Bryce Golden finished with a career-high 22 points and Butler held off a potential late-game comeback as it upset visiting No. 18 Marquette 85-79 in Indianapolis to snap a three-game losing streak.
Despite once trailing by 21 late in the first half, the Golden Eagles (16-9, 8-6 Big East) battled all the way back and found themselves down by just four with 4:44 left to play, but the Bulldogs held strong to take down their conference foes for the first time since Jan. 24, 2020.
Golden paced Butler (12-13, 5-9) on 7-of-12 shooting, and Chuck Harris chipped in 15 points and five assists. Bo Hodges logged his first double-double of the season, notching 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Justin Lewis had a game-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. Tyler Kolek contributed 17 points, Greg Elliott had 13 off the bench and Darryl Morsell collected nine.
The Bulldogs got off to a blistering start, opening the game on a 31-11 run over the first 10 minutes of action. They sunk six of their first 10 shots from behind the arc and also dominated on the glass, hauling in 13 rebounds compared to the Golden Eagles’ three.
Marquette could not make much of a dent in the lead by the end of the half, as Butler went into the break with a 42-27 edge. It was its largest lead at halftime in Big East play this season. Golden had 10 points, and Bryce Nze and Hodges each added nine.
Lewis led all scorers with 12 points, but no other Golden Eagle finished with more than four points through the 20 minutes of play. Marquette also struggled from 3-point range, going just 3-for-13 (23.1 percent).
After a layup from Nze and a pair of 3-pointers from Simas Lukosius pushed the lead back up to 18 with 14:18 left to play, Marquette put together a 19-6 run to bring things within five. Elliott had seven points during the surge.
Despite winning eight of its last 11 games, the Golden Eagles have now dropped their last three on the road.
–Field Level Media
