The Butler men nearly climbed out of a big early holes, but in the end could not overtake Independence in a 77-66 loss on Saturday at the Power Plant.

The loss is the second straight for Butler, which had won seven of its eight games in January.
Butler led just once in the game, that coming at 12-11 after a Ken Perkins 3-pointer with 13:09 to play in the first half.

Independence then embarked on a 27-9 run, leading Butler 38-21 with just over three minutes left in the half.

Butler scored the final seven points before the break and trailed 38-28 at intermission.

The Grizzlies clawed their way back into the contest, eventually getting as close as three points on two occasions, the latest at 61-58 after a Semaj Hervey free throw with five minutes to go.

Butler could get no closer and Independence made its free throws in the final minute to push the final margin back to double digits.

Jacolby Harris led Butler with 17, while Karlon McSpadden had 13 off the bench. Ken Perkins had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Butler falls to 14-8 on the season and is 11-8 in Jayhawk Conference play. The Grizzlies go on the road on Wednesday to take on Dodge City.