from Aaron Ross, Jordan Jackson, Isaiah Manderson and Devon Thomas. The Bulldogs sank 10 of their 14 foul shots.

Trailing 68-65 at the 4:05 mark, Evans delivered the equalizer courtesy of a three-ball from the right baseline.

His team got the test he wanted Friday afternoon against the Owls (1-2), and passed with a combination of hitting the boards, getting to the line and scrapping it out on the defensive end. Behind the strong offensive performance of Newman and the inside presence of Ware, the Bulldogs eventually got back into the contest. That was OK with Minnesota (3-1) leading 49-31 to begin the second half.

This will without a doubt be the most challenging matchup yet for the ‘Dawgs, who, even after shooting a dismal 24 percent (5-11) from behind the arc, just barely squeaked by a mediocre Temple squad in the semifinals. He missed a runner long, and Ware was unable to bank in the putback attempt. Zach Smith secured the final rebound shortly before the horn sounded.

The opening half was a back-and-forth affair which featured 10 lead changes.

The Red Raiders shot 27-for-56 (48.2%) from the field. Ross nailed two free throws, and Jackson scooted through the lane for a layup to give Tech a 23-22 edge with 9:04 left.

Ja’Quan Newton added 17 points, and seven-footer Tonye Jekiri was a force to be reckoned with in the paint, as he had 12 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks.

“We haven’t been exactly a well-oiled machine offensively”, he said. Richard Pitino, I’ve known him sense he was six years old. Again, it’s another game.

The Cougars are 1-2 on the season so far.