Butler overcame a late four-point deficit by not allowing Providence a point over the final two minutes of play, taking a 75-72 win over the Friars Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
 
The Bulldogs utilized a Pierre Brooks II driving finish with 19 seconds remaining to take the lead and Augusto Cassiá sealed the win with a block in the closing seconds.
 
With the win, Butler improves to 16-8 (7-6 BIG EAST). Providence falls to 15-9 (6-7).
 
HOW IT TRANSPIRED:

• Providence's only lead of the first half came at 5-4 less than five minutes into the contest.
• Butler's 7-0 run provided the Bulldogs with a 17-8 lead at the 11:41 mark of the first half, forcing a Providence timeout. The Bulldogs had forced misses on 10 of Providence's first 12 shots at that point in the contest.
• After Providence cut Butler's lead to just two at 27-25 with 3:02 remaining in the half, the Bulldogs closed the stanza on a 7-0 run to take a 34-25 halftime advantage.
• With 14:16 remaining, Butler led by 10 at 50-40. Providence countered with a 13-3 run to knot the game at 53-53 less than four minutes later.
• The Friars were able to build a seven-point lead (71-64) with 4:01 to play and led 72-68 before Jahmyl Telfort made a free throw with 1:14 to play and tracked down an offensive rebound after missing the second.
• Telfort and Brooks each scored on tough moves in the lane sandwiched around a Providence miss to take a 73-72 lead with 19 seconds to play.
• Cassiá turned away a dunk attempt by Corey Floyd, Jr., with three seconds to play in the key moment of the contest.

OF NOTE:

• Butler has won five of their last six games.
• Butler shot 52 percent from the field, including 60 percent in the second half.
• DJ Davis led Butler with 20 points, making six of his nine attempts from the field. It marked his fourth consecutive 20-point game.
• Davis pulled down a career-high eight rebounds, which led Butler to a 40-28 rebounding advantage.
• Posh Alexander made a run at his second triple-double of the season with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
• Telfort had 11 points and matched his career-high with eight assists.
• The Bulldogs were able to overcome and uncharacteristic 16 turnovers, the team's second-highest total of the season. However, only four of those turnovers came over the final 19 minutes.
• Floyd led Providence with 20 points, while Devin Carter added 18.
• Providence went 10-for-26 from three-point range, but hit eight of their first 10 attempts from behind the arc in the second half to overcome Butler's lead and take one of their own.
• Josh Oduro missed the game for Providence due to family reasons.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs continue a three-game homestand at Hinkle Fieldhouse with a Tuesday tip against Top 10 Marquette. A limited number of tickets still remain for the 6:30 p.m. tip, which will also air on FS1. A Saturday (Feb. 17) game at home against Creighton follows.