Butler scored 20 of the game’s first 24 points and then withstood a dry spell in taking a 72-66 win over Xavier Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The game served as Senior Night and the final regular season game of the season for the Bulldogs.
With the win, Butler is now 18-13 (9-11 BIG EAST), while Xavier falls to 15-15 (9-10).
THE FLOW OF THE GAME:
Butler’s 17-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 20-4 advantage with 14:52 remaining in the first half. At that point in the contest, Butler had hit eight of 10 attempts from the field.
Xavier would trim the lead to eight before another 13-4 run pushed the edge back to 17 at 35-18 with 5:33 remaining in the half.
The teams would combine to miss their final 12 shots of the half with Butler going scoreless for the final 4:46 and Xavier not scoring over the final 3:22 of the half.
Butler’s dry spell continued after the break as Butler missed its first nine shots.
Xavier would trim the lead to five at the 13:54 mark of the second half at 13:54.
Jahmyl Telfort’s lay-up at 13:39 ended a stretch of 11:25 of game action without Butler scoring.
The lead briefly returned to double figures before Xavier found itself once again down five at 53-48 with 9:28 to play.
Five straight points from Posh Alexander which became an eventual 9-0 run gave Butler a 62-48 lead they would not relinquish.
OF NOTE:
Four Bulldogs found double figures, led by Telfort at 18 points. Alexander (16), Pierre Brooks II (14) and DJ Davis (11) joined him.
Alexander added six assists, four assists and four steals.
Butler shot only 41 percent for the game, but committed only nine turnovers.
Jalen Thomas pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Desmond Claude led Xavier with 17 points.
Xavier’s top three scorers – Claude, Quincy Olivari and Dayvion McKnight – were held to combined 16-for-43 shooting and a total of two three-pointers.
Xavier shot 37 percent from the field and had only five assists, while committing 15 turnovers.
The teams combined to make 24 of 25 free throw attempts.
Butler celebrated Jalen Thomas and John-Michael Mulloy in a pregame Senior Night ceremony.
Butler Director of Athletics Barry Collier, who has announced his retirement effective at the end of April, was honored at halftime.
The teams split the season series as Xavier won the first match-up between the teams Jan. 16 in Cincinnati.
Butler coach Thad Matta led the Xavier program for three seasons (2001-04); current Xavier coach Sean Miller was a member of his staff during that time.
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs have a week off before the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament, which begins Wednesday in New York City. The complete bracket will be released Saturday night following the last day of BIG EAST conference games.