Box Score

Butler overcame another large first half deficit to post a 70-69 overtime win over DePaul Saturday afternoon at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. With the win, the No. 13-ranked Bulldogs improve to 17-3 overall and 6-2 in BIG EAST play. DePaul is now 8-12 (1-6).

"DePaul played really well, and we were fortunate to win this one," said coach Chris Holtmann. "We did some things to hurt ourselves, but DePaul had a lot to do with that. We had some unbelievable fan support today (as Butler had a large contingent of Chicagoland alumni at Allstate Arena). It's not easy to win on the road in this league, especially against a team that was as hungry as DePaul was today."

The Bulldogs would need similar heroics to recent second-half comebacks as DePaul jumped out to early leads of 16-2 and 25-5 as the Blue Demons hit six of their first seven attempts from behind the arc after entering the game averaging only 5.1 makes per game.

The Bulldogs responded with a 16-1 run to get within 26-21 and then closed with an 8-1 spurt for the 33-31 halftime deficit. It was Butler's sixth straight game trailing at the half, but the Bulldogs have responded to win five of those contests.  

The second half became more of a dogfight as Butler worked to overcome a 36-percent shooting day. It was a season-low for the Bulldogs.

In overtime, Billy Garrett gave DePaul a 66-65 with two free throws with 44 seconds to play. Kamar Baldwin answered with a three-pointer 20 seconds later for a two-point Butler lead. Garrett then tied it with a score in the lane and hit the ensuing And-1 free throw for a 69-68 lead.

Holtmann put the ball in Baldwin's hands and the freshman delivered. He got in the lane and was fouled. He made the two free throws for a 70-69 lead. Garrett's contested heave from 25 feet at the buzzer was no good and Butler escaped with the road conference win.

Kethan Savage led Butler with 20 points, a season and Bulldog-high for him. Baldwin added 18 points and Kelan Martin had 12. The Bulldogs got 32 points off the bench compared to just four by the home team.

Butler took its first lead of the game at 36-35 on a Tyler Lewis three-pointer just 83 seconds into the second half. DePaul quickly responded to get the lead to 50-41 with 14:18 to play. An eight-minute drought from the field by the Bulldogs helped DePaul to a 57-50 with 7:25 to play. The Bulldogs turned up the defense at that point and DePaul scoreless over the next five minutes.

An Avery Woodson three-pointer gave Butler a 58-57 win with 2:14 to play. Two DePaul free throws and one by Butler sent the game to overtime at 59-59 as neither team was able to convert offensively down the stretch.

The Bulldogs out-rebounded DePaul, 44-41, and committed only six turnovers in the 45 minutes of play. Tyler Wideman had eight rebounds for Butler. The Blue Demons shot 39 percent on the afternoon, cooling off as the game progressed. Eli Cain had 32 for DePaul, including 21 in the first half. Garrett added 16 points.

The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday with a road contest at Seton Hall. The 8:30 p.m. tip will air nationally on FS1.

NOTES: Butler has now won 17 straight games on the road against Chicagoland teams (DePaul, Northwestern, Loyola and UIC) dating back to 2007.