MILWAUKEE _ Time and time again it has been Marquette's defense that has let its offense down. On Tuesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, it was the other way around in a 68-65 loss to No. 21 Butler.
The Golden Eagles (15-9, 6-6 Big East), who trailed by seven at halftime, battled back on the strength of their defense. Butler opened the second half 4 of 14 from the field and Marquette rallied, getting a 3-pointer by senior Jajuan Johnson with 10 minutes 33 seconds left to take its first lead of the night.
The Bulldogs (19-5, 8-4) regained control two minutes later and never trailed again, though for the Golden Eagles it wasn't due to a lack of opportunities.
After Johnson's go-ahead shot, Marquette committed five turnovers and went 5 of 16 from the field. Many of those misses came at crunch time as the Golden Eagles went 3:45 without a point, ending with a pair of free throws by freshman Markus Howard with 37.3 seconds remaining.
Marquette found multiple ways to come up empty on the offensive end during that stretch of futility that started after a 3-pointer by Howard cut the deficit to two points with 4:22 left.
Following a layup by Butler's Andrew Chrabascz, part of a stretch in which the senior scored eight straight points, Johnson had a pass stolen by Chrabascz. That's when both teams went cold. The Golden Eagles got four straight stops on defense but didn't capitalize. The Bulldogs had seven of their 13 turnovers and put up just 28 points after halftime.
With Marquette trailing by four, Johnson missed a floater late in the shot clock and senior center Luke Fischer couldn't corral the rebound and was the last to touch it on the way out of bounds. Johnson then came up with a steal but immediately gave it back. On Marquette's next possession, Howard missed a contested 3-pointer.
Those empty possessions proved costly when Chrabascz ended Butler's 2 {-minute drought with a pair of free throws. Graduate transfer Katin Reinhardt tried to halve the margin quickly. He was tasked with starting the offense and called his own number, firing a long 3-pointer that missed the mark. Chrabascz added a layup at the other end to put Butler up eight with less than a minute to go, part of his 21-point night that included 13 in the second half.
The game only got close thanks to a 3-pointer by Howard with 1 second remaining.
Fischer led Marquette with 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks but missed a pair of free throws with 5:06 left and his team down by three. Howard chipped in 19 points, including five 3-pointers and seven points in the final minute, but went 1 of 6 from inside the arc _ all five of his misses were blocked shots.
Marquette got off to a slow start, falling behind by as many as 11 in the first half. During a period of five minutes late in the half, Butler made seven consecutive shots, including four straight 3-pointers. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles put up points in fits and starts, coming alive as halftime drew nearer, but they couldn't match the Bulldogs' efficiency and trailed, 40-33, at the intermission.
Avery Woodson, who got the start for the Bulldogs in place of Kelan Martin, who sat for the first half due to a coaching decision, led all scorers in the opening frame with 15 of his 17 points. Marquette got 11 from Fischer as the Golden Eagles, one of the most balanced scoring teams around, got nothing from starters Johnson and Haanif Cheatham as well as zero points off the bench from backup point guard Andrew Rowsey in 10 minutes.
The loss was Marquette's third in the past four games since knocking off then-No. 1 Villanova.
