National Basketball Association
Butler 107, Western Illinois 46
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 21, 2017
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
# Tim Nestor, # Bill Covington, # Lamar Simpson
Attendance:
7779
By The Sports Xchange
With Big East play just around the corner, Butler enjoyed its final dress rehearsal with a 107-46 non-conference victory over Western Illinois on Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Senior forward Kelan Martin poured in 20 points and had a career-high seven assists in 28 minutes for the Bulldogs (10-3). Redshirt junior guard Paul Jorgensen added 18 points and junior center Nate Fowler contributed 11 points with career highs for rebounds (12) and blocks (4).
Sophomore swingman Henry Baddley added a career-high 20 points in 15 minutes off the bench.
Western Illinois (7-4) got 11 points from junior forward Jalen Morgan, an Indianapolis native. Senior swingman Dalan Ancrum came in averaging a team-high 17.3 points, but Butler limited him to two points on five shots.
Freshman guard Kobe Webster, another Indianapolis native who entered with a 15.1 scoring average, managed eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Butler enjoyed huge advantages all over the court but particularly from 3-point range. The Bulldogs drilled 18 of 31 3-pointers and the Leathernecks canned just 1 of 15 tries.
The Bulldogs ensured their 43rd consecutive non-conference home win in record time as Martin cashed two 3-pointers, Jorgensen hit one and sophomore guard Kamar Baldwin another one to grab a 16-2 lead in the opening four minutes.
Martin poured in 18 first-half points and hit 4 of 8 3-pointers as Butler built a 49-22 halftime lead. Along the way, the preseason All-Big East first-team pick zipped past Shelvin Mack, Wayne Burris and Roosevelt Jones to seize 11th place on the school's career scoring list with 1,537 points.
Butler finished with its highest point total since Feb. 15, when the Bulldogs pounded St. John's 110-86 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Top Game Performances
Western Illinois |
|
Butler |
Jalen Morgan 11 |
Scoring |
Henry Baddley 20 |
Kobe Webster 2 |
Assists |
Kelan Martin 7 |
Brandon Gilbeck 8 |
Rebounds |
Nate Fowler 12 |
Jalen Morgan 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Aaron Thompson 3 |
C.J. Duff 2 |
Steals |
Christian David 2 |
Jalen Morgan 2 |
Blocks |
Nate Fowler 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Western Illinois
|
46 |
32.8 |
1-15 |
5-6 |
5 |
26 |
4 |
3 |
19 |
Butler
|
107 |
56.1 |
18-31 |
15-18 |
23 |
39 |
9 |
12 |
8 |