Box Score

Butler limited visiting Hanover to 24-percent shooting, cruising to a 68-36 exhibition win Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It was the debut for first-year head coach LaVall Jordan, who was hired back to his alma mater in June.

The Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers by the Panthers and converted those into 29 points. Butler also had a 42-8 advantage in points in the paint.

Redshirt sophomore Sean McDermott led the Bulldogs with 14 points and four assists. He made six of his nine attempts from the field. Kamar Baldwin added 10 points and five rebounds. Baldwin was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Eleven Bulldogs played between 12 and 27 minutes.

"That was fun," said Jordan. "To be back at Hinkle with the popcorn popping and people in the stands, our guys were certainly excited. My family and I are thrilled to be here and coaching these guys. I saw a lot of good things today. We'll take the video and learn from it."

With the game tied 8-8 at the first media timeout, Butler scored the next 11 points and the lead was never single digits again after 19-11. The Bulldogs shot 51 percent in the first half to take a 44-19 advantage at the intermission.

Butler actually held Hanover to identical 6-of-25 shooting performances in each half as Nick White led Hanover with eight points.

Saturday's exhibition marked the first action for Butler's freshman class. Aaron Thompson had four points, three steals, three rebounds, and two assists. Christian David had five rebounds, one shy of Kelan Martin's team-high of six. Transfer Paul Jorgensen had five points and five rebounds after sitting out the 2016-17 season. Jerald Gillens-Butler and Campbell Donovan also saw action.

Butler shot 47 percent in the contest, but only 5-of-23 from behind the arc. The Bulldogs also only got to the free throw line three times.

The Bulldogs played well in front of a crowd of 7,571. The crowd saw a tribute to the late Joe Brunk, father of Butler sophomore Joey Brunk. The elder Brunk, who passed away in April after battling brain cancer, was a two-time NAIA All-American at Hanover in the early 1980s. 

Butler's second and final exhibition is against Lincoln Memorial Saturday, Nov. 4. Tickets are still available for the 7 p.m. tip. The regular season opens the following weekend as both Kennesaw State and Princeton visit Hinkle Fieldhouse, Nov. 10 and Nov. 12, respectively.