Simas Lukosius came off the bench to score 15 points to help lift Butler to a 63-59 win over DePaul on Wednesday in the first Big East Conference game of the season for both teams.
Jayden Taylor had 13 points for Butler (8-4). Chuck Harris added 13 points. Aaron Thompson had seven assists and seven steals.
The Blue Demons (9-2) trailed 37-26 at halftime by as many as 12 in the second half left before cutting their deficit to 60-58 with four seconds remaining on a Brandon Johnson free throw. But Johnson missed the game-tying attempt, and Butler held on for the win despite scoring a season-low 26 second-half points.
The Bulldogs forced a season-high 21 turnovers.
Johnson had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Javon Freeman-Liberty added 13 points and seven rebounds and Nick Ongenda scored 10 points for DePaul.