Box Score

The Bulldogs made a winner of LaVall Jordan in his Butler head coaching debut, defeating Kennesaw State, 82-64, before a sold-out Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd Friday night in Indianapolis.
 
Senior Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs with 20 points and nine rebounds.
 
Butler jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first 76 seconds of the game and the lead grew to 30-8 less than eight minutes into the contest.
 
"We did a great job out of the gates tonight," said Jordan, the Butler alum and former assistant coach who was named the 24^th head coach in Butler men's basketball history on June 12. "Our energy, focus and communication were exactly what we wanted early and we were able to get out and run a little bit. We had a lapse early in the second half, but we were able to right the ship. Our goal is to make the whole game look like the first seven minutes of this one."
 
The Bulldogs took a 48-24 halftime lead. The visiting Owls would score 12 of the first 14 points of the second half and would eventually pull within 10 at 57-47 with 12:08 to play before Butler seized control once again with a 10-1 run. That gave Butler a 19-point lead at 67-48 and Kennesaw State never threatened again.
 
Butler's big men dominated inside as the Bulldogs had a 50-16 advantage in points in the paint. Tyler Wideman had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Nate Fowler made four of his five attempts for nine points. Joey Brunk went 3-for-4 from the field to post six points. Each of the trio had four rebounds.
 
Paul Jorgensen had 14 points and four assists for the Bulldogs, which shot 50 percent from the field.
 
In the opening stretch of the contest, Butler made 11 of its first 14 attempts from the field. The team cooled in the second half, going only 1-for-12 from behind the arc over the final 20 minutes.
 
Aaron Thompson had seven points and five assists in his Butler debut. Kamar Baldwin also had seven points and three assists as he battled foul trouble for much of the game.
 
Kennesaw State got 26 points from James Scott. He went 10-of-19 from the field. The Owls shot 52 percent in the second half, including making six of 10 three-point attempts. They shot 41 percent for the game and were forced into 17 turnovers by the Bulldogs.
 
The Bulldogs have now won 36 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents.
 
Butler has a quick turnaround as Princeton comes to Hinkle Fieldhouse Sunday for a 6 p.m. tip. The game will air on CBS Sports Network. A limited number of tickets remain available.