Taylor scores 20, Butler knocks off BYU at Battle 4 Atlantis

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Jayden Taylor scored 20 points, Eric Hunter Jr. added 19 points and Butler defeated BYU 75-70 in Thursday’s consolation bracket at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Butler led for over 34 minutes, but never had a double-digit advantage. BYU scored the opening 12 points of the second half, its longest run of the season, to take a 42-37 lead, but Taylor stopped the run with a 3-pointer and Manny Bates tied it on a dunk.

Bates gave Butler the lead for good at the 13:18 mark. BYU pulled within 69-68 with 1:54 left but the Cougars didn't score again until two seconds left, and Hunter sealed it with two free throws.

Simas Lukosius and Bates each scored 14 for the Bulldogs (4-2).

The Cougars (3-3) were led by Fousseyni Traore, who recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Gideon George added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals and Rudi Williams had 12 points.

Butler advanced to Friday’s fifth-place game to face North Carolina State. BYU will play Dayton in the seventh-place game.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.