Stevie Mitchell scored 14 of his career-high 22 points in the second half to fuel No. 9 Marquette to a 78-69 victory over host Butler on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Mitchell made 9 of 14 shots from the floor to eclipse his previous career high of 21 points, set in the Golden Eagles’ win over Purdue on Nov. 19 and matched in a victory over Villanova on Friday.
Big East Player of the Week Kam Jones finished with 17 points despite sitting out a significant portion of the second half due to foul trouble.
David Joplin scored 14 points and Chase Ross added 12 for Marquette (18-3, 9-1 Big East), which outscored the Bulldogs 43-27 in the second half en route to winning for the ninth time in 10.
The Golden Eagles shot a robust 50.8 percent from the floor, held a decided 46-28 edge in points in the paint and committed just five turnovers.
Jahmyl Telfort sank all 11 of his free-throw attempts and finished with 24 points for Butler (9-12, 2-8), which has lost 11 of its last 13 games.
Patrick McCaffery added 12 points for the Bulldogs.
Telfort’s 3-point play pushed Butler’s lead to 10 points at 41-31, but the Golden Eagles trimmed their deficit to seven at intermission and then scored the first six points of the second half.
Jones sank a 3-pointer to give Marquette a 49-48 lead with 13:59 remaining in the second half, but he committed his fourth foul of the game on the ensuing possession.
The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 61-52 after Mitchell made a 3-pointer and a layup before Tre Norman converted from in close with 9:36 remaining in the second half.
Butler closed to within seven with 56 seconds left before Ross made a layup to effectively seal the win.
Marquette jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Butler answered with a 14-0 run to seize control of the game. McCaffery nailed two 3-pointers in the surge, and Finley Bizjack and Telfort had one each.
–Field Level Media