Junior guard Kamar Baldwin scored 26 points with eight rebounds, and sophomore center Joey Brunk added 13 points as Butler used a run at the end of the first half Monday to take control and pull away for an 84-63 nonconference victory over Detroit Mercy at Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs (2-0) fell behind 2-0 in the early going then never trailed again, going on a 17-4 run late in the first half to take a 40-22 lead into halftime.

Freshman guard Antoine Davis scored 20 points for the Titans (0-3), who are opening the season with four consecutive road games. Davis was coming off consecutive games of at least 30 points to begin his college career. He had just two points on 1-of-9 shooting in the first half.

Senior guard Josh McFolley scored 17 points for Detroit Mercy while adding three of the Titans' eight steals. McFolley was tied for second in steals in the Horizon League last season with 49.

Butler won comfortably despite going just 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs were 1-of-7 from 3-point range at one point in the second half before going 4-of-12 over the final 20 minutes.

Junior guard Henry Baddley did hit a 3-pointer with 4:28 remaining to stretch the Bulldogs' lead to 20 points for the first time. Baddley had seven points, while senior guard Paul Jorgensen added 12.

Senior guard Derrien King scored 10 points for Detroit Mercy, which has 13 newcomers on the roster, tied for most on a Division I team with Tennessee Chattanooga and Duquesne.

Butler earned its 45th consecutive nonconference home victory, the third longest run among Division I teams. Only Duke and Arizona have longer home nonconference winning streaks.

Detroit Mercy was able to stay even with Butler on the boards as each team had 30 rebounds. Butler, though, had 18 assists compared to just six for the Titans.

--Field Level Media