Butler men beat Colby for first home conference win

Call it a streak. The Butler men have won consecutive conference games for the first time this season after dispatching Colby by a 91-82 score on Saturday at the Power Plant.

Butler (8-8 overall, 5-8 conference) used a strong second half to earn the come-from-behind victory, which was the Grizzlies' first home win in conference play this season. The Grizzlies were 4-2 on the road and 0-6 at home in Jayhawk Conference games coming into Saturday's contest.

With the win, Butler moved back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 2.

Butler led early, going up 5-2 with three points from Justin Criddle and a bucket from Russell Smith. Butler was still up at 9-8 before Colby surged into the lead at 11-9. The Trojans would lead for the rest of the first half, going up by as many as seven at 26-19 with 5:47 left in the half.

Butler battled back behind Karlon McSpadden and Jared Armstrong, who combined to score 13 of the Grizzlies' 15 points to end the half. Armstrong hit a three-pointer with 34 seconds in the half, bringing the Grizzlies within two of Colby at the break at 36-34.

Butler scored three quick points to start the second half, going ahead 37-36 on a layup by Adrian Moore with 19:28 to go in the game.

When Jared Armstrong made a jump shot with 17:22 remaining, Butler took the lead at 43-41 and never trailed again.

Colby (12-5, 8-5) managed to tie the game one more time, at 57-57 with 9:47 to play, but the Grizzlies answered quickly with buckets from Anthony Bratton and Ketarrious Bouchum to push the lead back to four.

Bouchum would score all 13 of his points in the second half, including three treys, as Butler stretched the lead to as many as 12. The Grizzlies closed the game by going 7-of-8 at the free throw line in the final minute to hold off Colby and claim the win.

Jared Armstrong led Butler with 23 points. Karlon McSpadden and Russell Smith had 17 apiece., while Justin Criddle added 12.

Butler will hit the road on Wednesday to face Garden City, as the Grizzlies look to avenge a 75-59 home loss earlier this season. Tipoff from Garden is at 8:00 p.m.