Butler closed the exhibition portion of its schedule with a 79-58 win over Southern Indiana Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Paul Jorgensen led the Bulldogs with 24 points.

"Physically and athletically, we knew this would be a different challenge than last week," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "We learned a great lesson today in that how you practice translates to how you play in the next game. We weren't great yesterday in practice and that showed at the beginning of this game. But, I loved our energy off the bench and our response as we faced some early adversity."

Southern Indiana jumped out to an early 11-2 advantage as Butler made only one of its first eight attempts from the field.

Butler would rally behind Jorgensen, whose three-pointer with 9:12 remaining in the first half gave Butler its first lead at 18-16. The Screaming Eagles countered with a three-pointer, but Jorgensen's make gave Butler a 20-19 lead and they would never trail again.

Jorgensen ended the game with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers. Joey Brunk came off the bench for 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Henry Baddley was the third Bulldog in double figures with 13.

USI used 6-of-9 shooting from behind the arc in the first half to stay in contention, but the Bulldogs forced USI into 13 first-half turnovers in taking a 38-24 halftime advantage.


The lead quickly grew early in the second half as Butler got up by 20.

The Bulldogs committed only seven turnovers in the game and turned 22 USI miscues into 27 points. Butler also held a 44-12 advantage in points in the paint.

Alex Stein led USI with 18 points.

The Bulldogs tip off the regular season one week from today, hosting Miami (Ohio) at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The 7 p.m. tip is sold out, but can be seen on FOX Sports Network affiliates, including FOX Sports Indiana.