Senior guard Kamar Baldwin buried eight of his first nine shots and finished with a season-high 31 points to lead No. 24 Butler to a 67-58 victory over Mississippi on Tuesday night in Oxford, Miss.
Baldwin, the MVP of the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic, shot 11 of 16 overall, 4 of 5 from 3-point territory and 5 of 5 on free throws. He also had six rebounds, three assists and did not commit a turnover for the Bulldogs (8-0).
Sean McDermott added nine points and Bryce Nze and Jordan Tucker both added eight for Butler.
The Rebels (5-3) lost for the first time in five home games, as reserve guard Breein Tyree scored a team-high 22 points and added eight rebounds. Khadin Sy added 12 points.
The Bulldogs pulled away by scoring six straight points on consecutive 3-pointers by Baldwin to take a 50-34 lead with 13:18 left in the second half. The Rebels scored the next four points to lower the deficit 50-38.
Despite a week off since their last game, the Bulldogs showed no rust. Baldwin scored on a layup and hit a 3-pointer for five early points as the Bulldogs built a 9-2 lead.
Christian David and Baldwin both made 3-pointers and Nze added a basket to keep the Bulldogs in front at 19-8. Butler, in the midst of playing three SEC teams in a four-game stretch, head into Saturday's nationally televised home game against Florida with some momentum after a solid first-half performance.
The Rebels made just one of seven shots in a four-plus minute span to fall behind 22-8 after Butler went on an 11-0 run.
Ole Miss awoke from its early slumber when Austin Crowley hit a jumper, but Tucker quickly answered with a 3-pointer to pad the lead to 27-14.
Butler shot 11 of 20, including 5 of 8 on 3-pointers, to lead 31-22 at halftime despite not making a field goal in the final 2:44. The Rebels shot a dreadful 1 of 8 on 3s to fall behind as much as 14 points.
--Field Level Media
Butler | Mississippi | |
Kamar Baldwin 31 | Scoring | Breein Tyree 22 |
Kamar Baldwin 3 | Assists | Devontae Shuler 6 |
Bryce Nze 7 | Rebounds | Breein Tyree 8 |
Kamar Baldwin 5 | Free Throws Made | Blake Hinson 2 |
Aaron Thompson 3 | Steals | KJ Buffen 2 |
N/A | Blocks | Devontae Shuler 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Butler | 67 | 51.1 | 8-17 | 11-15 | 14 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
Mississippi | 58 | 40.0 | 7-22 | 7-15 | 16 | 29 | 1 | 7 | 12 |