PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- No one had to convince Providence coach Ed Cooley or his players of the importance of the Friars' Big East game against No. 18 Butler on Tuesday.

The Friars lost their previous two home games, fell from No. 8 to No. 16 in the AP poll and were facing a stretch that also sends them to No. 4 Villanova and then back home to face No. 5 Xavier.

Oh, and then they go to Georgetown after that.

"I thought this was one of the biggest games on our schedule this year," Cooley said after his team scratched and clawed its way to a 71-68 conference win over the Bulldogs. "Knowing that we're getting ready to play arguably three of the better teams in our league -- Villanova, Xavier and Georgetown -- so this was a must-win for us in my opinion."

As is the case with most games in this league, it didn't come easy.

Kris Dunn, enduring a flat offensive night, turned it on at the right time, and the Friars (16-3, 4-2 Big East) were spurred on by a raucous crowd to turn it on down the stretch.

Dunn, the star guard and candidate for national player of the year honors, had just three points in the first 35:40. However, he then hit two 3-pointers and set up forward Ben Bentil for a slam down the stretch as the Friars overcame another poor shooting night and beat Butler (13-5, 2-4) for the second time in three weeks.

The Friars trailed by six points seven minutes into the second half before holding the Bulldogs scoreless for 5:45. After Cooley called a timeout, Providence scored the game's next eight points. The intensity on the defensive end seemed to pick up after the coach's message, but Cooley, who later led the crowd in cheers, said, "The building got thing going."

Butler came back and used a 5-0 spurt to lead by four with 4:34 remaining.

Dunn, 1-for-5 from the floor to that point, hit a trey and later fed conference scoring leader Bentil before banking -- yes, banking -- home a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 71-66.

"Christmas came early in January," Cooley said of the bank shot, the second one of its kind Dunn has hit against Butler in the past two seasons.

"I think the bank-in three gave them a little bit of a cushion there," Butler coach Chris Holtmann said. "If there was a turning point, that was the turning point.

"It's the second time he's done it on us -- he's made it an art."

A late scramble saw Butler guard Kellen Dunham following a missed 3-pointer by forward Kelan Martin with a hurried 3-point shot that would have tied the game at the buzzer but didn't come close. It might have been reviewed to see if he was on the line, but he missed it anyway.

"It's a credit to my teammates to keep the ball alive," said Dunham, who led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 6-for-12 on 3-point attempts. "I had an opportunity to make a shot. It's something I have to do as a senior."

Besides the late threes, the Friars were 3-for-20 (all the makes by guard Kyron Cartwright in a four-minute span of the first half) from behind the arc and are 18-for-89 on 3-pointers in the past four games.

Cooley tells his players to keep shooting because "those shots will go in in February and March."

Bentil finished with 20 points (just above his average) and seven rebounds. Forward Rodney Bullock had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Cartwright contributed 13 points. Dunn, No. 2 in the league in scoring, finished with nine points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Friars, who have shot just under 34 percent from the floor while going 2-1 over the last three games.

Butler guard Roosevelt Jones had 16 points, and Martin had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double.

NOTES: Providence observed a pregame moment of silence for former Butler player Andrew Smith, who lost his battle with cancer on Jan. 12. ... Butler F Andrew Chrabascz is a local product from Portsmouth, R.I., but foul trouble limited him to 28 minutes and six points and four rebounds. He was 0-for-3 on 3-pointers, normally one of his strengths. ... Providence owns five wins in six games against Butler over the past three years, the one Bulldogs victory coming at the Dunkin Donuts Center last season. . ... Butler is at Creighton Saturday. ... Butler G Kellen Dunham is 19-for-34 from 3-point range in the past five games -- after an 0-of-21 drought over the previous four.