Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Butler 88, Marquette 80
When: 12:00 PM ET, Monday, January 16, 2017
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: # Jeff Clarke, # Mark Potter, # Mike Roberts
Attendance: 9100

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Butler basketball team got the message loud and clear from coach Chris Holtmann at halftime.

"At halftime Coach was very upset with us defensively and offensively in the first half," junior forward Kelan Martin said. "We know we could guard better. We had to take better shots, too. We had to keep attacking the rim. My mindset the whole game was to keep attacking the rim and try to get to the basket and get fouled or make the two-foot finishes."

Martin scored 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting to help No. 13 Butler rally from an 18-point deficit early in the second half to beat Marquette 88-80 in Big East action at Hinkle Fieldhouse Monday.

Freshman guard Kamar Baldwin added 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and senior Kethan Savage scored 17 for the Bulldogs (16-3, 5-2 Big East). Savage hit 9 of 11 from the foul line.

Marquette (12-6, 3-3) drilled 7 of 15 from 3-point range to take a 41-25 halftime lead. The Golden Eagles took their largest lead at 18 by hitting two throws in the opening minute of the second half.

Butler shot 70.4 percent from the field in the second half and didn't commit a turnover. The Bulldogs, who shot 36.7 percent in the first half, had four turnovers for the game.

"We put them in a position of adversity with the way we played in the first half," Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "When they met adversity they turned it up on defensively. I think Baldwin changed the game with his ball pressure. When we met adversity, we were hoping we hit a shot, and hope is not a strategy."

The Golden Eagles were 3 of 11 from 3-point range in the second half.

"That game was a roller coaster in a lot of ways," Holtmann said. "I don't want to take anything away from how Marquette executed in the first half. It was something. We just needed to respond and the guys really responded.

"Never in my years of coaching did we go off script as much as we did in the second half defensively. We had to because we were searching. We used pressure and we were way more active. We just played better."

Trailing 46-29, the Bulldogs went on an 11-0 tear to trim the gap to 46-40. Butler took its first lead of the game at 60-59 on a jumper by Martin with 8:24 to go. Avery Woodson followed with a 3-pointer to make it 63-59.

Marquette erased that with a 7-0 run to grab a 66-63 edge, but Butler kept up the pressure. Butler took the lead for good at 69-68 on Martin's basket with 4:43 left.

Butler was aided by the Golden Eagles' foul woes. Two starters, center Luke Fischer (two points, one rebound) and forward Sam Hauser, fouled out. The Bulldogs hit 23 of 30 free throws compared to Marquette's 14-of-18 effort at the foul line. The Bulldogs made 21 of 25 foul shots after intermission.

"Getting to the free throw line was critical and being at Hinkle was critical," Holtmann said of the comeback.

Freshman guard Markus Howard led five players in double figures for Marquette with 26 points, hitting 10 of 18 shots. Haanif Cheatham added 13 points. Hauser scored all 11 of his points in the first half, hitting all three 3s.

Howard scored 16 points in the first half on 7-of-12 shooting. Howard scored 12 of his points by hitting six of his first seven shots to give Marquette a 15-9 lead.

After Butler closed the deficit to 15-11, the Golden Eagles expanded the lead to 27-15 with 6:22 to go.

The Bulldogs answered with seven unanswered points to slice the lead to 27-22. The Golden Eagles quickly regained control by outscoring the Bulldogs 14-3 the rest of the half.

Butler will play at DePaul on Saturday while Marquette will play at No. 7 Creighton.

NOTES: Butler has won 14 consecutive home games, including 11-0 this season. ... Marquette and Butler met for the first time in 1922. The series is now tied at 18-all. ... Entering the game, Marquette guard Markus Howard was shooting 93.9 from the free throw line. His brother, Jordan, who plays at UCLA, is averaging 93.1 percent from the foul line. ... Prior to the game, Marquette was seventh in the nation with a 41.4 percentage from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles were averaging 83.9 points before the game. Marquette has averaged above 80 points for a season three times, the most recent was 81.7 in the 1970-71 season.
Top Game Performances
 
Marquette   Butler
Markus Howard 26 Scoring Kelan Martin 22
Haanif Cheatham 3 Assists Andrew Chrabascz 3
Haanif Cheatham 6 Rebounds Kelan Martin 7
Haanif Cheatham 4 Free Throws Made Kethan Savage 9
Luke Fischer 1 Steals Kamar Baldwin 2
Luke Fischer 2 Blocks Henry Baddley 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Marquette 80 48.3 10-26 14-18 11 23 2 3 7
Butler 88 52.6 5-13 23-30 10 31 4 3 4