A stout defensive effort lifted Butler to a 69-54 win over Providence Saturday afternoon. The game was played in front of a sold-out Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd.
 
Butler (18-10, 8-7 BIG EAST) forced Providence into 30-percent shooting, including only 5-for-32 (16 percent) in the second half. Other than allowing St. John's 45 points in a win Jan. 27, the 54 points by Providence were the lowest of the season for a Butler opponent in BIG EAST play.
 
"I'm really proud of our response," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "Coming off three tough losses, we needed to respond, and we did. We had to grind it out and fight through some adversity. We found a way to beat a very good team. It wasn't a game of perfect, but it never is. That's one we can be proud of."
 
Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs with 19 points. He added seven rebounds. Butler shot 46 percent from the field and was able to generate just enough offense to keep a double-digit deficit for much of the second half.
 
The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the second half to take a 39-35 advantage. It was Butler's first lead since 9-8. From there, Butler continued to dig in on the defensive end. Providence made only two of their first 18 attempts from the field in the second half as Butler opened up a 56-42 lead with 7:39 to play. At that point, Butler had scored 23 of the first 30 points of the half after Providence had a 35-33 halftime lead.
 
Paul Jorgensen, coming off the bench for the first time since November, provided a spark with 12 points. Tyler Wideman added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Freshman Aaron Thompson had seven points and a career-best eight rebounds. Nate Fowler had nine points.
 
Only two Providence players made it to double figures. The trio of Rodney Bullock, Jalen Lindsay and Kyron Cartwright combined for 11 points on 3-of-23 shooting; they entered the game averaging a combined 36.1 points per game.
 
Saturday's win ends a three-game losing skid for the Bulldogs. Providence (17-10, 8-6 BIG EAST) defeated Villanova in their most recent game.
 
The Bulldogs are back in action Tuesday night, hosting Creighton in the final home game of the 2017-18 season. It will be Senior Night for Tyler Wideman and Kelan Martin, who will be recognized in a postgame ceremony. A limited number of tickets remain for the 7 p.m. tip, which will air nationally on FS1.