A quick start and a consistent defensive effort propelled the Bulldogs to a 63-52 win over Missouri in the semifinals of the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City.

Butler, now 6-0 on the season, advances to play in Tuesday night's championship game. The Bulldogs will play the winner of Stanford and Oklahoma, who are playing in the second semifinal at the Sprint Center.

"This event has been a great experience and we're thankful to be here at the Hall of Fame," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "We knew it would be a physical game and we knew Mizzou's defense is stout. One of those games when the first to 50 probably wins. Offensively, we got out to a great start. We moved the ball well and had good energy. After that, we really tied to stay focused on being in the moment and trying to fight in every possession."

The Bulldogs hit their first six attempts from the field in taking a 15-3 lead. In that same 4:10 stretch, Butler had forced five Missouri turnovers. Bryce Golden had eight of Butler's first 15, including a pair of three-pointers.

The lead grew to 25-7 at the 12:07 mark following a Christian David put-back. That would be the largest lead of the contest. Butler led 38-26 after shooting 61 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Butler's defense limited the Tigers to 2-of-11 shooting from three-point range. Missouri's Jeremiah Tilmon and Mark Smith combined for only four points after entering the contest averaging 25.2 points per game.

Golden and Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 13 points apiece. Sean McDermott added 10. Butler shot 48 percent for the game and was able to overcome a season-high 14 turnovers.

The Bulldogs were able to keep the Tigers at arm's length all night as the lead never got cut to less than nine in the first half or eight in the second half. A 6-0 spurt by the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 61-46 with 3:40 to play and put the contest out of reach. Bryce Nze had a pair of offensive rebounds in that stretch to key the run. Nze finished with eight points and seven rebounds as Butler won the rebounding battle, 29-20.

Dru Smith led the Tigers with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

The Bulldogs will play in Tuesday night's championship game, which is scheduled for an approximately 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) tip on ESPN2.