Butler puts Eastern Illinois away for sixth straight win

Jahmyl Telfort and Patrick McCaffery each scored 20 points to lead the Butler Bulldogs to a hard-fought 73-58 home win against Eastern Illinois.

McCaffery also added seven boards while Telfort had six for Butler (7-1), which has won six in a row. Kolby King added 10 points and nine rebounds and Pierre Brooks II scored nine.

The Panthers (2-6) were led by Kooper Jacobi with a career-high-tying 22. Nakyel Shelton added 12 with six rebounds and five assists.

This was a tightly game for much of the first half. An 8-2 run by Eastern Illinois tied the game at 22 with 6:43 to go, but the Bulldogs closed the half on a 7-2 run and led 36-27 at the break.

Telfort led Butler with 10 first-half points while McCaffery had nine on three 3-pointers. Jacobi led the Panthers, who shot just 28.6 percent from the floor in the half, with nine.

The Bulldogs took that momentum into the second half as they grew an 18-point edge, but Eastern Illinois was able to bounce back.

The Panthers went on an 8-0 run after trailing by 18 and eventually brought their deficit down to seven.

Butle was able to pull away, thanks in large part to their strong shooting in the second half. The Bulldogs went 12-for-19 (63.2 percent) from the floor in the half.

They shot 52.3 percent from the field on the game and 20-for-25 from the free-throw line.

The Bulldogs dominated on the glass, grabbing 41 rebounds compared to 27 for Eastern Illinois. Butler forced 10 turnovers and allowed 17.

Butler next prepares for a road battle against No. 17 Houston on Saturday in the Big 12/Big East battle. Eastern Illinois heads home to play Calumet on Friday.

--Field Level Media