Butler uses second half surge to cruise past Colby, 61-45

Butler uses second half surge to cruise past Colby, 61-45

The Butler men's basketball returned to its winning ways with a 61-45 win over the visiting Colby Trojans on Wednesday at the Power Plant.

The Grizzlies, who struggled offensively in the first half, scored the first 14 points of the second half as part of a 22-2 run that put the game out of reach for Colby.

Butler trailed by as many as five points on three different occasions in the first half, the latest at 20-15 after a Colby basket with 3:41 left in the first period.  The Grizzlies would outscore Colby 8-2 over the final three minutes of the first half and actually led 23-22 at the break.

Then the Grizzlies scored 14 straight points to start the second half, jumpstarted by two straight layups by Eric Watson. Colby went more than six minutes before scoring its first basket. At that point, the Grizzlies led 37-22 and would not look back. Butler would lead by as many as 18 points late in the contest.

Trent Richardson led Butler with 13 points while Sean Goodwin added nine. Shomari Triggs scored seven points while Eric Watson, Bakari Triggs and Lamont Pruitt scored six apiece. Richardson, Pruitt and Sean Osler each threw down impressive dunks for Butler.

With the win, Butler snaps a two-game losing skid and improves to 14-4 and 2-2 in Jayhawk West Conference play. The Grizzlies will take to the road on Saturday to take on Pratt, a 71-69 winner at Garden City on Wednesday night.