CINCINNATI -- The Butler Bulldogs have plenty of basketball yet to play, but coach Chris Holtmann doesn't want to diminish what his team accomplished this week with road wins against No. 2 Villanova and Xavier.
"At some point, the guys will look back at this week and be incredibly proud of what they have done," Holtmann said. "It's an incredible accomplishment to come on the road and get two wins against quality opponents. I don't want them to brush that aside."
On Sunday afternoon, Kelan Martin scored 25 points and Kamar Baldwin added 17 as No. 22 Butler won its fourth straight with an 88-79 victory over Xavier at Cintas Center.
Andrew Chrabascz added 11 points and six assists for Butler (23-6, 12-5 Big East), helping the Bulldogs clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big East Conference tournament.
The Bulldogs were in a dogfight with the Musketeers for much of the game before pulling away late. The contest featured 17 lead changes and seven ties.
Butler scored 19 points of 11 Xavier turnovers, four of which were forced in the final three minutes as the Bulldogs closed the game on a 19-8 run.
"We started hedging more," Martin said. "We had active hands, and that's what caused those turnovers. We did a pretty good job with that."
Trevon Bluiett scored 21 points in his second game since returning from an ankle injury, and J.P. Macura added 17 for Xavier (18-11, 8-8). The Musketeers lost their fifth consecutive games, their longest losing streak since the 1981-82 season.
"We have a choice," Musketeers coach Chris Mack said. "We can either feel sorry for ourselves or be resilient enough to change the outcome (of our season). It was a tough loss today."
The Musketeers have gone 3-5 since losing point guard Edmond Sumner to a season-ending knee injury, but for a while it appeared they might get a significant Big East win on Sunday.
Xavier went on a 12-2 run in the first half capped by Sean O'Mara's dunk off an assist from Macura to give them a 24-19 lead. Xavier made seven consecutive field-goal attempts in one stretch.
Baldwin's jumper beat the halftime buzzer, putting the Bulldogs ahead 38-37 at the end of a first half that featured seven lead changes and three ties.
With Xavier already playing thin at guard, foul trouble became an issue for the Musketeers when point Quentin Goodin and Macura each had three fouls with 15:45 left. Xavier still managed to make a run late in the second half.
Macura's steal and dunk with 5:43 left put the Musketeers ahead 71-69 and brought the crowd of 10,312 to its feet.
However, Butler had an answer for every Xavier run, and the Musketeers self-destructed late in the game with a flurry of turnovers.
Back-to-back giveaways by Xavier led to baskets by Martin and Baldwin, and the Bulldogs led 78-72 with 3:19 left.
"Our activity was really good," Holtmann said. "Obviously, with Sumner out, that changed the way we defended them. They have a terrific young point guard (Goodin), but obviously, he's young. We tried to mix things up on ball screen coverage."
Goodin, a freshman who has taken over point guard duties since Sumner's injury, scored 11 points and handed out seven assists but also committed six turnovers.
Senior guard Malcolm Bernard stepped up for Xavier with a career-high 13 points and three steals, but it was all for naught as Butler scored 50 points and went 5 of 12 from 3-point range in the second half.
"Credit Butler," Bernard said. "They hit some big shots to help swing the game in their favor. No one wants to lose. We are still fighting to make sure we're safe as far as the NCAA Tournament."
NOTES:
-- Butler won at Cintas Center for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
-- Xavier leads the all-time series 37-20 and had won four straight before losing twice to Butler this season. Xavier dropped to 5-2 versus Butler at Cintas Center.
-- Butler has hit 10 or more 3-pointers seven time this season and is 7-0 in those games. They Bulldogs hit eight from long range on Sunday.
