D.J. Carton and Koby McEwen scored 18 points apiece and Carton grabbed nine rebounds as host Marquette benefited from a balanced attack to edge Butler 70-67 on Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee to snap a three-game losing streak.
Dawson Garcia (14 points) and Jamal Cain (10) also finished in double figures for the Golden Eagles, who overcame 21 turnovers to withstand a late Butler charge. Marquette (9-9, 5-7 Big East) shot 68.8 percent in the second half and 61.5 percent for the game.
Butler trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half, but drew within four on a Bo Hodges 3-pointer with 37 seconds to go. While shoddy free-throw shooting plagued both teams -- Marquette was 18-for-29 from the line compared to 13-for-25 for Butler -- it nearly cost the Golden Eagles the game.
Jair Bolden's trey brought Butler to within 69-67 with 18.3 seconds to go. Butler had a chance to tie the game after McEwen split a pair of free throws at the other end, but Bolden's 3-pointer was off the mark just before time expired.
The Bulldogs (5-10, 4-8 Big East) have fallen behind by 10 or more points 12 times this season, winning only twice.
Hodges registered a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds in his second game for the Bulldogs. The East Tennessee State transfer added a game-high eight assists
Chuck Harris scored a team-high 16 points, while Bryce Nze (13 points, four steals) and Bolden (12) followed in double figures.
Harris provided a second-half spark with his grit and scoring. During one stretch, he scored eight straight Bulldogs points after catching an inadvertent elbow from the Golden Eagles' Theo John, a play that prompted Harris to lose a tooth.
Marquette took a 33-21 lead into the break, getting most of its production from the backcourt, as Carton (10 points) and McEwen (eight) combined to score more than half the team's points in the first 20 minutes.
Butler didn't crack double figures until Hodges hit a jumper with 7:27 left before halftime to draw the Bulldogs to within 18-10.
--Field Level Media
Butler | Marquette | |
Chuck Harris 16 | Scoring | D.J. Carton 18 |
Bo Hodges 8 | Assists | D.J. Carton 3 |
Bo Hodges 12 | Rebounds | D.J. Carton 9 |
Bryce Nze 5 | Free Throws Made | Koby McEwen 8 |
Bryce Nze 4 | Steals | Dawson Garcia 2 |
Jair Bolden 1 | Blocks | Theo John 2 |