Butler, as it crushed Loyola 78-48 Wednesday night, made the same point Mark Twain did when he said, “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
The Bulldogs, after struggling to a .500 Horizon League record, returned to the aggressive ball-hawking defense and board-crashing zeal that had characterized its 13-0 pre-league run.
“This is how we played in our first 13 games,” said guard Thomas Jackson, who led all scorers with 17 points.
Jackson also drew the key foul on Loyola’s David Bailey, who had a season-low six points, 17 below his average.
“Our backs were to the wall,” Jackson said. “We knew we had to rebound and play great defense.”
Two moments defined the rout that improved the Bulldogs’ to 17-3 overall and 4-3 in the Horizon.
First there was the opening minutes of the game. The Bulldogs won the tip, shot three times and got three of their total 14 offensive rebounds.
“Coach [Todd Lickliter] challenged us to play the Butler way,” Jackson said. “That means starting out with a lot of energy and beating the best rebounding team in our conference at the thing they do best.”
Butler’s two biggest starters, 6-foot-10-inch Joel Cornette and 6-11 Scott Robisch, had huge games. Cornette had 11 rebounds, and Robisch was primarily responsible for holding Ryan Blankson, the top Horizon rebounder, to two.
The second key moment was when Jackson forced Bailey into a critical foul with Butler leading 15-12 after 12 minutes. Bailey, who had gone to the bench after two quick fouls, had returned to the floor and immediately was called for his third foul when he and the dribbing Jackson bumped one another around midcourt.
Lickliter was asked if Jackson had been told to initiate the contract, hoping to draw Bailey’s third foul.
“I’d like to say I told him,” Lickliter said, “but Thomas is very intelligent. The best thing I do is let him make decisions.”
Bailey, who sat out the rest of the half and played only 18 minutes total, gave Jackson his due.
“I really wasn’t in the game much after that third foul,” he said. “Jackson did a great job getting the foul.”
He took Loyola (11-6, 6-1) off its game.
“We feed off Dave,” Loyola coach Larry Farmer said. “David has to learn to keep his emotion in check.
“They manhandled us. They played with a sense of desperation. They got every loose ball in the first five minutes of the game.”
Butler led 30-22 at the half and iced the outcome by scoring the first 10 points and 16 of the first 18 after the intermission.
Butler’s defense showed up in the Ramblers’ shooting percentage. Loyola hit 7-of-22 shots in the first half and 16-of-50, a .320 average, for the night.
