Pierre Brooks leads Butler past Boise State; Dawgs leave Orlando 'very, very happy.'

Butler takes fifth place in the ESPN Events Invitational with a 70-56 win over Boise State.

The Bulldogs were seeded eighth to start the tournament, so a fifth-place finish is a slight victory for the program.

Pierre Brooks II led the Dawgs with 25 points. Jahmyl Telfort scored 11 points to go along with a team-high five assists and four rebounds. Posh Alexander added 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Butler (5-2) returns to Hinkle on Thursday to face Texas Tech.

Here's three reasons Butler ended invitational tournament with a win.

Pierre Brooks II is starting to break out

Pierre Brooks II's second half against Boise State was the most dominant individual performance from a Bulldogs player this season. Brooks set a career high with 26 points against Penn State on Friday. One game later, Brooks' second half singlehandedly defeated the Broncos.

Brooks scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half. Boise State scored just 29 second-half points. Brooks was an efficient 7-for-8 after halftime, including 3-for-3 from 3 and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

"We need that," coach Thad Matta said of Brooks' performance. "It was good to see him knock a couple threes down and then finish the way he finished around the rim."

Brooks opened the second half with a 3-pointer. He scored eight points during a 15-0 run, putting the Dawgs up 52-35 with 13:08 left. His final 3 came on a wide-open look during a fast break, putting Butler up 61-43 with 7:43 left.

Brooks is emerging as an All-Big East type player. With four of five starters gone from last year's team, minutes and production were up for grabs for the 11 new players Matta brought in.

Alexander quickly took over as the starting point guard. Telfort's experience made him an ideal candidate for one of the forward positions. Brooks came to Butler as the most decorated recruit, but after two quiet seasons at Michigan State, it was fair to question whether he'd reach the ceiling of a four-star former Michigan Mr. Basketball.

Through seven games, it's clear that the only thing holding back Brooks was Michigan State's rotation. He's reached double figures in every game and is averaging 16.7 points per, while shooting 40% from 3. He has the strength to score in close and the athleticism to attack the rim off the dribble.

Butler's core of Brooks, Telfort and Alexander have the toughness and talent to exceed their low expectations heading into the season.

Posh Alexander stuffs the stat sheet

Foul trouble limited point guard Posh Alexander to just 17 minutes in Butler's win over Penn State on Friday. The St. John's transfer made up for lost time with a dominant all-around performance against Boise State.

Alexander ran the show on offense, setting up his teammates for easy baskets while picking his spots to score off the dribble. Defensively, Alexander pestered Broncos ball handlers, getting two steals, helping Butler get 13 points off turnovers.

The Brooklyn native threw an alley-oop lob to Connor Turnbull for a dunk early in the first half. Alexander threaded the needle with a bounce pass to Jalen Thomas later in the half. Thomas finished the layup through contact and completed the three-point play, putting the Dawgs up 27-23 with 3:36 left. In the second half, Alexander continued to be a menace of defense, drawing a charge that led to an Andre Screen dunk on the next possession.

The former All-Big East defender finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Butler shows offensive versatility

Last season, if Butler wasn't connecting from 3, the Dawgs had a slim chance of winning. Butler didn't shoot lights out from 3 in Orlando, but the ability to get to the rim at a high rate allows the offense to play through any extended shooting slumps.

Against Boise State, Butler outscored the Broncos 46-28 in the paint. Brooks was the only Bulldog to make a 3-pointer, but eight players made a shot from the field.

Telfort and Alexander excel at getting to the rim. Andre Screen has developed into an extremely efficient offensive threat near the basket. Normally shooting 4-for-14 from 3 would be a recipe for disaster. This Butler squad turned a poor outside shooting performance into a 14-point victory through great interior offense and smothering perimeter defense.

Even with Butler's struggles from the outside, the Dawgs did a great job of limiting the Broncos shooters. Boise State shot just 5-for-30 (16.7%) from 3. If Butler can shoot poorly from 3 and still outshoot its opponent, the Dawgs will be competitive come Big East play.

"I thought these guys locked down and did a tremendous job, very very, happy," Matta said.

Butler basketball stats

Butler 70, Boise St. 56

BUTLER (5-2): Telfort 5-7 1-2 11, Thomas 2-5 1-2 5, Alexander 5-9 0-0 10, Davis 2-7 2-2 6, Brooks 9-16 3-3 25, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Screen 4-6 1-1 9, Turnbull 1-2 0-0 2, Bizjack 1-2 0-0 2, Kapke 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-56 8-10 70.

BOISE ST. (3-3): Degenhart 5-12 0-0 12, C.Martin 1-4 3-4 5, Agbo 2-8 2-2 6, M.Rice 2-10 0-0 4, Whiting 3-4 1-1 9, Anderson 2-10 0-0 4, Stanley 3-8 2-2 8, Keene 1-5 0-0 3, Meadow 0-2 1-2 1, Sylla 1-1 0-0 2, Young 1-1 0-0 2, K.Rice 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-65 9-11 56.

Halftime—Butler 35-27. 3-Point Goals_Butler 4-14 (Brooks 4-7, Kapke 0-1, Moore 0-1, Alexander 0-2, Davis 0-3), Boise St. 5-30 (Whiting 2-2, Degenhart 2-6, Keene 1-4, Meadow 0-2, Stanley 0-2, Anderson 0-3, C.Martin 0-3, Agbo 0-4, M.Rice 0-4). Rebounds_Butler 38 (Thomas 9), Boise St. 35 (Degenhart 7). Assists_Butler 13 (Telfort 5), Boise St. 10 (Whiting 3). Total Fouls_Butler 9, Boise St. 13.