Grizzlies fight off late Maverick run to come away with the win in Goodland

The Butler men's basketball team picked up another road conference win Saturday early afternoon as they took down the Mavericks of Northwest Kansas Tech 72-58.

"It definitely wasn't one of our best performances and there are a number of things we need to clean up, but I am always happy with a win in this conference," said head coach Kyle Fisher.

Butler got a spark early from sophomore point guard Keyon Thomas who scored 17 of his game high 18 points in the first half. The Grizzlies were able to build a lead in the first half, taking a 41-23 lead into the break and it ended up being a lead that they would hold the remainder of the game.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but Northwest Tech pieced together a run that would give the Grizzlies a bit of a scare as they closed the gap to seven under three minutes to play. A big layup by Noah Thomasson and two giant offensive rebounds from DeeJuan Pruitt would put an end to the run and Butler would come away with the win 72-58.

Keyon Thomas led the team with 18 points on 3-4 shooting from three. Treylon Payne finished with 14 points and DeeJuan Pruitt posted his second double-double of the season with 11points and 10 rebounds. Noah Thomasson was the other Grizzly in double figures with 10 points, five boards and four assists.

This was the first of a three-game road stint for Butler. They will have a quick turnaround as they head north to Concordia to face Cloud on Monday night at 8:00pm.