A strong second half propelled the Bulldogs to a 77-55 Senior Night win over St. John's Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. After trailing by a point at halftime, Butler overwhelmed the visiting Red Storm, 46-23, after intermission to secure the win.

With the win, Butler improves to 21-9. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 25 in this week's coaches poll, are 9-8 in BIG EAST play. Butler has assured itself of a first round bye in next week's BIG EAST Tournament and will begin the tournament in the quarterfinals as either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.

Senior Sean McDermott led the Bulldogs with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. It was the third double-double of his career, all of which have come in BIG EAST play this season. McDermott went 3-of-7 from three-point range, becoming the seventh Bulldog to make 200 career three-pointers.

Five Bulldogs registered double figures. Jordan Tucker (14), Aaron Thompson (13), and Bryce Nze (11) joined McDermott and senior Kamar Baldwin (12) in that category. Baldwin added five rebounds, while Thompson had a game-high five assists.

"Senior Night is always special," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "Our seniors were great; celebrating a win was their singular focus and they led us there. We adjusted well at the half. We got some stops that allowed us to push the ball in transition and not have to go up against their set defense. It was a great team effort to send these guys out on a high note in their final game at Hinkle."

St. John's took a 32-31 halftime lead behind 16 first-half points from Julian Champagnie. He finished with 23 points to lead the Red Storm (15-15, 4-13 BIG EAST).

The Bulldogs re-took the lead 76 seconds into the second half and never relented. An 18-2 run gave the Bulldogs a 57-41 lead with 9:13 remaining. St. John's missed 10 consecutive attempts from the field during that stretch. That lead would grow to as many as 24 in the second half as the Bulldogs shot 57 percent in the second half and committed only one second-half turnover against St. John's pressure defense.

Butler limited St. John's to 37-percent shooting overall, including only 9-of-29 in the second half. Butler had a 38-30 rebounding advantage.

Butler's senior class – Baldwin, McDermott, Henry Baddley and Derrik Smits – were recognized in a postgame ceremony as thousands of fans stuck around to celebrate the group in their final Hinkle game.

The Bulldogs conclude the regular season Saturday night in Cincinnati against Xavier. The 8:30 p.m. tip will air on FS1.