Butler thrashes Saginaw Valley St. in nonleague finale

Finley Bizjack scored 17 points and Pierre Brooks II added 15 as Butler took care of business against Saginaw Valley State, winning 96-70 on Friday in Indianapolis.

DJ Davis added 12 points for the Bulldogs (9-2) along with three assists. Jahmyl Telfort scored 11 and dished out five assists, and Landon Moore added 10 points and five assists.

Butler earned its sixth consecutive win since falling to the only ranked foes it has faced, Michigan State and Florida Atlantic, in back-to-back mid-November games.

Saginaw Valley State remains 6-3 on the season with this contest being an exhibition game for the Division II program.

The Cardinals were led in scoring by Freddie McIntosh with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. Three other Cardinals scored in double figures, as Kevonne Taylor had 13 points, Tre Garrett contributed 11 and Toodles Seal had 10.

The Bulldogs were able to get a strong lead right from the start, opening the game on a 17-2 run in less than five minutes.

Butler went into the halftime break with a 47-29 advantage, having shot 51.5 percent from the field and 8-for-16 from beyond the 3-point arc. Davis and Telfort each had nine points in the half to lead the way.

In the second half, the game continued to get slowly more our of hand for Saginaw Valley State. Butler nearly matched its first-half long-range shooting by going 7-for-16 from deep in the second, finishing with a season-high 15 3-pointers.

For the sixth time in seven home games this season, Butler scored more than 80 points. The defense also stood out, forcing 16 turnovers that it turned into 22 points.

Fifty of Butler's 96 points came from their bench. Twelve players on the Bulldogs' roster were able to record a point on the night.

Butler, which concluded its nonconference schedule, opens Big East play at home against Georgetown on Tuesday. Saginaw Valley State faces Hillsdale on Tuesday.

—Field Level Media