Box Score On an emotional day at Hinkle Fieldhouse, #23 Butler honored the life and legacy of Andrew Smith with a pregame tribute and then dispatched visiting St. John's, 78-58, Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Senior Kellen Dunham had 24 points to lead Butler, which also got a double-double from Kelan Martin. With the win, Butler improves to 13-4 overall and 2-3 in BIG EAST play.
It was fitting that Dunham led the effort Saturday as he was Smith's road roommate during the 2012-13 season. Dunham made four three-pointers and went 10-of-11 from the free throw line.
A video tribute and moment of silence for Smith, the 2013 graduate and Academic All-American for Butler who was part of the two national championship game teams and passed away Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer, was observed prior to the tip. Fourteen members of Smith's family were in attendance, including his parents and his wife, Samantha. Samantha spoke at halftime and thanked the Butler community for their support. The game was previously scheduled as the annual Stay Positive game, an organization dedicated to fighting cancer. Several fundraising initiatives today supported Samantha. The team wore #44 shooting shirts and a patch on their jerseys.
"We want to thank the Smiths for being here today," said Butler coach
Chris Holtmann, who presented Andrew's father, Curt, with the game ball on the court following the win. "Whatever we could do today as a team to honor Andrew, we really wanted to do.
"Our guys recognize that we need to play better, but you never take a win for granted, especially a BIG EAST win. We are focused on learning both from our losses and our wins at this point in the season."
Martin had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs. He made nine of his 16 shots from the field.
Andrew Chrabascz added 13. Butler shot 48 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free throw line, but kept St. John's in the game early by committing 19 turnovers. Butler out-rebounded St. John's, 42-31, and limited the Red Storm to 34-percent shooting.
Butler entered the contest ranked third nationally in fewest turnovers committed. The Bulldogs committed eight in the first eight minutes of the game before picking up the efficiency on offense to finish the half on a 10-0 run, hitting its last five attempts from the field, and taking a 39-25 halftime advantage. St. John's trimmed the lead to 11 several times early in the second half before Butler pulled away, with the final margin being just two off its largest lead.
Federico Mussini led St. John's (7-12, 0-6 BIG EAST) with 14 points.
The Bulldogs embark on a two-game road trip, traveling to #12 Providence Tuesday night followed by a Saturday contest at Creighton. Butler returns home on Jan. 27, hosting DePaul. The Tuesday match-up with Providence is a rematch of the team's meeting on New Year's Eve at Hinkle, one that the Friars captured 81-73. The tip is set for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
