Butler Men never trail in home victory over the Broncbusters

Butler Men never trail in home victory over the Broncbusters

Story by Kalon Fullerton

The Butler Grizzlies staved off a comeback attempt from the Garden City Broncbusters as they won their third straight game, defeating the Broncbusters 79-69 at the Power Plant on Wednesday. 

Javon Grant led the show for the Grizzlies as he finished with a season high 17 points. Three other players finished with double digits and all nine players who made appearances scored a basket. Isaac Ondekane finished with 12 points while Tahjae Hill finished with 11, and Treylon Payne came off the bench to score 10 points.

The Grizzlies had a 15 point lead at halftime and stretched the lead to as many as 18 in the second half, but the Broncbusters clipped the lead to as few as nine points in the second half. The Grizzlies were able to close it out though as a late tip-in from Treylon Payne sealed the deal and cemented the victory. Butler has now won six straight home games against the Broncbusters, with the last loss at the Power Plant against Garden City coming in 2017.

The Grizzlies shot a scorching 51% from the field and also made eight three pointers. Grant starred from beyond the three point line, making five of his seven shots from deep. The Grizzly bench came up big, providing 28 bench points. Butler was also able to rattle off 12 second chance points and 32 points in the paint as they won the battle inside. The Grizzlies also put up 20 assists, led by Caleb Golden who finished with five.

The Grizzlies held the Broncbusters to 17% from three point range, and decisively won the rebounding battle of the boards, outrebounding Garden City, 35-24. The Grizzlies were able to force 13 turnovers including six steals, led by Grant who finished with two. 

The Grizzlies improve to 13-4 and 7-4 in conference play, and they'll look to extend their winning streak to four games with a trip to Independence to face the Pirates on Saturday.