CINCINNATI, OHIO – Guard Myles Davis scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first half to help host Xavier to a strong start and host Musketeers pulled away to a 73-56 victory over #19 Butler at the Cintas Center on Saturday (Feb. 21).  It was the biggest margin of defeat for the Bulldogs in a BIG EAST game this season.

Davis hit a three-point field goal to open the game, and the Musketeers held the upper hand for the rest of the contest.  Butler (19-8, 9-5 BIG EAST) closed to within a single point on two occasions, at 5-4 and at 14-13, before Xavier pulled away to an 11-point halftime lead, 33-22.

The Musketeers (18-10, 8-7 BIG EAST) then opened the second half with a 15-6 run to stretch the lead to 20 points, and Butler never got closer than 17 points the rest of the game.

"(Xavier) out-played us in basically every area," said Butler head coach Chris Holtmann after the game.  "They were physical, tough and aggressive, and I think they got every 50-50 ball.  They made every shot they needed to make, and they imposed their will on us defensively.  We certainly didn't have an answer for them inside."

It was the 13th win in the Cintas Center for Xavier this season, and it was the Musketeers' 12th home win by double-digits.  Butler fell to 1-4 on the Musketeers' homecourt.  

The Bulldogs, playing their second straight game without starting center Andrew Chrabascz, struggled to score in the first 20 minutes, hitting just seven of 29 shots and none from beyond the three-point arc.  Leading scorer Kellen Dunham, who entered the game with a 16.8 scoring average, was plagued by early foul trouble and wound up attempting just one shot and scoring just three points in the opening 20 minutes.

Butler's shooting picked up in the second half, but so did Xavier's.  The Musketeers hit 15 of their final 29 (51.7%) shots in the game, including six of nine (66.7%) from beyond the three-point arc.  Xavier shot 45.8% (27-59) for the game, while Butler managed just 35.1% (20-57).

"I think we could have passed the ball better than we did today, and that was disappointing," noted Holtmann.  "I felt like we didn't have the kind of ball movement that we would like to have on offense and it shows with our assist to turnover ratio."

Butler finished the game with just nine assists on 20 field goals, while committing 14 turnovers.  Xavier had 13 assists and 11 turnovers.

Junior Roosevelt Jones led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while senior Alex Barlow added 10.  Dunham, the third-leading scorer in the BIG EAST, played just 25 minutes and finished with nine points.

Senior Kameron Woods led the Bulldogs in rebounding for the for the seventh straight game, finishing with nine boards.  But Xavier, led by James Farr and Jalen Reynolds with 11 rebounds apiece, out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 39-35.

Butler will return home to host Marquette in a BIG EAST clash on Wednesday, Feb. 25.  The game at Hinkle Fieldhouse is scheduled to 8 p.m. (ET).