Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS – Butler, ranked 18^th in the country, defeated the ninth-ranked Indiana Hoosiers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon by the final score of 83-78. The victory improves Butler's record to 10-1 overall while the Hoosiers fall to 8-2.
 
Kelan Martin exploded for 28 points in the victory by connecting on nine of his 16 attempts. Martin hit five 3-point field goals and adding five more points from the charity stripe. He was one of three Bulldogs in double figures joined by Kamar Baldwin and Andrew Chrabascz. Martin had the final nine points of the first half, finishing off a 16-4 run that turned a 26-24 lead into a 42-28 halftime margin.
 
"I'm proud of our team; they beat a heck of a team tonight," said coach Chris Holtmann. "We knew they were going to make a run (in the second half), but we wanted to continue to play aggressive and continue to play our game. We had great leadership in those key moments, and Kelan's scoring was huge for us."
 
BU withstood a late charge from IU to secure the victory. Butler had a 13-point lead with 7:44 to play. However, the Hoosiers continued to chip away, and James Blackmon Jr.'s three-pointer made it 73-69 with four minutes remaining. Out of the timeout, Chrabascz found a cutting Sean McDermott for a lay-up to push the advantage back to six.

Blackmon Jr. hit another 3-pointer from the top of the key to get IU within two points at 79-77 with 38 seconds to play. After the teams traded quick misses, Butler huddled while officials reviewed an out-of-bounds call. The ensuring inbounds play ended with a Tyler Wideman dunk for a four-point lead. A pair of free throws from Tyler Lewis would ice the game.

Chrabascz hit a major milestone in the victory by joining the Butler 1,000-point club. His made free throw with 18:01 to play in the second half pushed his career total to 1,000. Chrabascz is the 38th player to reach 1,000 points at Butler and the first to do it since the duo of Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones.
 
Butler is now 5-1 overall in the Crossroads Classic and 11-3 all-time when playing at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. This is Butler's third victory over a ranked team this season, including two Top 10 wins.
 
Butler ended the contest with 10 3-point field goals, seven of which came in the first half. BU shot 7-for-14 from 3 in the opening 20 minutes and ended the game shooting 47 percent from distance (10-21). They limited the Hoosiers to just six made 3-point field goals (all in the second half), four of which came from Blackmon Jr.
 
Butler committed only six turnovers in the game. The Bulldogs converted 13 IU turnovers into 17 points, nine of which came in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Butler will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 21, hosting Vermont at 7 p.m. The final game of the non-conference schedule will air on Fox Sports Network affiliates.