Kelan Martin’s big day leads Butler past DePaul

The Butler Bulldogs extended their winning streak over the DePaul Blue Demons to nine straight games Saturday, as the Bulldogs picked up an 80-57 win over the Blue Demons in Indianapolis.

After an early back and forth game, Butler got the lead for good with about 13 minutes to play in the first half and cruised to the victory. The Bulldogs had a 40-30 lead at the half, and did an excellent job containing Eli Cain and Max Strus on the day. Strus and Cain combined for just nine points on 1-14 shooting.

Kelan Martin continued his stretch of excellent play with a game-high 26 points, recording his seventh 20+ point performance of Big East play. Martin was also Butler’s assist and rebound leader Saturday, with six of each.

Marin Maric led DePaul with 15 points, his highest scoring output since returning from an injury suffered January 15 against Marquette.

Butler also got double-digit contributions from Paul Jorgensen (13), Kamar Baldwin (10), and Sean McDermott (10).

The Bulldogs improve to 17-7 (7-4) and have won four straight games. They’ll host Xavier on Tuesday night.

DePaul falls to 9-13 (2-8). They host Creighton Wednesday night.