Butler never trailed and earned its first road victory of the season, torching short-handed Seton Hall 84-54 on Wednesday night in Big East Conference action in Newark, N.J.
Boden Kapke had his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for Butler, which started the season 0-6 on the road. Five other Bulldogs (10-13, 9-9) scored in double figures, including Pierre Brooks with a team-high 14.
Seton Hall (6-17, 1-11) has lost eight in a row and 13 of its last 14.
Butler scored a season-high 48 points in the first half, shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and 7 of 15 from three-point range. Patrick McCaffery sank three 3-pointers in the first six minutes, helping the Bulldogs race to a 17-8 lead.
Midway through the first half, Butler led 24-10. Andre Screen threw down a dunk, Finley Bizjack pumped in a three and then another long three to help boost the lead to 32-13.
The lead reached 31 when Brooks sank a tough fadeaway with 38 seconds left in the half. Prince Aligbe closed the half with a three-point play for Seton Hall, which trailed 48-20 at the break.
The Pirates put on an attacking press in the second half and found success.
When David Tubek sank a 3-pointer from the wing with 9:41 left to trim the deficit to 60-45, the Prudential Center crowd began to stir. However, Butler had the answer. Brooks sank a three and Jahmyl Telfort scored on a turnaround jumper to ignite a game-sealing 11-2 run for the Bulldogs.
Seton Hall was missing three contributors: Chaunce Jenkins (knee), Scotty Middleton (ankle) and Dyaln Addae-Wusu (ankle).
Aligbe was the only Seton Hall player in double figures with 17 points. The Pirates shot just 34.4 percent from the field and made only 2 of 17 3-point attempts.
–Field Level Media
