For the second time in 48 hours, the Butler Grizzlies have defeated one of the nation's top 25 teams.
After giving No. 1 Hutchinson its first loss of the season on Saturday, Butler returned home on Monday to defeat No. 25 Barton 61-57 in an intense battle at the Power Plant in front of a large and rowdy crowd.
It is Butler's third win over a ranked opponent this season. Butler also beat No. 22 Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa at home in December. The Grizzlies are 3-4 against ranked teams this year, but have avenged three of those four losses when playing the same opponent the second time.
That was the case against Barton on Monday. Butler fell behind 7-3 early, but used a 13-2 run to go up 16-9 after a nice offensive rebound and reverse layup by LaMont Pruitt with 13:19 left in the period.
Barton would come back quickly, taking a 19-18 lead over Butler just two minutes later. Then it was Butler's chance to respond, as Ja'ln Williams and Shomari Triggs keyed an 8-0 run that gave Butler the lead.
Butler's lead dropped to just three points with two minutes to go in the period, but Ja'ln Williams hit a pair of three pointers in the final minute, including one at the buzzer, to give the Grizzlies a 39-28 lead at halftime.
Butler worked quickly in the second half and would lead by as many as 13 points early in the period. But as soon as the Grizzlies built the big lead, they went cold shooting from the floor.
Barton slowly chipped away at Butler's big lead and the Cougars would eventually take a 53-52 lead with 8:06 to play. The Cougars would go up by three points after a basket with 7:20 left in the game.
While Butler was struggling offensively, they were able to stay in the game with their defense. Barton would not score another field goal the rest of the way, getting just two points on free throws in the final seven minutes.
Butler would tie the game 56-56 on a pair of free throws by Bakari Triggs with 2:31 to play, then take the lead on a shot off the glass by Shomari Triggs with 1:12 to play.
Sean Osler then took over for the game for Butler. He had a steal, two crucial rebounds and three free throws for Butler in the final seconds as the Grizzlies closed out the win.
Shomari Triggs led Butler with 14 points. Lamont Pruitt had nine points, while Bakari Triggs and Ja'ln Williams had eight apiece and Trent Richardson and Sean Osler scored seven each.
Barton's Kevin Kuteyi led all scorers with 22 points, while Algie Key had 12 for the Cougars.
Butler is now 19-6 on the season, 7-4 in the Jayhawk West Conference. Barton is just a half-game ahead of the Grizzlies in third place at 21-5 overall and 8-4 in conference. The Grizzlies will now head to Colby on Wednesday. The Trojans are coming off a 64-55 road win at Garden City on Monday.
