A strong defensive effort led the Bulldogs to yet another win as No. 18/19 Butler topped Southern, 66-41, Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
 
The Bulldogs limited the visiting Jaguars to 14-of-50 shooting (28 percent) and forced 18 Southern turnovers.
 
Butler runs its record to 10-1 with the win, also extending the nation's longest non-conference home winning streak to 57 games.
 
"We've had a couple of good days leading into this one," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "We talked about setting the tone early and we were able to do that. That was important after Tuesday night (at Baylor). We have a ton of things to clean up from this game, but our engagement level was good."
 
Butler got out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back, carrying a double-digit advantage for almost the entire contest.
 
Aaron Thompson had eight assists to go along with eight points and two steals. Bryce Golden led a balanced Butler offensive attack with 12 points. Sean McDermott (11) and freshman Khalif Battle (10) also scored double figures. For Thompson, it was his third game this season with at least eight assists; for Battle, it was his second career game in double figures.
 
Bryce Nze had a game-high seven rebounds.
 
Graduate student Derrik Smits and redshirt freshman Markeese Hastings each logged their first official minutes in a Butler uniform Saturday as Smits has worked back from a knee injury sustained in the preseason and Hastings has overcome offseason hip surgery.
 
The Bulldogs have the upcoming week off for finals before meeting Purdue Saturday (Dec. 21) in the annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.