Butler cruised to its second-straight comfortable nonconference victory earning an 91-56 win over Southeast Missouri State.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 28-8 lead and led by as many as 38 points in the first half. Posh Alexander led Butler with 15 points, and eclipsed 1,000 points for his career. Pierre Brooks II scored 14 points. D.J. Davis added 13 points.

The win moves Butler to 72-2 over its past 74 nonconference home games.

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Here are three takeaways from the dominant win.

Dawgs clamp down on defense

Butler's defense smothered a fast-paced SEMO offense from the opening tip. The Dawgs' length and athleticism cut off drives to the basket and shut down passing lanes.

The Dawgs held SEMO to 21% shooting and forced more turnovers (9) than the Redhawks had made baskets (7) in the first half.

Six Dawgs had at least one steal with Alexander, Jahmyl Telfort and Connor Turnbull getting two each. Turnbull led Butler with three blocks. Butler turned the 15 SEMO turnovers into 20 points.

SEMO finished shooting 26.9% from the field.

Posh Alexander finding his offense

Alexander came to Butler with the reputation as a pass-first, defensive point guard. In his second game with the Bulldogs, Alexander showcased his offensive ability, sparking the offense with an early 3 and using his quick first step to score at the rim. He finished with a team-high 15 points, including 3-for-4 from 3.

Alexander struggled with his shot over his three years at St. John's. The Brooklyn native is shooting with confidence early on, and if he can continue shooting well from distance, the offense will have better spacing, freeing up drives to the basket, kick-outs and more open looks for everyone on the court.

Butler converting in close/at the stripe

Points in the paint and trips to the free-throw line are great ways to sustain offense, especially if the outside shot isn't falling. The Dawgs have been just OK from 3 (33% and 36% through two games), but they're generating easy baskets at a high level.

Butler had a 36-2 advantage in points in the paint against SEMO. When the Dawgs weren't converting inside, they were earning trips to the free-throw line, shooting 26-for-34 (76.5%) from the stripe. D.J. Davis went a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.

Follow IndyStar Butler Insider Akeem Glaspie on X at @THEAkeemGlaspie.

Butler stats vs. Southeast Missouri

Butler 91, SE Missouri 56

SE MISSOURI (0-2): Earley 1-5 0-2 2, Biel 1-5 0-2 2, Martin 3-13 2-2 9, Smart 2-9 4-4 8, Stacker 2-13 4-4 9, Bell 3-7 0-0 6, Larson 4-7 0-0 11, Idada 2-2 1-3 5, Clark 1-2 0-0 2, Elkamil 0-2 0-0 0, Eursher 1-3 0-0 2, Hanback 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-69 11-17 56.

BUTLER (2-0): Telfort 4-9 4-4 12, Thomas 2-4 0-0 4, Alexander 5-8 2-2 15, Davis 1-3 10-10 13, Brooks 5-12 2-4 14, Bizjack 2-8 1-2 6, Moore 1-3 2-6 5, Turnbull 1-3 0-0 2, Kapke 5-6 1-2 11, Screen 1-1 4-4 6, McComb 1-1 0-0 3, Gavalas 0-0 0-0 0, Mulloy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 26-34 91.

Halftime—Butler 55-21. 3-Point Goals_SE Missouri 5-21 (Larson 3-5, Martin 1-3, Stacker 1-4, Bell 0-1, Biel 0-1, Clark 0-1, Elkamil 0-2, Eursher 0-2, Smart 0-2), Butler 9-25 (Alexander 3-4, Brooks 2-6, McComb 1-1, Davis 1-2, Moore 1-2, Bizjack 1-5, Kapke 0-1, Telfort 0-2, Turnbull 0-2). Rebounds_SE Missouri 35 (Biel 6), Butler 45 (Thomas 9). Assists_SE Missouri 11 (Martin 5), Butler 15 (Bizjack 5). Total Fouls_SE Missouri 20, Butler 16.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler Bulldogs basketball offense clicks in easy win over SEMO