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Xavier 73, No. 19 Butler 56: Myles Davis scored 18 points as the host Musketeers never trailed in earning a split of the Big East regular-season series.

Trevon Bluiett added 11 points for Xavier (18-10, 8-7 Big East), which won for the fourth time in its last five games. The Musketeers, who also received nine points and 11 rebounds from Jalen Reynolds and eight points and 11 boards from James Farr, shot 51.7 percent from the field in the second half – including 6-of-9 from 3-point range – and finished with a 39-35 rebound advantage.

Roosevelt Jones had 14 points to lead Butler (19-8, 9-5), which fell for the second time in three outings in suffering its most lopsided loss of the season. Alex Barlow added 10 points while Kameron Woods had seven points and nine rebounds, but the Bulldogs shot 35.1 percent from the floor and saw leading scorer Kellen Dunham finish with nine points – only his second game this season in single digits.

Xavier, which led 33-22 at the break, connected on three 3-pointers – including a pair from Davis – in starting the second half with a 15-6 run to open up a 48-28 lead with a little more than 15 minutes to play. The Musketeers’ advantage eventually grew to 71-42 following a J.P. Macura 3-pointer with 5:49 remaining, but the overwhelmed Bulldogs were able to make it look a little more respectable with a 14-2 game-ending run.

Xavier jumped in front 12-4 to open the game and grabbed its biggest lead of the first half at 33-20 on Davis’ two free throws with 37 seconds remaining. Butler hit only 7-of-29 shots from the field during the opening 20 minutes and had one field goal in the final 4:20 of the period as the Musketeers closed the half on a 10-4 run to take the 11-point lead into intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Xavier improved to 4-1 against ranked opponents this season. … Davis went 0-for-2 from the field and didn’t score in the first meeting – an 88-76 Butler home win on Jan. 10. … The Bulldogs have allowed 70 or more points five times in 27 games this season with the Musketeers accounting for two of them.