The Butler Grizzlies won their second road game in the span of three days as they went to Concordia and won a slugfest, 59-43, at Arley Bryant Gymnasium on Wednesday.
It was not pretty. After combining for 141 points in the first game between the two teams in El Dorado, Butler and Cloud combined for 102 points in Wednesday's affair. Butler did not hit 50 points until 15 minutes into the second half, and scored just 21 points in the first half, good enough for a five point lead when the teams went into the locker room. The Grizzlies were overwhelming defensively, as the Thunderbirds hit just 13 of their 52 shots, good for only 25% from the field. Cloud went nearly five minutes without scoring in the second half, and only one Thunderbird player reached double figures, and the Grizzlies also forced 13 turnovers, accounting for 15 points off turnovers.
The Grizzlies were led offensively by Eden Holt, who finished with 14, making three shots from behind the arc and shooting 50% from the field. Butler did not light up the scoreboard by any means, but they did enough, finishing at 36% from the field and making six threes. Butler took care of the ball extremely well, giving up just seven turnovers and only one point off turnovers, also combining for 10 assists. Butler's bench accounted for 20 of their 59 points.
It's the third consecutive win on the road for the Grizzlies, as they improve to 6-5 away from friendly confines, and they've won four of their last five games to improve to 18-6 overall, and 12-6 in Jayhawk Conference play. The Grizzlies will play their fourth game in seven days when they return to the Power Plant to face Barton on Saturday, looking to sweep the Cougars after a 60-59 win in Great Bend when the two teams played in the earlier matchup in December.