FAU was in Final Four last year. Butler has 11 new players. That showed in back-and-forth Dawgs' loss.

In a back-and-forth, highly offensive game, Butler could not get enough stops as No. 20 FAU pulled out a 91-86 win over the Bulldogs at the ESPN Invitational in Orlando.

Butler will play Penn State at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Five Dawgs reached double figures with Jahmyl Telfort's 19 points leading the way. D.J. Davis and Pierre Brooks II had 13 points each. Posh Alexander and Andre Screen had 12 points each.

A Davis 3-pointer put Butler ahead 70-66 with 9:20 left in the game. FAU answered with eight straight points to regain control. Vlad Goldin led FAU with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Gary native Johnell Davis scored all 15 of his points in the second half.

Here's three reasons Butler dropped a close game in Orlando.

Shaky rebounding plagues Butler

An offensive possession isn't over until the defense grabs a rebound. Too many times against FAU, Butler failed to grab defensive rebounds, leading to second-chance points for the Owls. FAU turned 15 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points, preventing Butler from seizing control of the game.

Butler's best rebounder, Jalen Thomas, battled foul trouble throughout. He picked up three fouls in the first half and fouled up late in the second. As a team, FAU out-rebounded Butler 37-31.

*We've got to come up with first-time rebounds," Butler coach Thad Matta said. "When you play a team like Florida Atlantic, that is an unbelievable last four team. When you deviate, you make mistakes — they make you pay.

"I thought that was probably the biggest difference was rebounding and that's just making some mistakes defensively that really cost us."

Jahmyl Telfort, Pierre Brooks II developing into go-to scorers

When Butler needs a basket, Telfort and Brooks have become the players to turn to. Both are strong and versatile players capable of scoring at all three levels of the court. Telfort is at his best attacking the basket and finishing through contact. Brooks is a streaky shooter from deep who excels at making contested jumpers.

Both players kept the Bulldogs in the game in the first half. Telfort scored four straight late in the first, cutting the Dawgs' deficit to two. Brooks tied the score at 42 with a 3-pointer with 1:27 left in first. Telfort was equally impactful in each half scoring nine in the first and 10 in the second. Brooks struggled in the second half, scoring just three points on 0-for-4 shooting.

D.J. Davis made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the second half, keeping the Dawgs up four, but they could not maintain enough offense to hold onto the lead. In crunch time, FAU relied on its veterans to make plays. The Owls return 14 of 15 players from last year's Final Four team. Even without two key rotation players, FAU made the plays it needed to close out the game.

"The other night against Michigan State we did not shoot well," Matta said. "I thought we did a good job (today). We just couldn't string together the second stops and find ways to build off of that.

"As a team we're 11 new guys. They've got a team that's been together. ... They were probably a little bit more connected than we were down the stretch."

Andre Screen becoming a two-way threat

With Jalen Thomas in foul trouble Andre Screen was needed to play a season-high 21 minutes against FAU. Heading into today's game, Screen was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. Screen missed his first shot of the season against FAU, but he shot an efficient 5-for-9 from the field and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Screen is a 7-foot shot blocker, who battles down low. He struggles with fouling at times, but when he moves his feet, he's a load to get around defensively. Screen has a block in each of his past two games as he seems to be adapting to the speed of Power 5 basketball after transferring from Bucknell.

Thomas has played limited minutes so far this season, making Screen's progress necessary. Freshman Boden Kapke has also shown flashes of potential, sinking two technical free throws in the first half, putting the Dawgs ahead 64-63 with 10:52 in the second half.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball vs. FAU: Owls pull away from Bulldogs in Orlando