The Butler men rallied from a 10-point second half deficit and needed overtime to defeat Colby 74-71 on Wednesday night.
Freshman guard Shomari Triggs matched a career-high with 21 points, hitting 10-of-11 free throws - including four in the overtime period. Sophomore forward Sean Osler added 20 points in the win.
Butler (20-6 overall, 8-4 Jayhawk West) has now won four straight games and remain a half-game out of third place behind Barton, who defeated No. 4 Hutchinson. With the win, the Grizzlies moved to 4-2 on the road in conference play. The win also marks the third time in five seasons that Butler has reached the 20-win plateau under head coach Mike Bargen.
Butler jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game. Eric Watson opened the contest with a three-pointer, then Osler and Watson each hit a basket.
The seven-point lead would be the Grizzlies' largest advantage of the game, as Colby responded with a 16-4 run and did not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the first half. Butler pulled within one point on two separate ocassions, but Colby closed out the half on a 12-4 run over the final 4:21 and led 35-26 at the half.
Colby enjoyed its largest lead, 44-34, with 14:55 remaining in regulation when Butler started to creep back into the game. Sean Goodwin keyed a Butler 10-4 run with three field goals - the last one coming on a Shomari Triggs lob pass to pull the Grizzlies within four, 48-44, with 10:41 left in the half.
The Trojans would push the lead back to seven, but Butler narrowed the deficit to one, 57-56, on a LaMont Pruitt basket with under five minutes in the second half. Ja'ln Williams then tied the game at 59 when he scored a layup off a Sean Osler steal with 2:27 left in the half. After Colby's Cody Sluder hit two foul shots, Shomari Triggs tied the game with two charity shots of his own with 56 seconds remaining.
Butler would have three chances on its next possession, but had two attempts blocked. After a Colby timeout, the Trojans turned the ball the over on an inbounds pass with 3.7 seconds left, but Bakari Triggs' desperation heave just inside the half-court line assured overtime.
In the extra period, Butler never trailed. After both teams exchanged field goals, Sean Osler hit a three-pointer with about 2:30 to play to give the Grizzlies a 68-65 lead. Colby's John Clarke would hit a trey to pull the Trojans within one, 72-71, with under 40 seconds left.
After a Butler missed shot, Colby had a chance to take the lead, but turned the ball over on another inbounds pass. Shomari Triggs hit two more free throws with 8.9 seconds to play to put the Grizzlies up by three. Clarke would then miss a three-point attempt at the end of the overtime to seal the win for Butler.
The Grizzlies will host Pratt on Saturday night at the Power Plant. Pratt (14-12 overall, 4-8 Jayhawk West) is coming off a 69-45 win against Garden City. The Grizzlies defeated the Beavers 64-58 back on Jan. 19.
