Butler overcame an 18-point first half deficit and got 34 points from senior Kelan Martin, but it wasn't enough as No. 5 Xavier was able to out-last the Bulldogs for a 98-93 overtime win Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Xavier improves to 22-3 on the season and 10-2 in BIG EAST play. Butler falls to 17-8 and 7-5 in the league as its four-game winning streak is snapped.

Butler's heorics pushed the game into overtime. It was in the extra session that two Kamar Baldwin free throws cut the Xavier lead to 92-90 with 50 seconds to play. As the shot clock ran down for Xavier, Trevon Bluiett hit a contested three-pointer that gave Xavier a 95-90 lead with 25 seconds to play en route to the final margin.

"This is a difficult one to swallow," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "Hinkle was electric and our guys fought. I'm proud of how we competed and how we gave ourselves a chance to win. This was a game where you had to keep responding. Our guys did it and their guys did too. The spirit we had tonight, we'll take that every time. We just came out on the wrong end of this one tonight."

A 25-2 run by Xavier gave the visitors a 29-11 lead with 9:14 to play. At that point in the game, Xavier had hit 12 of its 16 attempts. Butler would chip away at the margin, getting it as low as eight in the waning minutes of the first half before Xavier took a 40-30 halftime lead.

The lead was cut to one (48-47) six minutes into the second half on a Sean McDermott three-pointer. Another McDermott three gave Butler a 52-50 advantage with 12:47 remaining in regulation. It was Butler's first lead since 9-8. Butler's lead would grow to as many as six as Martin led the offensive attack with 25 points in the second half.

Keyed by 14 made free throws over the next six minutes, Xavier rallied to take a 77-73 lead with 2:32 to play. After a Butler miss, Bluiett's three-pointer gave the visitors an 80-73 lead with 1:57 to play.

The teams would trade free throws before McDermott hit back-to-back three-pointers sandwiched around a Xavier turnover to pull Butler within one at 82-81 with 45 seconds to play. Xavier's Kerem Kanter scored to push the lead back to three before Baldwin tied things up with a three-pointer of his own with 13 seconds to play. Butler was able to force a Xavier miss and send the game to overtime.

Martin's 34 points came on 10-of-19 shooting, including a career-high six three-pointers. He made all eight of his trips to the free throw line and played all 45 minutes.

McDermott tied his career-high with 17 points. He went 5-of-6 from behind the arc. Baldwin had 16 points and four assists. Butler was 14-of-31 from three-point range, hitting 10 in the second half. Including a 61-percent shooting percentage in the second half, the Bulldogs shot 53 percent from the field.

Bluiett had 26 points and went 6-of-7 from long range. Kanter added 22. Xavier shot 59 percent and made 10 three-pointers. The largest advantage came at the free throw line where the Musketeers went 24-of-28.

The Bulldogs travel to No. 1-ranked Villanova Saturday, looking for a season sweep against the Wildcats. The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX at Noon. Butler then returns home, hosting the next three games at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Those are the final three home games of the season and limited tickets are available for each game.