Bulldogs Fall Short 80-70 After Leading Marquette In Big East Opener

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MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — The Butler Bulldogs gave a strong effort in their opening game of Big East play on Wednesday against number-9 Marquette, but a second-half rally came up short as they lost 80-to-70.

It was not for lack of trying as the Bulldogs actually led for 19:06 of the first half, ending the opening stanza with a 35-32 advantage.

But, Marquette came out of the locker room strong to open the second half, forcing three Butler turnovers in the first four possessions, which led to an 8-0 run and a 40-35 Marquette lead with 17:41 remaining.

Butler’s final push came with back-to-back three-pointers that cut the lead to six at 73-67, but Stevie Mitchell answered with an And-1 to return the lead to nine with 1:38 remaining in the contest.

The Bulldogs had no answer for Kam Jones Eagles throughout the game as he came away with 23 points leading the way for the Golden Eagles. Still, the Bulldogs shot well throughout the game going 51 percent from the field, including 9-for-22 from three-point range.

The Dawgs were led by Jahmyl Telfort who put together a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. It was his second career double-double performance.

The Bulldogs have lost four straight games and will return to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday to face UConn.