A decisive first-half Xavier run and 20 turnovers by Butler led the host Musketeers to a 76-63 win Tuesday night at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
 
With the win, Xavier improves to 17-10 (9-7 BIG EAST). The Bulldogs are now 12-14 on the season.
 
KEY STRETCH: A 22-2 run turned a 19-19 tie with 12:23 remaining in the first half into a 41-21 Xavier advantage at the 6:25 mark.
 
OF NOTE:

• Xavier held a 48-31 halftime lead; Butler never was able to trim the advantage to less than 13 points in the second half.
• Ryan Conwell and Zach Freemantle led a balanced Musketeer scoring effort with 14 points apiece; Dailyn Swain and Dayvion McKnight each scored 13.
• Butler's 20 turnovers included 14 Xavier steals, including a game-high six from Swain.
• Jahmyl Telfort led Butler with a game-high 20 points; he made eight of his 11 attempts from the field. It marked his tenth 20-point game of the season.
• Butler held a 38-33 rebounding edge, led by a career-high 13 boards from Boden Kapke.
• Pierre Brooks II and Finley Bizjack each scored 14 points for Butler.
• Butler actually shot a higher percentage from the field than Xavier (43.6 to 42.6), but the Musketeers were able to attempt 13 more shots due to the Butler turnovers.
• Xavier held a 19-8 advantage in fast break points. Xavier entered the game averaging 15.7 fast break points per game, which ranked tenth in the nation.
• The loss snaps the Bulldogs' three-game winning streak. Butler and Xavier (now winners of three straight) were the only two BIG EAST teams with multiple-game winning streaks entering the game. 
• Butler and Xavier are scheduled to conclude the home-and-home regular season series March 5 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs continue their Midwest tour of BIG EAST rivals, traveling to Chicago for a Saturday night tip against DePaul. The 8 p.m. (Eastern, 7 p.m. Central) game at Wintrust Arena will air on FS1, while fans can also listen in to Butler Basketball Live as Mark Minner and Nick Gardner call the action.