INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Stevie Mitchell scored 10 of his career-high 22 points during a key five-minute stretch in the second half, helping No. 9 Marquette overcome Kam Jones' foul trouble to beat Butler 78-69 on Tuesday night.
Mitchell finished 9 of 14 from the field and also had five rebounds.
The Golden Eagles (18-3, 9-1 Big East) won their third straight to stay tied with No. 15 St. John's atop the league standings despite losing Jones, their best player, for nearly 10 minutes after drawing his fourth foul with 13:32 to play. Jones finished with 17 points.
Jahmyl Telfort scored 24 points for Butler (9-12, 2-8). Patrick McCaffery added 12 as the Bulldogs lost for the 10th time in 12 games.
Butler controlled most of the first half and led 42-35 at halftime. Jones helped Marquette move into the lead early in the second half. But when he drew his fourth foul, Mitchell scored seven points in a 12-3 run that gave Marquette a 61-52 lead with 9:37 left. He later added another 3-pointer to make it 64-54.
Takeaways
Marquette: Coach Shaka Smart's team showed some real grit after Jones went to the bench. It could be an indication these Golden Eagles are built to last in the postseason.
Butler: The Bulldogs looked like they were on the cusp of getting back to .500 over the previous three games. But they took a step backward with a poor second half.
Key moment
With Jones out, Marquette turned up the defensive pressure and didn't allow a basket for nearly five minutes.
Key stat
Butler was 5 of 10 on 3-pointers in the first half but 1 of 12 in the second half.
Up next
Marquette welcomes No. 25 Connecticut, the two-time defending national champ, to Milwaukee on Saturday. Butler will try to rebound Friday at Georgetown.
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