Paul Jorgensen hits 5 3s, Butler shuts down UC Irvine 71-54

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Paul Jorgensen made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points with seven rebounds and Butler defeated UC Irvine 71-54 on Friday night for the Bulldogs’ 50th consecutive nonconference home victory.

Butler (9-3) improved to 7-0 at home this season and ended UC Irvine’s streak of 10 straight road victories, which had been the nation’s second-longest streak behind Virginia’s 11.

Kamar Baldwin added 14 points as did Jordan Tucker, who made three 3-pointers. The Bulldogs made 9 of 17 of their shots from the arc for 53 percent but shot 41 percent overall.

The Anteaters (11-3), who had a four-game win streak end, shot just 35 percent, made just 2 of 17 3-pointers and didn’t have a player score in double figures. They shot just 28 percent and were 0 of 7 from distance when they fell behind 41-17 at halftime to a Butler team that came in giving up only 64.4 points per game, tops in the Big East.

UC Irvine didn’t get closer than 15 points in the second half and trailed by as many as 27.

Butler celebrated the 90th birthday of the official dedication of Hinkle Fieldhouse — held on Dec. 21, 1928, when it beat Purdue 28-27. The first game in the fieldhouse was actually played on March 7, 1928, when Butler defeated Notre Dame 21-13 in overtime but the facility wasn’t entirely completed at that time.