Butler beats Seward to extend winning streak to eight straight

The Butler men ran their winning streak to eight straight with a 60-53 win over Seward on Wednesday at the Power Plant.

In the conference opener for both teams, Butler overcame a sluggish first half and dominated second half on their way to the win.

Butler shot just 26 percent from the floor in the first half, including going 0-7 from 3-point range. Despite that, Butler was still in the game because Seward shot only 33 percent.

The Grizzlies had the lead a few brief times early in the first half, and were still hanging with the Saints, getting within two points at 20-18 after a Chiddy Golden bucket with 1:59 left in the half.

Seward would score the final seven points to lead 27-18 at the break.

Butler went on a 9-2 run to start the second half, and would take the lead on a Tyrone Coley dunk with 12:33 to play that made the score 34-32. Butler would not trail again.

Seward would hang around, still being down just one after a pair of free throws by Devin Bethely with 2:23 to go that made it a 52-51 game.

Jaden Lee then responded with six of his 14 points. He scored and was fouled, converting the free throw to put butler up 55-51. He then hit a 3-pointer from the corner to make it a 58-53 game with less than a minute to go.

Lee's 14 points tied for team-high honors with Daviyon Dennis. Dennis also hauled down 11 rebounds to give him the double-double, the first of his collegiate career. Coley just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

Butler shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half, making 15-29. The Grizzlies, who struggled at the free throw line in the first half, were 9-13 from there in the second half, and also went 3-8 from 3-point range. Seward, meanwhile, was 1-15 from 3-point range in the second half

Butler is now 8-2 on the season and 1-0 in Jayhawk Conference play, while Seward falls to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in conference.

Butler is back in action again on Saturday, with a home conference game against Colby. The Trojans are 5-5 overall and 0-1 in conference after an 80-76 loss at Neosho on Wednesday.