Butler made its final six attempts from the field, including a contested Simas Lukosius banked-in three-pointer with six seconds remaining, to take a 73-71 win over DePaul Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

The freshman Lukosius finished with a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Butler was able to erase a nine-point second-half lead by the Blue Demons in a game that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes.

The Bulldogs played without starters Bo Hodges (muscle strain) and Bryce Nze (knee), who both sustained injuries in Saturday's win over Marquette. Butler improves to 13-13 on the season and 6-9 in BIG EAST play.

Lukosius's three-pointer gave Butler a 72-69 lead. The Bulldogs then fouled, and DePaul sank two free throws before fouling Chuck Harris with three seconds to play. His first free throw gave Butler a 73-71 lead, but he missed the second free throw. Lukosius grabbed the offensive rebound, and time eventually expired.

Butler shot 50 percent from the field, but only 5-for-19 from three-point range. But over the closing minutes, the Bulldogs were able to make three of their final five attempts from behind the arc, the first of that stretch coming from Lukosius with 9:02 to play as Butler first encountered a nine-point DePaul lead.

Harris scored 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Jayden Taylor (12) and Aaron Thompson (11) also found double figures. 

DePaul (12-12, 3-11) featured five in double figures. The Blue Demons had a 36-31 advantage on the glass, including 18 offensive rebounds.

The Bulldogs scored the final six points of the first half to knot the game at 35-35 as the teams entered their respective locker rooms. Butler was able to overcome eight early turnovers and six DePaul three-pointers over the first 20 minutes to claw back into a game that saw the Blue Demons lead by eight (34-26) at one point after a 13-2 run. Harris scored 12 of his points in the first half. Butler only had two second-half turnovers.

Butler won the first match-up between the teams Dec. 29 by a score of 63-59 in Indianapolis.

DePaul's Javon Freeman-Liberty returned to the Blue Demons' line-up after missing the team's past seven games with a groin injury.

Butler returns to action Friday at St. John's. The game is a rescheduled contest originally set for Dec. 23 when the Red Storm were dealing with COVID issues within their program. Friday's tip in Queens, N.Y. will air at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.