Jahmyl Telfort had 18 points to lead four players in double figures for Butler, which snapped a three-game home losing streak with a 72-66 victory over Xavier on Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Posh Alexander had 16 points, Pierre Brooks scored 14 and DJ Davis added 11 for the Bulldogs (18-13, 9-11 Big East), who used a 17-0 first-half run to take control and eventually win their second straight following a five-game skid.
The Bulldogs, 4-5 at home after starting 8-0 at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, shot just 41 percent overall, but held Xavier (15-15, 9-10) to 37.3 percent shooting on the night.
Desmond Claude 17 points for the Musketeers, who scored 42 second-half points to make things interesting but finished with 15 turnovers. Xavier had won two straight following a four-game losing streak.
Dayvion McKnight and Quincy Olivari each scored 13 for Xavier.
Claude’s 3-pointer gave Xavier a 4-3 lead before Butler scored the next 17 points. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Brooks and two straight inside buckets from Telfort highlighted that run for the Bulldogs, who made eight of their first 10 shots — going 4-for-5 from long distance — to open the game.
Though a 10-2 spurt, featuring five points from Claude, got the Musketeers within eight points, Butler regained control and eventually went up 37-20 on a Finley Bizjack’s layup with 4:46 left in the opening half.
The Bulldogs, who held a 13-point advantage at the break, didn’t score again until Telfort’s basket with 13:29 left in the second half. Butler missed its last nine shots of the first half and its first nine shots of the second half.
Xavier wasn’t much better, though, going 2-for-18 in roughly the same span. After scoring the final four points of the first half, the Musketeers put up the first eight in the second half to get within 37-32.
The Musketeers trailed 53-48 with nine minutes remaining in the game before Alexander recorded a steal and layup then sank a corner 3-pointer. Telfort followed with a fallaway jumper and Brooks sank a layup to cap a 9-0 run for a 62-48 Butler lead.
The contest was Butler’s regular-season finale. Xavier plays host to No. 8 Marquette on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
