A gritty defensive performance propelled Butler to a 61-54 win over Florida in the final contest of the 2018 Battle 4 Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas.

The win gives the Bulldogs a 2-1 trip and a fifth-place finish in the event. Butler improves to 5-1 overall this season.

The Bulldogs limited Florida (3-3) to 29-percent shooting in the second half, including a 1-of-12 mark from three-point range. That allowed Butler to overcome a five-point halftime deficit and pull out the win.

"We knew the third game on the third day would be a bit of a grind," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "We'd need some bodies from the bench, it was gonna be huge and we had to outlast them. You look at the statsheet, they shot 29 percent in the second half. We had to make it gritty. Just proud of our group for responding. It wasn't perfect; I can't even say it was pretty. We just had to find a way to get the job done."

Junior Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 19 points, including 13 after the halftime break. His eighth point gave him 1,000 for his career as he became the 40^th Bulldog to accomplish the feat. Baldwin added six rebounds and a team-best five assists.

Paul Jorgensen posted 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Florida closed the first half on a 17-6 run to take a 32-27 halftime advantage. The Gators made seven three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of play before Butler's defense tightened. Andrew Nembhard and Deaundrae Ballard led the Gators with 11 points apiece. Nineteen of those 22 combined points came in the first half.

After a Kevarrius Hayes dunk gave Florida a 45-44 lead with 11:14 remaining, the Bulldogs responded with a 10-1 run over the next 5:30 to take a 54-46 advantage. That included Butler holding Florida scoreless for a four-minute stretch.

Florida would trim the lead to only four in the closing minute, but the Bulldogs solidified the win at the free throw line.

A night after setting a Battle 4 Atlantis single-game record with 16 three-pointers, the Bulldogs' offense was not quite as in sync Friday night as Butler shot 44 percent from the field and 7-of-20 from behind the arc.

Butler and Florida will meet again Dec. 29 in Gainesville as the teams had previously agreed to a home-and-home series that begins this season. The two teams are now square at 2-2 in the all-time series; Friday's match-up was the first that didn't take place as part of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs will return to Indianapolis and have a full week off before their next game, which is a road contest at Saint Louis Saturday, Dec. 1.