Pierre Brooks leads Butler past Boise State; Dawgs leave Orlando ‘very, very happy.’

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Butler takes fifth place in the ESPN Events Invitational with a 70-56 win over Boise State.

The Bulldogs were seeded eighth to start the tournament, so a fifth-place finish is a slight victory for the program.

Pierre Brooks II led the Dawgs with 25 points. Jahmyl Telfort scored 11 points to go along with a team-high five assists and four rebounds. Posh Alexander added 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Butler (5-2) returns to Hinkle on Thursday to face Texas Tech.

Here’s three reasons Butler ended invitational tournament with a win.

Pierre Brooks II is starting to break out

Pierre Brooks II’s second half against Boise State was the most dominant individual performance from a Bulldogs player this season. Brooks set a career high with 26 points against Penn State on Friday. One game later, Brooks’ second half singlehandedly defeated the Broncos.

Brooks scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half. Boise State scored just 29 second-half points. Brooks was an efficient 7-for-8 after halftime, including 3-for-3 from 3 and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

“We need that,” coach Thad Matta said of Brooks’ performance. “It was good to see him knock a couple threes down and then finish the way he finished around the rim.”

Brooks opened the second half with a 3-pointer. He scored eight points during a 15-0 run, putting the Dawgs up 52-35 with 13:08 left. His final 3 came on a wide-open look during a fast break, putting Butler up 61-43 with 7:43 left.

Brooks is emerging as an All-Big East type player. With four of five starters gone from last year’s team, minutes and production were up for grabs for the 11 new players Matta brought in.

Alexander quickly took over as the starting point guard. Telfort’s experience made him an ideal candidate for one of the forward positions. Brooks came to Butler as the most decorated recruit, but after two quiet seasons at Michigan State, it was fair to question whether he’d reach the ceiling of a four-star former Michigan Mr….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pierre-brooks-ii-gets-help-001449734.html

Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2023-11-27 00:14:49

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