Indianapolis, IN (My Sportsbook) - Gordon Hayward scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as 11th-ranked Butler earned a 73-62 win over Davidson in the regular-season opener for both teams at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Willie Veasley added 15 points, while Matt Howard and Shawn Vanzant each went for 10 apiece for Butler (1-0), which finished with a 26-6 mark a year ago, good enough to earn a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Ben Allison went for 13 points and seven boards, while Brendan McKillop added 11 points for Davidson (0-1), which went 27-8 in the 2008-09 regular season and earned its fifth straight postseason appearance.

"Clearly they are physically stronger then we are in certain spots, but I was very pleased with the fight that our team had. I was very pleased with the way we competed and I was very pleased with the way we played defensively," Davidson head coach Bob McKillop said.

Hayward drained a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the first half to give Butler a slim 37-35 lead heading into the break.

Then in the second half, Veasley's three and two free throws from Howard in the early stages put the Bulldogs in front 42-35. Dan Nelms' layup finished off 9-3 Davidson run, getting the Wildcats to within one at 45-44 just over five minutes in.

McKillop drilled a three near the midway point of the half, lifting Davidson in front by a 58-56 margin. However, Hayward would score the next five as part of a 12-0 Butler run. After Veasley made a pair from the charity stripe with a little over three minutes to play, the Bulldogs were ahead 68-58.

"We got into the passing lanes and got a couple tips, that got us started in transition," said Butler coach Brad Stevens. "And then we started moving the ball side to side better than we did in the first 15 minutes. After that, I felt like we moved the ball much better and got better looks."

Davidson would not be able to get any closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Game Notes

These two teams met for the first time last year with Butler claiming a 75-63 victory...Butler shot 41.5 percent from the field and 20-of-25 (80 percent) from the free throw line. Davidson made 47.1 percent of its shots and 8-of-9 from the stripe.