Butler men hold off Allen County rally for 91-83 win

Butler men hold off Allen County rally for 91-83 win

The Butler men saw a big lead shrink late, but were still able to hold off a determined Allen County squad for a 91-83 victory on Wednesday night at the Power Plant. 

Butler led by 23 points with 11 minutes to go after back-to-back 3-pointers from Tevin Berry and Karlon McSpadden made it a 71-48 game. Butler was still up by more than 20 after Will Adler scored and was fouled with 7:03 remaining. His free throw had Butler up 79-58.

Allen, however, would score 20 points a span of 5:20, getting within just four points after Quentin Blaue made two straight 3-pointers to make it 82-78.

Butler's LaJuan Hardy answered with a 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining and then made four free throws in the closing seconds as the Grizzlies held on for the win.

While Butler had the big lead midway through the second half, the Grizzlies had come from behind earlier in the contest. Allen jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead and was up 12-8 before Butler went on a 10-0 run. The Grizzlies took the lead on a driving layup by Jacolby Harris and never trailed again.

Harris' 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave Butler a 42-34 lead at the break.

Harris led Butler in scoring for the second straight game, pouring in 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the floor. Johnnathan Lindsey had 16 points with 10 coming on dunks as he made eight of nine shots. Will Adler had 15 points and Tevin Berry had 14, both coming off the bench. 

Butler is now 5-3 on the season, snapping a two-game skid with the win. The Grizzlies are 2-3 in Jayhawk Conference play. Allen County is 5-4 and also 2-3 in KJCCC play. The Grizzlies hit the road for a game at Independence (4-4, 1-4 KJCCC) on Wednesday before returning for the final home game of the first semester, taking on Dodge City on Saturday at 8 p.m.