Strong Guard Play Drives Dawgs to Dominant Wins

After the early week defeat at Penn State fans worried if the Dawgs would show the improvement from the 3-point line that we were expecting going into the year. The more pessimistic fans feared that this would be a weakness of the Dawgs despite reports that the stars had made strides throughout the offseason. In the past 2 games, the young Butler guards have shown what they're capable of, knocking down 25 threes in 2 dominant wins. 

St. Francis Recap 

The dominant guard played and hot shooting for the Dawgs starter early and stayed late in a 95-67 win over St. Francis. This was the performance Butler fans needed to see but it is a dominance we haven't seen in these early-season tune-ups in recent years. Our starting guards responded extremely well after the disappointment in Happy Valley by combining for 70 points while shooting 7-13 from 3. We know what these guys are capable of and it was great, and important to see their confidence grow after elite performances back in Hinkle The Dawgs were led by Chuck Harris who delivered a 22-point performance on 70% shooting while dishing out 7 assists. 

The Citadel Recap

Pierce Thomas does not abide by the laws of gravity. The rumors of practice dunks had circulated but when the red-shirt Freshman decided to throw down a reverse poster on Saturday night Hinkle was in disarray. That was a feat of athleticism that we haven't seen in Hinkle and, quite honestly, fans didn't know what they had just watched. This Dunk was the highlight but the Dawgs rode 17 made threes and another dominant performance by the backcourt to cruise to a comfortable 47-point win. Jaden Taylor continued his recent surge with 18 points, 13 of which came early in the first half. This output was matched by Sophomore fan-favorite Simas Lukosius who looked the part of a breakout candidate with a highly efficient 18-point and 8-rebound performance. This was a performance the Dawgs were desperate for to create momentum going into the Battle for Atlantis.