DODGE CITY, Kan. - A second-half rally fell short as the Butler men lost its third straight game with an 86-79 road loss at Dodge City on Wednesday.
The Grizzlies could not overcome a big night from Conquistadors forward Josh Boutte, who had 37 points and 23 rebounds. Jacobly Harris led Butler (14-9 overall, 11-9 conference) with 19 points and four stteals, while Ketarrious Bouchum had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Butler trailed by as many as 18 points early in the second half, but a 12-2 run pulled the Grizzlies within two points with 10:40 to play.
Trailing 55-43 with 14:16 left, Harris opened the Butler run by scoring three straight field goals. Semaj Hervey, Karlon McSpadden and Johnnathan Lindsey each added a basket, while Dodge managed to go just 2 of 4 at the free-throw line for its only points during a 5:23 stretch. Lindsey's bucket put the Grizzlies within two, 57-55.
After a media timeout, Boutte and Bouchum exchanged field goals, leaving Butler down 59-57 with 8:24 remaining. Boutte then had two slam dunks within a two-minute period to swing the momentum back into the Conqs' favor. His second slam sparked a 11-2 Dodge run to help the Conqs pull away.
Butler never led in the contest and trailed Dodge 39-27 at halftime. The Grizzlies also struggled with outside shots, hitting just 3 of 23 (13 percent) from three-point land.
Despite the loss, Butler still remains tied for fourth place in the Jayhawk Conference standings. Both Cloud County and Garden City also lost on Wednesday, while a Coffeyville win creates a four-way tie for fourth.
Next up for Butler will be a 7:30 p.m. contest Saturday against rival Hutchinson. The Blue Dragons (23-1 overall, 19-1 conference) are ranked No. 4 in this week's NJCAA poll.
