Coffeyville hands Butler men their first home loss of the season

Coffeyville hands Butler men their first home loss of the season

For the first time this season, a visiting team won in the Power Plant, as Coffeyville upended the Butler men by a 67-63 score on Monday night.

The Grizzlies, who had come into the game with a 10-0 record at home this season, surged to an early lead in front of an energized home crowd on Monday.  A Shomari Triggs basket and free throw put the Grizzlies up 9-2 early and then Butler pushed the lead to double digits when Bakari Triggs made a 30-foot 3-pointer to beat an expiring shot clock that made the score 18-7. 

Butler's biggest lead came on a layup in transition by Calvin Johnson that made the score 31-16. Coffeyville, however, would chip away at Butler's big lead and trailed 37-29 at the half.

Coffeyville scored the first six points of the second half to set the stage for a close fight to the finish. Butler would push the lead back to as many as nine points, but each time the Red Ravens had an answer. Mike Martin's 3-pointer with 10:52 to play put Coffeyville in the lead for the first time in the game at 53-52.

Butler would tie the game 62-62 with 2:59 to play on a basket by Sean Goodwin, Coffeyville outscored Butler 5-1 on the final three minutes for the win.

Goodwin led Butler in scoring with 18 points just two days after scoring 20 in a win at Allen County. Larry Fitzgerald scored 13 points and Bakari Triggs had 10.

The Grizzlies fall to 19-7 overall and 5-3 in Jayhawk East Conference play, now two games behind first-place Independence and a game behind Coffeyville for the second spot. Butler will be on the road on Wednesday to take on Cowley.