First-year forward Oso Ighodaro (13) attempts to block a shot against the Butler Bulldogs on Tuesday night. Ighodaro had two points and one steal in 10 minutes of action (Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics.)

The Marquette Golden Eagles defeated the Butler Bulldogs by a score of 70-67 on Tuesday night. It was the team’s first win since Jan. 16, and its first win at home since Jan. 12.

After trailing by 17 with just over 10 minutes left in the second half, Butler battled back behind the efforts of first-year guard Chuck Harris, redshirt junior guard Bo Hodges and redshirt senior forward Bryce Nze. The trio combined for 44 points on the night and Hodges was a menace on the glass, hauling in 12 rebounds.

The Golden Eagles hung on despite being outscored 46-37 in the second half. First-year forward Dawson Garcia and redshirt senior Koby McEwen both had strong scoring performances in the final 20 minutes of play. Garcia had 11 points following the half, and McEwen posted 10.

With the win, Marquette improves to .500 on the season and is now 6-6 at home. MU has one more game at home before beginning a five-game road trip on Feb. 10.

GAME MVP: 

Sophomore guard D.J. Carton was effective in all facets of the game on Tuesday night. The Ohio State transfer had 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and turned the ball over just twice in his 35 minutes on the floor. He went 6-for-7 from the field and made his only 3-point attempt of the evening.

This was Carton’s 13th double-digit scoring performance this season. The sophomore guard also had his best rebounding performance of the year, topping his seven-rebound performance against EIU back on Nov. 27.

NOTES:

• Marquette shot 62% from the field, its best shooting performance of the season.
• After scoring zero points against St. John’s on Sunday, the Golden Eagles once again had minimal production from the bench. Sophomore guard Symir Torrence, first-year Oso Ighodaro, redshirt junior guard Greg Elliott and redshirt first-year Dexter Akanno combined for just five points, four rebounds and three assists.
• First-year forward Dawson Garcia and senior forward Theo John both fouled out, allowing first-year forward Oso Ighodaro to see an increased role. He had two points and one steal in his 10 minutes of play.
• With the loss, Butler falls to 5-10 and has lost three straight games.
• First-year guard Chuck Harris was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs. He had 16 points, one rebound and one assist off the bench.
• Butler had a strong 3-point shooting performance, going 10-for-23 (44%) from deep. The team struggled at the charity stripe, converting just 13 of their 25 free throw attempts.

NEXT UP: 

Marquette will face No. 15 Creighton at 4 p.m. Central Standard Time on Saturday in Milwaukee. The game will be telecasted on Fox.

This story was written by Nick Galle. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @thenickgalle.