Markus Howard's 17 Points Lead Marquette Past No. 19 Butler

MILWAUKEE (AP) Markus Howard scored 17 points and Brendan Bailey and Koby McEwen added 16 apiece to lead Marquette to a 76-57 victory over No. 19 Butler on Sunday.

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Marquette (17-6, 7-4 Big East) put the game away when McEwen hit back-to-back 3 pointers and Bailey followed with another to give the Golden Eagles a 62-45 lead with 6:09 remaining.

The victory avenged an 89-85 overtime loss at Butler on Jan. 24, Marquette's only loss in its last seven games.

Kamar Baldwin had 23 points and Bryce Nze added 14 for Butler (18-6, 6-5), which has lost five of eight after a 15-1 start.

Marquette went to the free-throw line 28 times, making 21, compared with 7 of 8 for Butler. The Golden Eagles also had 11 3-pointers, including four each by Bailey and McEwen, while the Bulldogs were just 4 of 20 from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles took their biggest lead of the first half at 34-23 when Jayce Johnson scored underneath to cap an 11-2 run. Marquette failed to add on, missing its final eight shots of the half to lead 34-26 at the break.

BIG PICTURE

Butler: The Bulldogs have lost five of their last eight. Butler's next two games are at home before traveling to No. 12 Seton Hall.

Marquette: Butler was the first of three straight ranked opponents. Games at No. 10 Villanova and home vs. No. 21 Creighton are next. The Golden Eagles defeated Villanova 71-60 earlier at home but lost at Creighton 92-75.

UP NEXT

Butler plays host to Xavier on Wednesday.

Marquette visits Villanova on Wednesday.