Butler starts Aussie trip with win over Norths Bears

The Butler Bulldogs got things off on the right foot in the first game of their exhibition trip to Australia. Brandon Miller's first coaching experience with Butler produced a 77-65 victory over Norths Bears.

On a normal person's 18-hour flight where they cross many time zones and gain 12 hours in the process, it's going to cause a good amount of jet lag. That wasn't the case for Miller's Bulldogs. This game vs. Norths Bears came just one day after landing in the "land down under."

The Bulldogs were somewhat refreshed to be back on the court playing actual games, but it wasn't easy. They were playing four 10 minute periods, which obviously still equals out to a 40 minute college game. It took time, but Butler found a way and climbed out of the hole that Norths had them in from the start.

Norths led from the start 11-4, but BU brought it back to down just eight, trailing 25-17 after one.
The second quarter belonged to Butler. They put together a much improved frame by taking a 20-12 advantage to tie things up at 37-37 at halftime.

Butler took over in the second half and was able to get a lot of bench play into taking Norths Bears out of their home comfort zone. The Bulldogs took the second 40 minutes 40-28 to eventually cruise to a 77-65 victory.

Jackson Aldridge, a junior from Sydney, Australia, got the chance to not only play in his home land, but got the start at the point guard slot. Aldridge scored two points while dishing out three assists. Sophomore Kellen Dunham (left) (Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights) led all scorers with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 field goals, including converting five of his 11 three-point attempts.

Junior Roosevelt Jones (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon), senior Khyle Marshall (Davie, FL/Flanagan) and Erik Fromm (Bloomington, IN/South) also started with Aldridge and Dunham. Fromm was Butler's 2nd leading scorer with 14 point and six boards, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor. Marshall pitched in with 8 points and 7 rebounds, while Jones played just four minutes and didn't score.

Freshman Nolan Berry (St. Louis, MO/De Smet) knocked in nine points on four field goals, while junior Andrew Smeathers (Bargersville, IN/Center Grove) had eight off the Bulldog bench. Junior Alex Barlow (Springboro, OH/Moeller) added five points and five boards. Classmate Kameron Woods (Louisville, KY/Eastern) had four points and 10 rebounds, while freshman guard Rene Castro (Milton, MA/Worcester Academy) and sophomore Devontae Morgan (Tampa, FL/Tampa Prep) to help round out Butler's 31 bench points.

Nick Blair led Norths Bears with a team-high 21 points, with Michael Rowley scoring 13 and Daniel Young adding 10.

Butler's next exhibition game will be this Thursday, August 8 against the Sydney Kings at 7 p.m. ET. The radio broadcast can be heard on the Sydney Kings' team site, www.sydneykings.com.