Asim Djulovic had 19 points and Jalen Jackson added 18, with each making four of Butler’s 16 3-pointers, to lead the Bulldogs to a 96-60 season-opening victory over visiting Lafayette on Monday night in Indianapolis.
Jordan Ellerbee also made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, while Eduardo Klafke scored 13 for the Bulldogs, who shot 47.8 percent from the field and 16 of 44 from 3-point range in former Butler star Ronald Nored’s head coaching debut.
Djulovic, Jackson and Ellerbee each went 4 of 6 from beyond the arc as Butler (1-0) made it 15 consecutive season-opening wins. Drayton Jones had 10 points and four blocks.
Lafayette (0-1) shot 46.7 percent in the first half but 29.7 percent in the second and was 4 of 24 from 3-point range for the game. The Leopards also committed 16 turnovers, which Butler turned into 21 points.
Butler, which posted just four games with at least 10 made 3-pointers during its 16-16 campaign in 2025-26, went 11 of 26 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Bulldogs went up 28-15 in the first half before the Leopards put together a 7-0 run, highlighted by Patrick D’Arcy’s 3-pointer from the wing, to make it 28-22.
Butler’s accuracy from long distance provided padding. Samu Adler answered the Lafayette run with a 3-pointer for a 31-22 lead with 7:10 to play in the half.
Later in the half, Djulovic went on his own 6-0 run on back-to-back 3-pointers to put Butler ahead 44-27 with just under four minutes to go before halftime. Jackson’s 3-pointer right before the buzzer gave Butler a 54-34 lead at the break.
Djulovic had 14 points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc and made all five of his free throw attempts in the first half. He didn’t miss his first field-goal attempt until 17:52 to play in the second half.
Klafke scored seven points from the start of the second half as Butler outscored Lafayette 13-7 out of halftime.
Shareef Jackson led Lafayette with 14 points.
–Field Level Media
