ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Butler's resiliency paid off Tuesday.

The 18th-ranked Bulldogs produced a 12-2, second-half run that re-established a lead, and they kept DePaul at arm's length the rest of the way in a 77-72 Big East victory at Allstate Arena.

"These guys don't panic," Butler coach Chris Holtmann said.

Guard Kellen Dunham led a balanced attack with a game-high 24 points -- sinking four 3-pointers -- as Butler (12-3, 1-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and claimed its first conference win.

"(The Blue Demons) make it very difficult with their athleticism, their size and how hard they play," Holtmann said. "We knew tonight was going to be an absolute dogfight.

"But I was pleased with how we responded to their run in the second half. They were up five at one point, and we certainly made enough plays and brought it home down the stretch."

Bulldogs forward Andrew Chrabascz added 16 points, while guard Roosevelt Jones had 15 and reserve forward Kelan Martin scored 12.

DePaul (6-9, 0-3) took its third consecutive loss despite getting 22 points and 10 rebounds from forward Myke Henry. Center Tommy Hamilton IV had 19 points, while reserve guard Darrick Wood added 15.

"I'm frustrated and disappointed," Blue Demons coach Dave Leitao said. "We gave the ball back to them too many times, first of all. And some of the times we gave them back were unforced errors that turned into baskets."

DePaul wound up with 17 turnovers, and Butler took advantage with 24 points off the mistakes.

After trailing most of the opening half, DePaul grabbed a 35-34 lead with 17:43 left in the second half on a pair of Hamilton free throws. Butler replied with seven unanswered points, including Dunham's third 3-pointer for a short-lived, 42-36 advantage.

DePaul charged back and led 55-50 with 9:12 to play, but a 12-2 surge put Butler back on top for good after Martin's fastbreak layup made it 62-57 with 5:25 left in regulation.

"We got stagnant and didn't get quality offensive possessions, and when that happens, your defense starts to leak," Leitao said. "They started driving it to us a little bit too easy and quickly and led to fouls, it led to easy baskets and led to kickoff threes and easy shots."

The Bulldogs maintained the lead the rest of the way, although the Blue Demons cut it to 75-72 with eight seconds left on Henry's layup.

Butler entered the game as the nation's No. 7 offensive team, averaging 87.2 points per game, and their 49.6 percent shooting rate from the field was ranked 20th.

The Bulldogs matched that percentage with 24-of-49 shooting (49 percent).

Dunham scored eight of Butler's first 10 points -- including a pair of 3-pointers -- as the Bulldogs claimed an early 10-2 lead.

He closed the half with a team-high 12 while Butler's shooting slipped to 46.2 percent (12-for-26) by halftime after a strong start.

DePaul trailed by as many as 11 points but crept back and closed the gap to 35-34 on Henry's driving layup with 42 seconds showing. Henry finished the half with a team-high 12 points.

NOTES: G Billy Garrett Jr., who scored nine points Tuesday, needs five more to reach 1,000 for his DePaul career. He was averaging a team-high 15.0 points per game before the Butler game. ... Back-to-back losses to No. 12 Providence and No. 6 Xavier proved costly for the Bulldogs, who dropped nine spots from the No. 9 ranking they held last week. ... F Kellen Martin averaged 16.7 points in two games last week and has topped Butler scoring six times this season. ... Tuesday's game was Butler's fourth in nine days. ... Until Tuesday, the Blue Demons had faced just one ranked team this season, beating No. 20 George Washington 82-61 on Dec. 22, DePaul's largest winning margin ever over a ranked foe. ... DePaul resumes Big East play on Saturday at Georgetown while Butler hosts Villanova on Sunday.