Butler responds to another tragedy with a badly needed win

Butler needed  a victory over Georgetown at home Tuesday night to avoid slipping even further behind much of the rest of the Big East Conference and to prevent further damage to its postseason resume.

But those motivations weren't at the top of the list for the Bulldogs as they hosted Georgetown. They wanted a win to honor assistant coach Emerson Kampen and his family. Kampen's 6-month-old son, Kampen IV, died Monday from Leigh’s Disease, a genetic disease he was diagnosed with only two weeks ago.

The Bulldogs came through with an 87-76 victory, leading to tears when it was over.

“These guys were locked in for the bulk of the game,” coach Chris Holtmann said after the game when he first told media members about Emerson Kampen IV's death. “It’s a tremendous win. We’ll see if we can build on this in the coming days of practice.”

It is the second time this season Butler has dealt with a death in the family. Former Bulldog Andrew Smith died last month after a two-year battler with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and later leukemia. He was 25.

Sophomore guard Kelan Martin started the game looking as if he was desperate to avoid a fourth loss in five games. He scored 13 points in the opening seven minutes setting a tone for the Bulldogs and putting the Hoyas in chase mode. Martin went on to score a career-best 35 points leading his team to a win and keeping Butler in the thick of things in the conference race.

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Kampen was not at the game but he participated in the halftime talk via Skype, according to a press release from the school. The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 16 points after halftime.

Martin didn't carry the team on his own. He had plenty of help from Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones. Dunham provided the highlight-reel plays driving to the basket and knocking down 3-pointers on his way to 18 points. Jones scored 19 and also grabbed six rebounds with five assists.

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Georgetown guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 21 points and L.J. Peak came off the bench to score 22, but after falling behind by 15 points, Georgetown couldn't dig out of the hole against a focused and extremely motivated Butler team.

Georgetown tried to extend the game late by fouling and making Butler make free throws. The Bulldogs went 31-for-28 at the free throw line. One of those made free throws came from Dunham to complete a four-point play with just under eight minutes remaining.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo