No. 8 Butler Snags Win at Indy, Off to Best Conference Start in 10 Seasons
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. – The eighth ranked Butler men’s basketball team is off to its best conference start in 10 years.
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. – The eighth ranked Butler men's basketball team is off to its best conference start in 10 years.
The Grizzlies earned a 95-91 road victory over the Independence Pirates (6-7, 2-5 KJCCC) at the ICC Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. The win pushed them to 7-0 in league play, 12-1 overall. The last time the Grizzlies were off to a 7-0 or better start in conference play was the 2014-15 squad under Mike Bargen who got out to an 8-0 start and finished the season 29-4 overall, 14-2 in Jayhawk play and advanced to the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson.
Butler heads to the semester break in second place in the KJCCC, only behind Cowley who is 8-0. The Grizzlies open the spring semester on Jan. 4th when third place Coffeyville travels to the Power Plant for a 4 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.
Six Grizzlies scored in double figures led by Bubba Leavell's 18 points off the bench. Josiah Kirkwood and Devin Kerr each scored 15 with Kerr pulling down eight rebounds. Devonte Reed, Russell Branch and Rashad McCormick all finished with 11 points. McCormick filled the stat sheet, also adding six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
Despite the four-point margin in the final score, Butler led for 39:08 with Independence's only lead coming 18 seconds into the game at 3-2. Butler bursted out to a 13-3 lead with 14:24 in the first half on an 11-0 scoring run. They pushed the lead to 14 at 22-8 as McCormick slammed home two dunks in a row. Independence cut into the Grizzly lead making it a two point game, 26-24, at the 5:46 mark of the first half. Butler was able to keep the Pirates at bay through the half, taking a 45-34 lead to the locker room as Leavell hit a three with six seconds remaining.
The game was filled with free throws. The teams shot 101 combined free throws with Butler shooting 39-54 (72.2%) and Indy 32-47 (68.1%). It was a season-high amount of free throws for both teams. Branch shot 9-10 and Kirkwood 9-12 to lead the Grizzlies at the charity stripe. Independence's Chris Dockery shot 25 free throws in the game, making 15. He finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Butler took its biggest lead of the game with 12:12 to play in the second half when Leavell forced a turnover and converted a layup to make it 64-49. Independence continued to claw their way back into the game, whittling the deficit under 10 numerous times over the final 10 minutes and then down to three with 18 seconds to play. The Grizzlies were able to put the game away with free throws as Kirkwood drilled six in a row over the final 20 seconds.
The Grizzlies made just four three's (4-22), a season low. They outrebounded Indy 47-43. Butler got 50 points from its bench compared to Indy's 10. Emeka Opurum finished with six points, eight rebounds and four blocks. It marks the fourth straight game he tallied four blocks. Independence was led by Chiante Tramble's game-high 32 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Trashaun Combs-Pierce added 18 points and 10 rebounds.