Butler cruised to an 88-47 win over Illinois Wesleyan Wednesday night in an exhibition contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs will next be in action Monday night in the team's regular season opener.
 
The Bulldogs put five players in double figures and shot 54 percent from the field. The balanced effort saw nine Bulldogs play between 15 and 22 minutes.
 
KEY MOMENT:

• Six straight points by Patrick McCaffery started the landslide of a Butler first-half run as the Bulldog newcomer turned a 10-10 tie into a 16-10 lead that eventually became a 16-0 run.

 
HOW IT TRANSPIRED:

• The score was tied, 10-10, less than six minutes into the contest before the Bulldogs unleashed an extended 33-2 run that had the Bulldogs up 43-12 with 3:17 remaining in the half.
• Illinois Wesleyan made four of their first 11 attempts from the field as the game was knotted 10-10. Butler's defense then held the Titans to 2-for-25 shooting to close the first half.
• The second half looked a lot like the closing segment of the opening half as Butler's lead was never smaller than 26 points. The 41-point final margin was Butler's largest lead of the game.

 
NOTEWORTHY:

• Butler shot 57 percent in the first half while holding the visiting Titans to 6-for-36 (17 percent) shooting over the first 20 minutes.
• Augusto Cassia scored 11 points in 6:45 of game action in the first half; he scored nine points during the entirety of his freshman 2023-24 season. Cassia finished with 13 points.
• McCaffery scored 13 points, matching Cassia for the team-high. He scored 10 of the team's first 16 points.
• Both Andre Screen and Kolby King pulled down 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs; Screen added 10 points, three blocks and two assists.
• Pierre Brooks II and Finley Bizjack each scored 11 points and were the fourth and fifth Bulldogs in double figures.
• Butler made 10 of its 26 attempts from three-point range; eight different Bulldogs hit at least one three-pointer.
• Mason Funk was the only IWU player to score double figures (10).  
• IWU lost to DePaul, 76-60, Sunday night in Chicago.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs open the regular season Monday when Missouri State comes to Hinkle. Tickets for the 6:45 p.m. tip are still available; the contest is part of FS1's BIG EAST Opening Night Whip-Around Coverage. In addition to live look-ins on the game on FS1, fans can watch the game in its entirety on the FOX app.