Postgame notes: Butler 75, BYU 70

The following notes and quotes are from BYU men’s basketball 75-70 loss to Butler on Thursday evening in the second round of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. 

Series Results: Butler leads 2-0

Attendance: 821

TEAM NOTES

I Was Running…

BYU opened the second half on a season-best 12-0 run. Their previous high was 11 in its win over Nicholls State last Saturday. 

Owning the Offensive Glass

BYU had 17 offensive rebounds on Thursday which resulted in 20 second chance points, the second-most by the Cougars this season. 

Turning the Corner

BYU tied a season-low with 13 turnovers with only four of those coming in the second half where they outscored Butler, 40-38.

PLAYERS NOTES

Doubling Up

Fousseyni Traore finished with a season-high 21 points and 12 rebounds on Thursday for his second double-double of the season and 11th of his career. Four of his double-doubles have come on a neutral floor. 

Mr. 500

With his layup with 6:35 remaining in the second half, Gideon George eclipsed the 500-point mark in his BYU career. The fifth-year senior finished with 14 points, the fifth-time he has scored in double figures this season. 

SEASON HIGH

• Points: Fousseyni Traore (21)
• Field Goals: Gideon George (6), Fouseyni Traore (8)
• Free Throws: Atiki Ally Atiki (2), Fousseyni Traore (5)
• Steals: Noah Waterman (2),Fousseyni Traore (2), Gideon George (3)
• Assists: Gideon George (2), Fousseyni Traore (4)
• Defensive Rebounds: Fousseyni Traore (7)
• Rebounds: Fousseyni Traore (12)

CAREER HIGHS

• Blocks: Richie Saunders (1), Jaxson Robinson (2)
• Assists: Fousseyni Traore (4) , Trey Stewart (2)
• Steals: Richie Saunders (1), Noah Waterman (2), Trey Stewart (2)

QUOTES

Mark Pope

Opening statement

“Congratulations to Butler, I thought they made some really big plays down the stretch. I was proud of our guys. I thought we won in a lot of the areas that we wanted to win in but just couldn’t win the game. We will continue to get better.”

How is Battle 4 Atlantis preparing your team for the rest of your schedule

“You are going to learn a lot about your team and we have learned a lot about ourselves. I thought out guys made some significant improvements from yesterday in some of the ways we approach the game. We still came up empty tonight and that is really discouraging but we are continuing to get better. That is the mantra of our team and these games give you an opportunity to do that.”