Butler's Kelan Martin was the focal point of the No. 18 Bulldogs' 83-78 Crossroads Classic victory against No. 9 Indiana on Saturday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse at Indianapolis, but his most valuable moment came as a decoy at the suggestion of teammate Andrew Chrabascz.
After Indiana's James Blackmon, Jr., sank a 3-pointer to slice the Hoosiers' deficit to 79-77, Butler coach Chris Holtmann called his final timeout to set up a play.
Chrabascz interjected an idea for a play that would use Martin as a decoy.
"At the time, it just seemed like a pretty good idea," Chrabascz said. "It was just a spur of the moment thing. I just put something out there."
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Point guard Tyler Lewis looked at Martin as Lewis inbounded the ball to a wide open Tyler Widemen for a dunk that essentially sealed the victory with 15.6 seconds to go.
"That was a smart call on (Chrabascz') part, because Kelan did demand a lot of attention late," Holtmann said.
Martin scored 28 points, including five 3-pointers, and Butler held off a late rally.
Kamar Baldwin and Chrabascz each added 14 points for the Bulldogs (10-1), who have beaten fellow Top 25 members Arizona, Cincinnati and Indiana (8-2).
Blackmon Jr. led Indiana with 26 points. Lewis sank two free throws with 10.6 seconds to go to account for the final score.
Butler improved to 5-1 in the Crossroads Classic and 11-3 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, only several miles south of the Butler campus.
Indiana outrebounded Butler 42-26, but the Hoosiers were guilty of 13 turnovers, seven more than the Bulldogs. Butler shot 46.6 percent from the field, including making 10 of 21 from 3-point range. Indiana shot 44.1 percent but was only 6 of 21 from beyond the arc.
"When (3-pointers) aren't falling, we have to have something else going for us," Blackmon, Jr. said. "In the first half, we didn't have them going."
A 6-0 run, including four points from Chrabascz, gave Butler a 68-55 lead with just more than nine minutes remaining. Indiana mounted a comeback, pulling to within 73-69 on a Blackmon 3-pointer with 3:50 left.
Martin scored 16 first-half points, including nine during a 10-0 run to finish the opening 20 minutes and give Butler a 42-28 lead at intermission.
While Blackmon had 10 and Bryant added eight for Indiana during first-half action, the Hoosiers were 0 of 8 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Butler was 7 of 14 from beyond the arc before halftime, including five during the final nine minutes.
"The most disappointing thing for me was our shot challenging," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "I don't even need to look at the film. Simply having a hand up is not good enough at this level. We just didn't guard well enough to win."
NOTES: Butler has the best record in the Crossroads Classic at 5-1, including 3-0 vs. Purdue. ... The Bulldogs and Hoosiers came in a combined 17-2 with Butler losing by a point at Indiana State and Indiana losing in overtime at Fort Wayne. ... Before playing the Bulldogs, the Hoosiers were the Big Ten's highest scoring team at 87.6 points per game. ... Indiana welcomed the return of F O.G. Anunoby, who missed three consecutive games with an ankle sprain suffered in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge win against North Carolina. ... Butler entered allowing only 62 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot only 41.5 percent from the field. ... Butler F Andrew Chrabascz became a 1,000-point career scorer during the first half.
