Hot shooting over Indy helps Butler men reach 20 win-mark

Behind a 23-point, 11-rebound performance from forward Ndwago Ndaw, the Butler men shot a season-high 64.8 percent from the field in a 97-69 rout of Independence Monday night at the Power Plant.

The win marked the 20th win for the Grizzlies and allowed Butler to reach the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign, which ended with an NJCAA National Tournament appearance.

Butler's 18-point win over Independence was a complete role-reversal from just 23 days ago, as the Grizzlies suffered a 97-57 defeat at the hands of the Pirates.

"We've obviously talked a lot about that game," said Butler head coach Kyle Fisher about the Jan. 18 loss at Independence. "I'm not a big rah-rah, speech-kind of guy. We didn't need any extra motivation to play really well."

Ndaw added four blocks for the Grizzlies (20-6 overall, 13-4 conference), who also received hot shooting efforts on the perimeter from Javaunte Hawkins (18 points), Grehlon Easter (17 points) and Kamron Brice (14 points), as the trio combined for 49 points on 16-of-26 shooting and hit 11-of-19 3-pointers on the night.

Hawkins finished with 18 points behind 6-of-8 shooting – including 4-of-6 treys. Easter added 17 points and made 3-of-6 3-pointers, while Brice scored 14 on 4-of-7 perimeter attempts.

Butler led just 44-43 at halftime after shooting 62 percent (16-of-26) from the field, which prompted Fisher to inform his troops in the locker room to keep the defensive effort up because the hot pace may not continue.

Instead, the Grizzlies got hotter by hitting a 68 percent clip (19-of-28) and made 8-of-12 3-pointers, while Independence was limited to just 31 percent (11-of-36).

"We shot it well because we executed well. We were getting good shooters good rhythm open shots," said Fisher. "We didn't have any panic in us when they were trapping us or pressuring us… the only way you shoot 65 percent from the floor is when you're really sound, make the extra pass, move the ball, you're in rhythm and you're open. We just continued to move the ball and got open shots and tonight, they were dropping."

Butler dominated both ends of the court to start the second half, as the Grizzlies blitzed the Pirates with a 15-2 run, capped by three straight 3-pointers – one from Grehlon Easter in the far corner and two at the top of the key by Brice for a 59-45 lead.

Beginning with Easter's trey, Butler hit five consecutive attempts from beyond the arc, with Javaunte Hawkins adding two 3-pointers sandwiched around Independence's field goal of the half - a Jaden McClanahan 3-pointer 6:16 into the second half.

Butler increased its lead to 22 points with 7:22 to play following a 9-2 run, beginning with a Hawkins 3-pointer and capped with a Ndaw slam dunk on a Juwan White assist.

Ndaw wasn't done, as he added two more dunks – including an alley-oop from Hawkins after the Grizzlies broke a full-court press – and a lay-in to keep Butler in front by 20 points, 89-69, with 4:29 remaining.

"What an unbelievable effort by Ndongo, and he had such a tough game when we were down (at Independence), so it was good to see him hang in there and not get rattled," Fisher said of Ndaw, who made 10-of-12 shots. "He was able to get out on transition, catch the ball and finish at a high level. He's a man on the glass. He really changes the game for us from a defensive rebounding perspective. If he can score like that, he's obviously got a bright future."

Butler spent most of the final 4:03 at the charity line, making 6-of-10 foul shots and receiving an Easter field goal for the win.

Butler took command shortly after tip-off, getting a dunk from Ndaw on the opening possession to start a 15-4 run. Independence rallied back with a 13-2 run to pull within one, 18-17, at the 12:03 mark.

The Grizzlies remained in front for the next six minutes until a 9-1 Pirate run put Independence in front 39-35 with 4:34 remaining in the half. Butler recaptured the lead by closing the first half with a 9-4 run for a 44-43 lead at the break, with Kamron Brice hitting a 3-pointer at the 1:32 mark to put the Grizzlies ahead for good.

Independence (19-7, 10-6), who came into Monday's contest averaging 91.2 points per game and shooting at a 47 percent clip, was held to just 38.5 percent (30-of-78) and just 25 percent (8-of-32) from behind the perimeter.

"It was good to see us continue to guard on defense like we have been," Fisher said. "Holding a real-high powered team – especially a team that shoots the three so well – to hold them to 25 percent, I've got to give a lot of credit to our guys for fighting and really doing the job on the defensive end, which carried over offensively."

Winners of four consecutive games, Butler looks to keep the momentum going Wednesday when the Grizzlies play Neosho County in Chanute. Butler defeated Neosho 81-67 back on Jan. 22 in El Dorado, with Easter scoring 17 points to lead the Grizzlies.

Neosho (10-16, 5-11) has lost three straight and is coming off a 139-86 drubbing at Cowley on Wednesday. Tip-off from Chanute is at 7:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the women's game.