Box Score

Another incredible second half by the Bulldogs allowed Butler to erase a 16-point halftime deficit and take an 88-80 win over Marquette Monday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Sixty-three of Butler's points came in the second half as the team had zero turnovers and shot 70 percent from the field.

Kelan Martin had a team-high 22 points for the Bulldogs on 9-of-14 shooting. He added seven rebounds.

Marquette jumped out to an early 27-15 lead as freshman Markus Howard had 16 points of his own at that point in the game (6:22 to play in the half). Butler got the lead down to five two minutes later (27-22) before a late Marquette surge gave the visitors a 41-25 halftime lead.

The second half would be a complete 180 for the Bulldogs.

"That was a roller coaster game for sure," said coach Chris Holtmann. "We needed to respond to what they did in the first half, and our guys did. We picked up the pressure defensively and played with more freedom offensively in the second half. That allowed our guys to make plays. Getting to the free throw line was critical…and being at Hinkle was critical."

Marquette scored the first two points of the second half to take an 18-point lead, the largest of the game. However, within five minutes, the lead was down to single digits.

With 10 minutes to play, Butler had cut it to one. On three separate occasions, Butler pulled within a single point before a Martin score in the lane gave Butler its first lead of the game at 60-59 with 8:24 remaining.

After Butler's lead extended to four, Marquette rattled off seven straight points to retake the lead, 66-63, with 6:07 to play. Martin would give the Bulldogs the lead for good at 69-68 as part of 9-0 run that pushed Butler's lead to six. Marquette would get no closer than four down the stretch as Butler iced the game at the free throw line.

On Saturday afternoon, Butler scored a season-best 58 points in the second half in a win over Xavier. Monday's performance topped it. After the break, Butler shot 19-of-27 from the field, 4-of-5 from behind the arc, and 21-of-26 at the free throw line…all without committing a turnover.

After shooting 7-of-15 from three-point range to take their first half lead, Marquette made only three of 11 attempts in the second half.

Butler overcoming a 16-point lead was reminiscent of a Nov. 23, 2011 contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse when the Bulldogs turned a 50-35 halftime deficit to Gardner-Webb into a 68-66 win. The coach for Gardner-Webb on that trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse? Chris Holtmann.

Butler shot 53 percent for the game, and made 23-of-30 free throws. Butler improves to 9-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points. The Bulldogs committed a season-low four turnovers.

Martin led five Bulldogs in double figures for Butler; Howard led five in double figures for Marquette. Kamar Baldwin had 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the Bulldogs, followed by Kethan Savage (17), Tyler Lewis (10), and Andrew Chrabascz (10). Butler out-rebounded, Marquette, 32-28.

After two games in less than 48 hours, the Bulldogs are off until a Saturday contest in Chicago against DePaul. The 2 p.m. (Eastern) tip will air nationally on FS1.