Butler made all 18 of its second-half free throw attempts and got a career-high 27 points from
Paul Jorgensen in taking an 83-76 win over Ole Miss Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Bulldogs improve to 3-0 on the young season; Ole Miss is 1-1. It marked Butler's 46th consecutive home win versus non-conference opponents, the third-longest streak in the nation.Â
After Ole Miss took its largest lead of the contest at 66-61 with 6:19 to play, the Bulldogs responded with a key 11-2 spurt over the next three minutes to re-take the lead at 72-68. From there, six free throws and a Jorgensen three-pointer sealed the victory down the stretch.
It was a career night for Jorgensen. His 27 points featured 21 in the first half as he single-handedly kept Butler in the lead. On the night, he made 10 of his 17 attempts from the field, including a 6-of-10 performance from three-point range. He led the Bulldogs in scoring for the third time in his career.
"That team we beat tonight is really good," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "I wish I had a vote in the SEC preseason poll because I'd have them near the top. Coach (Kermit) Davis does a great job. They change defenses and that was really tough for us to simulate in practice, especially with their length. The big thing for me was our guys responded down the stretch. I'm proud of that. We finished the game by stepping up to the foul line and knocking them down."
Kamar Baldwin, overcoming a tough shooting night from the field, still posted 23 points and a game-high eight rebounds to go along with five assists. He made all 12 of his free throw attempts.
Joey Brunk was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field en route to 15 points and six rebounds.
Butler committed only 10 turnovers against Ole Miss's pressure defense. Butler shot 46 percent from the field and 23-of-27 from the charity stripe (85 percent).
Terence Davis led Ole Miss with 30 points (10-of-16 shooting). He had six of the Rebels' 11 three-pointers. Breein Tyree added 17.
The Bulldogs travel to the Bahamas for Thanksgiving, participating in the Battle 4 Atlantis beginning Wednesday. Butler and Dayton will meet in a quarterfinal match-up at 7 p.m. on ESPNews. The Bulldogs will follow that with games Thursday and Friday against the stacked field.
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