Butler improved to 6-2 on the season, using a huge first half to overpower Saint Louis, 75-45, Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

For Martin, it was his second double-double of the season (12^th of his career) and his fourth 20-point outing (and 25^th career). With his 20 points Saturday, he now has 1,436 for his career, which is just three points shy of Bobby Plump for 15^th on Butler's all-time list.

"Energy was something we talked about leading into today's game and our guys brought that today," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "Kelan's leadership has been really important for us, and once again, he was steady and poised. That's becoming a lot of who he is."

The Bulldogs jumped on the visiting Billikens (3-4) early and never looked back. Butler used a 9-0 run to take a 24-6 lead with 7:54 to play in the opening half. The lead would swell to 29 at the half (42-13) as the Bulldogs shot 54 percent over the opening 20 minutes. SLU went 4-of-21 in the first half. Butler had assists on nine of its first 12 field goals. The home team turned 13 SLU turnovers in the first half into 17 points.

The lead would extend to 40 six minutes into the second half.

Kamar Baldwin (14) and Paul Jorgensen (11) also reached double figures for the Bulldogs, who ended up shooting 49 percent for the game. Butler started 5-of-10 from behind the arc and finished 8-of-22.

Baldwin had four rebounds and three assists, while Jorgensen had four assists and three steals.

Henry Baddley came off the bench to post career-highs with nine points and seven rebounds. Aaron Thompson had five assists.

Saint Louis's point total was the fewest by a Butler opponent since a 64-37 win over UT-Martin during the 2014-15 season. The most recent Bulldogs' foe to score less than 50 was a 56-48 win over Texas in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

The Billikens shot 29 percent from the field. Javon Bess had 22 of the team's 45 points.

The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday night, hosting Utah at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The 9 p.m. tip will air on FS1. Tickets are still available.