The Butler men battled the Jayhawk West Conference's best team to overtime on Saturday at the Power Plant, but could not earn the win against the ninth-ranked Saints, falling 78-74.

The Grizzlies raced out to a big lead early, going ahead 27-14 after a basket by Andrew Victoria with 7:35 to go in the first half. Seward would close the first half on a 14-3 run to get within two points at intermission, 30-28.

In the second half, the Grizzlies looked to be in trouble when leading scorer Justin Simmons fouled out with Butler trailing 64-51 with 5:16 to play. The Grizzlies would surge without Simmons, however, coming all the way back to eventually tie the game when Cameron Cornelius came up with a steal and passed to Eric Watson for a basket with 31.8 seconds to play. 

The Butler defense would hold Seward and get the ball back with 2.9 seconds left in the game. Victoria had what appeared for a second to be an open shot, but it was blocked, sending the game to overtime.

Butler scored first in overtime on a pair of free throws by Cameron Cornelius. Trailing 74-73 with 38 seconds left in the overtime, Butler got the ball back but promptly turned it over. Seward would hit two free throws, effectively sealing the win for the Saints.

The Grizzlies fall despite big efforts from several players. Andrew Victoria led the team with 18 points while Cameron Cornelius and Sean Osler scored 14 points apiece. Justin Simmons was the fourth Grizzly in double figures with 10 points.

Seward was led by Deverrel Biggs, who scored a game-high 26 points.

Butler falls to 7-14 on the season, 1-6 in Jayhawk West Conference play. Seward improves its league-leading record to 6-1 in the conference and 18-3 overall.

The Grizzlies will next play at Dodge City on Wednesday in the new United Wireless Arena, the first of a two-game road swing that includes a trip to Garden City next Saturday.