Butler vs Providence recap: Friars escape with a 71-68 win

On a night where the likes of Kris Dunn was struggling for the Providence Friars, they got key scoring late from the point guard as they won at home against the Butler Bulldogs.

The game started out in a blister for the Friars as they led Butler 36-33 at the half. Kyron Cartwright was the main man for Providence as he shot five of six from the field and led all scorers with 13 points. Cartwright was the only main man for Providence as the rest of the Friars were cold from the field. Kris Dunn and the rest of the Friars struggled from the field so Cartwright was their saving grace. Butler struggled on offense as well as Kellen Dunham scored just seven points in the half and shot two out of five from deep. But Butler had their saving grace in Roosevelt Jones who bounced back after a tough game against St.John's with a strong first half as he had nine points, three assists, and two boards.

The second half saw a lot better offense as the teams stars began to pick it up for each team. Butler took the lead early in the half thanks to Kellen Dunham who heated up in the second half. He finished with 21 points and hit six three's for the Bulldogs and got Butler the lead. Kelan Martin was also big for the Bulldogs as he finished with a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. But Providence wasn't done yet as Rodney Bullock and Ben Bentil helped the Friars battle back and forth with the Bulldogs. The game was tied at 60 with a few minutes left and then it was the Kris Dunn show. Dunn hit a three and dished a big dime to Bentil late. They were able to hold off a late rally as they held on for a huge win and gave Butler their fifth loss of the season.

Here are three things we learned

1. Kris Dunn was a great closer

Watching Kris Dunn finish out the game was great, as he struggled all game but was able to come up with some big plays late. Although he only scored nine points, he came up with a huge three late and a big dish to Bentil that gave all the momentum to Providence. He's a playmaker and arguably the best player in the BIG EAST. It was great seeing him close a game out like that.

Initiate Kris Dunn 'Mariano Rivera' mode. #Closer

— Big East Coast Bias (@becb_sbn) January 20, 2016

2. This isn't the end for Butler

Butler now has five losses and their chances of finishing at the top of the BIG EAST is very improbable considering the way the Xavier and Villanova are playing. But all is not over for the Bulldogs. All of their losses are against top ranked teams though, so Butler is putting the voters in a tough spot. But they are Butler and they will battle back. It's what they do.

3. This was probably the worst three point shooting game ever

Both teams shot an absolutely horrible percentage. Butler shot an ok percentage at 31.8% and a lot of that was thanks to Kellen Dunham. Meanwhile Providence shot like they didn't know where the three-point line was as they shot five of 22. For those of us that aren't good at math, that's 22.7%. It was not a night to watch if you want to watch good shooting. But it was a fun game nonetheless.