The Butler Bulldogs hold on to defeat Northwestern 61-58 in the first game of the Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. Michael Ajayi scored 19 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for Butler. He is the first Butler player with 20 boards since Tim Haseley who did it in 1983 versus DePauw. This was Ajayi’s ninth double-double this year. Butler took a 29-23 lead into the half and never trailed in the second half. Northwestern did mount a comeback after trailing by 11 and cut their deficit to three. They missed a few three pointers that could have tied the game with less than a minute to go. Northwestern was missing their leading scorer Nick Martinelli who was out with a concussion.

Butler is now 9-3 and will take on NJIT on Monday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.