​INDIANAPOLIS — Butler basketball never lost a game when Butler Blue made its debut. The mascot’s boast no longer holds ground.Pittsburgh defeated Butler 76-64 on Friday and the Dawgs are now 3-1 when a new English bulldog graces the floor at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the first time. Butler seemed set to keep Blue’s and its regular-season home record perfect after a stellar start against the Panthers.The Dawgs had a stellar first half, shooting 50% in the first frame for the third time this season. They started the game on a 9-2 run, grabbed two offensive rebounds on the first possession and held the Pitt to 20% from the field in the opening five minutes. Butler led 33-30 with 3:39 left in the first quarter and went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:45. Butler’s seven first-half steals prevented Pitt from finding a groove on offense. It closed the half with a 42-34 lead.”We wanted to reestablish a defensive presence. That was a big part of our bounce back from the Boise State game. I was really proud of how we came out defensively, how we fought and how we set a tone,” Butler coach Ronald Nored said. “The other part we were focused on was reestablishing some habits on both ends of the floor, and unfortunately, there in the second half, just our offense wasn’t crisp.”Exclusive: Butler’s new, tiny, chill mascot Blue V gives IndyStar one-on-one interviewButler stymied freshman star Chase Foster in the opening half and held the power forward to four points on 1-of-3 shooting. Foster averaged a team-high 16.3 points per game entering Friday’s game. He finished with 15 on 5-of-9 shooting, a testament to Butler’s defensive lapse. But offensive inefficiency caused the defensive instability. Butler had nine turnovers compared to six in the first and hit only five shots in the entire half.The Dawgs only hit two shots in the first seven minutes of the second half, yet still held a 51-43 lead with 12:58 left. The next five minutes featured their downfall. Pitt went on an 18-3 run and claimed a 61-54 lead with 7:25 remaining. Junior guard Eduardo Klafke hit a circus pull-up jumper as the clock hit 6:57 to cut Pitt’s lead to 61-56. Butler didn’t score again for six minutes.“How we played offensively is not going to be good enough for us to be successful,” Nored said. “On one end, you know, coming out of Boise defensively, we picked it up, and then offensively in the second half we lost our way.”Nored acknowledged Butler’s pick-and-roll defense faltered due to scoreless possessions on the offensive end. Nored said Butler failed to pass in the second half and shifted to more isolation action in tight spaces. While Klafke believes Butler has “talented guys,” he knows “the one-on-one game is not going to be what’s going to win this game.”“We’re going to have to play with each other and make sure we get the best shot that we can get,” Klafke said.Klafke led Butler with 16 points on 4-for-13 shooting. Star guard Jalen Jacks