Butler held visiting St. John's scoreless over the final 3:45 of the game to take a 68-66 come-from-behind win Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
 
The Bulldogs' closing 7-0 run gave Butler the 68-66 final margin with 1:31 to play as they were able to overcome two turnovers and two missed free throws in the final minute. A Joel Soriano bucket off an in-bounds play with less than a second on the clock was waved off after review, preventing overtime.
 
With the result, Butler improves to 12-13 overall and 4-10 in BIG EAST play. St. John's is now 14-11 (4-10 BIG EAST).
 
TOP DAWG:

• Sophomore Jayden Taylor had a game-high 19 points for the second consecutive game. He went 6-for-12 from the field with 13 of his points coming in the second half.

 
STAT OF THE NIGHT:

• Butler committed only 11 turnovers in the contest against St. John's pressure defense. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 22 times in the first match-up between the two teams this season, a St. John's win Jan. 10 in Queens.

 
HOW IT TRANSPIRED:

• St. John's shot 55 percent from the field in the first half to take a 41-34 halftime advantage.
• Two Jalen Thomas free throws capped a brief 9-3 spurt by the Bulldogs to pull within two at 58-56 with 6:05 remaining in the game.
• A Soriano dunk with 3:50 to play gave St. John's a 66-61 lead. From that point forward, the Red Storm would go scoreless and Butler would break a 66-66 tie when Manny Bates found a cutting Simas Lukosius for a layup with 1:31 to play.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Butler had 19 assists on 23 made field goals.
• Bates had 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. The four assists tied his career-high.
• Eight of Thomas's 10 points came in the second half, providing a much-needed spark for the Bulldogs.
• Butler shot only 41 percent from the field, but had a 21-6 advantage in free throw attempts. Butler made 14 of those.
• Ali Ali had a season-high eight rebounds for Butler.
• Posh Alexander led St. John's with 17 points. He added nine rebounds and six assists.
• Soriano had 11 points and 12 rebounds for another double-double.
• St. John's shot 49 percent for the game.
• Lukosius had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for Butler, while Myles Tate came off the bench for six first-half points.

 
OF NOTE:

• St. John's won the first match-up between the two teams this season, taking a 77-61 decision in Queens, N.Y., Jan. 10.
• Butler was without junior guard Chuck Harris for the second straight game as he works toward returning from a concussion sustained Jan. 28 against Seton Hall.
• This is Butler's first win of the season when trailing at the half. All 13 of their losses so far this season had included halftime deficits.
• It also marked Butler's first win of the season when the opponent shot a better percentage from the field than the Bulldogs. Butler was previously 0-13 when that occurred.
• The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Bulldogs.
• With his three blocks Tuesday, Bates now has 42 on the season and moves into seventh on Butler's single-season blocks list.
• Butler has won eight of the last nine meetings with St. John's that were played at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs continue their brief two-game homestand Friday, hosting No. 13 Xavier. The game is sold out. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and will air on FS1.