Butler erased all of a 19-point deficit, then fell to a fifth loss in six Big East basketball games after Xavier pulled away to an 85-71 victory Tuesday night at the Cintas Center.

Butler (11-7, 2-5) will try to climb back in its next two games against the conference’s bottom two teams: DePaul on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse and at Georgetown next Tuesday.

Desmond Claude scored 26 points, Dayvion McKnight 20 and Quincy Olivari 15 for Xavier (9-8, 2-3).

Pierre Brooks II scored 22 and Posh Alexander a season-high 21 (19 in second half) for Butler. Jalen Thomas added 11 points and 10 rebounds despite being limited to 22 minutes by foul trouble.

Alexander scored the last 11 points of a 13-0 run that sent the Bulldogs ahead 60-58 midway through the second half. In the first half, they trailed 46-27.

The Bulldogs’ all-time record against Xavier at Cincinnati is 5-28.

Three takeaways:

Bulldogs suffer from lapses

Perhaps the Bulldogs developed an unwarranted confidence after a hot start. Brooks scored 12 points in the first four minutes, then rarely touched the ball for the rest of the half.

Xavier went on a 24-2 run to turn a six-point deficit into a 35-19 lead, and later went on an 11-0 run. In the second half, after erasing a 19-point deficit to go ahead 60-58, the Bulldogs were outscored 13-0.

Stunningly, that is three spurts in which the Bulldogs were outscored 48-2.

In the first half,  Xavier shot 10-of-12 from the field as Butler was shooting 0-of-12.

Are they awgs? No ‘D’

Defense has been a season-long deficiency for the Bulldogs, but it was egregious during those spurts. Once they allowed Xavier to become comfortable, it was like shootaround.

Jahmyl Telfort and Alexander are capable defenders. But collectively, connectedness is lacking. In transition, the Bulldogs lost track of shooters and were outscored 30-11.

Stars are not shining

For the Bulldogs, it takes a village, and they declined after Brooks sat in the first half.

Telfort, a transfer from Northeastern, has struggled in adjusting to the Big East from the Colonial Athletic Association. He was 3-of-15 at Xavier and is shooting 30% in seven Big East games.

After scoring 69 points over three games, DJ Davis has totaled 10 in the past three on 2-of-20 shooting. He was 0-of-8 at Xavier.

Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

XAVIER 85, BUTLER 71

BUTLER (11-7): Telfort 3-16 4-4 10, Thomas 5-6 1-2 11, Alexander 7-14 4-5 21, Davis 0-8 2-2 2, Brooks 7-15 3-6 22, Bizjack 1-3 0-0 2, Screen 1-5 1-2 3, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Kapke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-68 15-21 71.

XAVIER (9-8): Nemeiksa 3-5 0-0 7, Ousmane 3-6 2-4 9, Claude 9-18 8-8 26, McKnight 7-12 5-5 20, Olivari 5-12 0-0 15, Swain 0-3 0-0 0, Green 3-5 0-0 8, Ciani 0-2 0-2 0, Djokovic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-64 15-19 85.

Halftime—Xavier 46-32. 3-Point Goals_Butler 8-24 (Brooks 5-9, Alexander 3-5, Thomas 0-1, Bizjack 0-2, Telfort 0-3, Davis 0-4), Xavier 10-21 (Olivari 5-8, Green 2-2, Nemeiksa 1-1, McKnight 1-2, Ousmane 1-2, Djokovic 0-1, Swain 0-1, Claude 0-4). Rebounds_Butler 31 (Thomas 10), Xavier 41 (Ousmane 11). Assists_Butler 17 (Alexander 5), Xavier 20 (Olivari 5). Total Fouls_Butler 19, Xavier 16.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball vs. Xavier: Ice-cold Bulldogs fall to Musketeers