Trojans Outmatched by No. 10 Butler
November 07, 2009
The Taylor University men's basketball team played at Hinkle Fieldhouse against No. 10 Butler for the first time in program history Saturday. The Trojans were defeated in the exhibition contest by a final score of 75-44.
"I was really impressed with Butler," said Taylor head coach Paul Patterson in a postgame interview. "They're so sound. We try to play hard defensively and we're young at it right now. This is a great lesson for our guys because it didn't matter what we did, they were in front of us."
Taylor freshman Casey Coons, playing in his hometown of Indianapolis, led all scorers with 14 points, including four three-pointers.
Butler overwhelmed Taylor early and built a 14-0 lead to start the game. Playing against a talented Bulldog front line, the Trojans committed nine fouls in the first eight minutes of the game, forcing Patterson to his bench.
"Our guys are younger and their guys are older and they've done this together before," Patterson said. "And they have just a great example of hard work in there with Matt Howard. What a tough matchup for anybody."
Freshman Nate Kasper broke the Taylor scoring drought at the 10:34 mark on a layup, on his way to scoring the first six points for the Trojans.
Taylor began to find some offensive rhythm, and played even with the Bulldogs at 10-10 from the 6:48 mark until 2:25 remained in the half. Sparking the run for Taylor was the first of Coons' three-pointers. Scott Gill and Justin Goeglein combined to score the next nine points for the Trojans, including a layup at the buzzer by Goeglein that was counted after a Butler goaltending call.
The Trojans cut Butler's advantage to 38-18 at halftime, but that's as close as they would get for the remainder of the game.
Foul troubles continued to plague Taylor to start the second half. Kasper and sophomore Drew Tower each picked up their fourth foul 90 seconds into the half. Sophomore Jake Burkholder, who would eventually foul out, drew his fourth foul at the 12:44 mark.
At one point in the first half Taylor had five freshmen on the floor against a Butler team that returned all five starters from last year's team that finished 26-6 and made an appearance in the NCAA national tournament.
Taylor shot just 34% for the game, including 30% in the first half. Butler made 50% of its shots in the opening 20 minutes before finishing at 46.4% for the game.
The Trojans were outrebounded 41-24 by the Bulldogs. Coons and Brock Woodward led Taylor under the glass with six rebounds apiece.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 preseason poll, were led by junior Matt Howard's double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"I don't know anything about what a top ten team is supposed to look like," Patterson commented, "but that's one if I'm voting. They're deep, they play hard, they're unselfish. They missed some shots today that they normally make. When they hit those shots they're going to be really hard to guard."
Taylor (1-0) returns to its regular season schedule on Wednesday when they host Holy Cross (Ind.) at 7 p.m. in Odle Arena.