– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport
WASHINGTON — After its grind-it-out victory on the road on Saturday, the Butler Bulldogs hope that they can finally string together a few wins in hopes of making another appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Guard Jordan Tucker was hot in the first half, scoring 14 of his 15 points in the first 20 minutes, while backcourt Kamar Baldwin took over in the second half with clutch baskets and free throws as the Bulldogs defeated Georgetown 73-69 at Capital One Arena, Butler’s second road win in conference play this season.
“It might not have been the prettiest performance, but the team had to fight for each other and find a way to grit it out at the end,” said Butler head coach LaVall Jordan. “Guys had to step up and hit big shots early and some big shots late. I thought our bench was tremendous with their energy and I’m just proud of this one.”
The win was Butler’s second straight, continuing a season-long trend of putting together a modest winning streak after a short losing streak. The team’s inconsistency is highlighted by the fact that it has only one winning streak of at least three games this season — the first three games of the season.
Tucker hit 3-of-4 from three-point range in the first half as the Bulldogs (14-10, 5-6 Big East) hit nine of their first 14 shots from the field and built a lead as much as eight before taking a 41-35 lead into the intermission.
Baldwin carried Butler home in the second half, scoring 13 of his 18 points in the final 20 minutes as the Bulldogs held on after almost giving away all of an 11-point lead in the second half. Baldwin’s two free throws with 13 seconds remaining sealed the win for Butler.
Mac McClung led all scorers with 21 points for the Hoyas (15-9, 5-6), while Jamorko Pickett had 18 on 7-of-11 shooting. Star center Jessie Govan was held to 12 points, only making two of his eight field goal attempts.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with all photos taken by DC-Area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are nine pictures in total.
