Hot shooting helps Butler men in 90-79 win at Indy

Hot shooting helps Butler men in 90-79 win at Indy

INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The Butler men had a balanced attack while matching a season-high 60 percent from the field in a 90-79 road victory at Independence on Wednesday.

Butler (6-3 overall, 3-3 conference) had five players score in double figures, with sophomores Jacolby Harris, Semaj Hervey and Will Adler finishing with 17 points each. LaJuan Hardy added 13 points and seven assists, while Johnnathan Lindsey scored 12 points and had six rebounds.

The Grizzlies were hot from behind the perimeter as they hit 54 percent (14 of 24). Adler connected on 5 of 7 three-pointers, while Hervey hit 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Hardy added three treys and Lindsey made two.

Butler kept pace with Independence in the first half and trailed 47-44 at the break. The Pirates made 68 percent (17 of 25) from the field, while Butler was right behind the hosts at 62 percent (16 of 26).

However, the Grizzlies kept the hot hand in the second half by shooting at a 60 percent clip (15 of 25), while Indy made just 38 percent (8 of 21).

Independence led by as many as nine early in the first half, taking an 18-9 lead just 5:36 into the contest. Hardy, Adler and Hervey helped with the comeback with three straight three-pointers to tie the game at 25-25 at the 9:38 mark.

Butler managed to grab a four-point lead, 38-34, with 5:15 to play on a Hardy three-pointer, but Independence closed out the half with the help of a 13-4 run before the break.

The Grizzlies answered with four treys, two each from Adler and Hervey, to begin the second half. A trey from Hervey in the left corner put Butler up 56-53 with 16:34 to play.

Harris then took over for Butler by scoring 13 points during a 17-1 run before the second-half media timeout. Harris hit four straight field goals to help the Grizzlies to its largest lead at 73-57 with 9:39 remaining.

Independence came within eight points of the Grizzlies on two separate occassions despite going 7:19 without a field goal, but could not close the gap.

Butler will host Dodge City on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. in the home finale of 2016. The Grizzlies will then play two road games at Hutchinson (Wednesday, Dec. 7) and Cloud County (Sunday, Dec. 11) before heading into winter break.