You can’t spot a power conference team a 22-7 lead on the road before 7,042 screaming fans and expect a good outcome. Yale didn’t get one Tuesday night at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, where Butler defeated Yale, 71-61.
Yale (8-2) did fight back and cut the Butler lead to eight at the 3:24 mark of the second half. But sharpshooter Simas Lukosius hit two dagger threes in the last minute to preserve the victory for Butler (7-3).
“It was a hard-fought game. Our guys didn’t go away,” coach James Jones said. “Those first 10 minutes we did a poor job of taking care of the ball.”
Yale’s usually reliable duo of Matt Knowling and John Poulakidas had tough shooting nights, shooting a combined 4-for-19 from the field.
Yale was led in scoring by EJ Jarvis and Bez Mbeng, who emerged from his shooting slump to go 6-for-11 from the field.
Yale outrebounded the other Bulldogs, 34-29.
The Elis once again got an uneven whistle on the road, with Butler taking 20 free throws to only five for Yale. It seemed even worse than the road calls that went against Yale during their game at Colorado, as the officials permitted a very physical style of play inside for Butler.
It doesn’t get any easier for Yale, which will travel south to face No. 16 Kentucky on Saturday.
“We play these games to find out what we have to work on to win our conference,” Jones said.