Butler beats Middle Tennessee in Atlantis

Nov 23, 2018, 04:50 am

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Sean McDermott scored 21 points by tying the tournament record of seven 3-pointers, part of Butler's Atlantis-record 16 made 3s in an 84-53 win against Middle Tennessee in Thursday's consolation bracket at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

McDermott's seven 3s tied a record set by Wisconsin's D'Mitrik Trice against Oklahoma earlier Thursday. The Bulldogs (4-1) also went 16 of 35 from behind the arc, surpassing the previous mark of 15 3s set by Massachusetts in 2011.

Paul Jorgensen also scored 21 points as Butler shot 52 percent in a big offensive output following their first-round loss to Dayton. The Bulldogs built a 44-27 halftime lead and never looked back.

James Hawthorne scored 11 points to lead the Blue Raiders (3-3), who shot 32 percent and committed 20 turnovers.

Butler will face Florida in Friday's fifth-place game. Middle Tennessee will face Stanford in the seventh-place game.