Butler 94, Marquette 83: Wojciechowski criticizes his team's effort

INDIANAPOLIS - Marquette was hit with a roundhouse punch by reeling Butler on Friday and the Golden Eagles couldn't get off the mat. 

And that left the Golden Eagles' head coach sorely displeased.

Senior forward Kelan Martin scored 37 points and the Bulldogs used a late run in the second half to snap a three-game conference losing streak with a 94-83 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse. 

"I thought Butler played with desperation," MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "They've had some outcomes recently that haven't gone in their favor and I thought they reacted with great passion, urgency and connectivity. 

"And our team didn't match that. And when you don't match that, especially against a team as well-coached as Butler, you get punished for it. And we got punished for it."

The game featured some wild swings.

BOX SCORE: Butler 94, Marquette 83

The Bulldogs (13-6, 3-3 Big East) hit their first five shots and later ripped off a 17-2 run to take a 37-24 lead with 3 minutes 24 seconds left in the first half.

The Golden Eagles (12-6, 3-3) showed some life by closing the first half with seven unanswered points to get within 44-38 at the break. 

MU kept battling to start the second half and eventually tied the game at 58 on a jumper by sophomore wing Sam Hauser.

Hauser hit 2 three-pointers and freshman guard Greg Elliott added another on three straight possessions as MU built a 67-60 lead with 10:06 remaining. 

The Golden Eagles seemed on the verge of breaking the game open and picking up a crucial road victory in the loaded Big East.

But Butler swung back with a 13-0 run that staggered MU and the Golden Eagles couldn't muster a response.

"I thought our guys took a deep breath," Wojciechowski said. "We were playing from behind the entire game and we made a run, which we are capable of doing. (Butler) called timeout. And I thought our guys let up on defense.

"I thought our guys did not have the level of competitiveness or toughness that's needed in this league for 40 minutes." 

Hauser was a bright spot for MU, matching his collegiate high by scoring 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 6 of 9 on three-pointers.

"They were switching a lot of ball screens, so I was trying to set a lot of ball screens to get a guard on me and then with a matchup with a shorter guy, try to take advantage of that," Hauser said. 

Hauser echoed his coach's sentiments about Butler's crushing run.

"They turned up the heat on us and we didn't respond very well coming out of the timeout," he said.

Senior guard Andrew Rowsey added 17 points for MU and sophomore guard Markus Howard had 14 but went scoreless in the first half due to the harassing defense of Butler's Kamar Baldwin.

"I was just chasing him off the three-point line, make him take contested twos. It was a team effort," Baldwin said.

MU had no such defensive luck with Martin, who shot 12 of 17 and made all nine of his free throws.

"He's a prototypical four, he creates such difficult matchups," Wojciechowski said. "Because if you put a smaller guy on him and try to crowd him, he can score in the post. If you put a big guy on him, they'll have a real hard time staying with him on the perimeter."

It was dispiriting effort for MU after having its best defensive performance of the season in the upset victory over Seton Hall at home Tuesday.

"Obviously, Butler played great and I give all the credit to them. But I am very disappointed in our team's competitive spirit and our toughness," Wojciechowski said. "And it is reflected primarily on the defensive end.

"Our last game we played a team that leads the conference in paint points and we held them to (64) points over a 40-minute span. And today we gave up 60 points in the paint. A lot of that has to do with how well Butler played. But we played a part in that, too. And for that, I'm disappointed."