Butler men roll past Friends JV to improve to 10-0

The Butler men scored the first 13 points of the game against Friends University JV on Monday and never looked back, rolling to a 99-46 win that keeps them undefeated on the season.

The Grizzlies didn't allow a point until Friends' Nolan McClure made a free throw with 14:02 to play in the first half. The Falcons got as close as nine points on a 3-pointer that made it 19-10 with 9:04 to go in the half, but Butler outscored Friends 20-2 over the next six minutes, capped by 3-pointers from Damien Akao and Travis House that made the score 39-12 with 3:08 to go.

Butler went into the break leading 46-19 and pushed the lead to 30 for the first time on a layup by Lamar Wofford with 16:56 to play in the game. When Adrion Williams threw down a dunk with 12:12 remaining, Butler had pushed the lead past 40 at 72-31. A pair of Jacolby Harris free throws with 4:38 left gave the Grizzlies a 91-40 lead.

Harris led Butler with 27 points, one shy of his career high set two weeks ago at Independence. Kyle Steward had 13, Chris Howell scored 12 and Travis House added 11. Derrick Byrd posted 10 assists for Butler, which made 37 of its 62 shots (58 percent).

Butler is 10-0 on the season, which continues to be the best start since the 1996-97 team that was 16-0 to start the season. The Grizzlies will play at Neosho on Wednesday in a rematch of a narrow 66-64 win at home last month.