Senior night. Hated Xavier in town. A fond farewell. Hinkle was at its best Wednesday.

The liveliest crowd of the season rocking throwback style t-shirts. The most prestigious honorary award a Hoosier can receive. A 94-foot putt worth $5,000 and an intense distain for that team from Cincinnati.

Those were some of the sights from Wednesday's game between Butler and Xavier, highlighting what makes Hinkle Fieldhouse such a unique place to watch a college basketball game.

It started with senior night festivities honoring centers John-Michael Mulloy and Jalen Thomas. Once the ball tipped, Hinkle came alive, propelling the Bulldogs to a 20-4 lead, as the host played some of its best basketball all season.

Mulloy gets his Butler farewell: 'There wasn't anywhere else I wanted to be.'

After the thrilling start, the game had its fair share of ups and downs. Butler fell flat in the second half, but equally poor play from Xavier allowed the Bulldogs to withstand an eight-minute scoring drought.

At halftime, former Butler player, head coach and retiring athletic director Barry Collier was honored. Surrounded by friends and family, Collier was presented with a lifetime ticket to Hinkle Fieldhouse. The four-time Horizon League Coach of the Year won 196 games as Butler's coach. As its AD, he helped usher in the height of its basketball success with a string of successful coaching hires. As he took the mic to thank the crowd, Collier expressed his love for the school and showed appreciation for how far the athletic programs have come.

"The (t-shirts) are shirts we wore in the 90s to get more than 20 students to come to the ballgame," Collier said. "I dreamed it would be like this for our teams, you made that possible. I'd trade all these festivities for a W over Xavier."

The subtle jab toward Xavier sent the crowd into a frenzy, but the celebration wasn't over. After announcing March 6 as Barry Collier Day in Indianapolis, Gov. Eric Holcomb presented Collier with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award via recorded video.

When the second half began, the basketball was tough, rugged, chippy at times but far from beautiful. The most skillful display may have been the 94-foot putt sunk by young Butler fan Matthew Adams. The putt earned Adams $5,000 and sent the crowd into a craze all over again.

Butler finished off Xavier for a 72-66 win. The Bulldogs end their regular season 18-13 and on a two-game winning streak. After the game, Mulloy and Thomas took time to reflect on their Butler careers. Mulloy is a local from Carmel. He was recruited to the school by former coach LaVall Jordan. As a fifth-year senior, Mulloy is working on finishing his Master's degree while providing leadership in a reserve role.

A pulmonary embolism slowed Thomas' career at Butler, but once he entered the starting lineup, he's provided steady rim protection and a patented short-range push shot. Thomas is a Detroit native coming to Butler byway of Georgia State. In only his second season with the program, the skillful center was completely aware of the magnitude of the Butler-Xaiver rivalry.

"I haven't been here that long, but I hate Xavier too," Thomas said. "Just feeling that every game. Going into the game, everybody knows this is the biggest rivalry. ... Holding that fire against them, knowing this is a team that gives us challenges. We're gonna go out there and compete, play hard and hopefully get the job done."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball sends seniors, retiring AD out with win over Xavier