Grizzlies use big first half to pick up road win over Cloud County

Story by Kalon Fullerton

The Butler Grizzlies bounced back from their second defeat of the season with a big road victory, traveling to Concordia, Kansas and defeating the Cloud County Thunderbirds, 69-55 on Saturday.

The Grizzlies were led by Syncere Harrod and Maycee James who both scored 13. Jaila Harding also had a big game, scoring 12 points while Freddie Wallace also found double digits as she finished with 11.

The Grizzlies used a 21 point second quarter to put themselves in control with a 36-18 lead at halftime, but Cloud came roaring back with a 19-7 run in the third quarter to get themselves within three at 43-40 before an 8-0 run from the Grizzlies removed any doubts. Butler scored 18 points in the fourth to give themselves the comfortable victory.

The Grizzlies shot 29% as a team, and made five of their 17 threes. It was a poor night from the field, but the Grizzlies won the game from the charity stripe. Butler shot 34 free throws and made 30 of them, shooting 88% from the line. The Grizzlies made their most free throws since a November 2nd, 2019 game against State Fair when they made 35 of their 46 attempts.  34 attempts were their most since last year's victory at Seward County, when they shot 24. Their 88% night from the line was their best free throw performance since shooting 88% in a 97-45 victory against Neosho.

Butler also earned 30 points off turnovers, after forcing 26 Thunderbird turnovers. The Grizzlies compiled 15 steals, led by Maycee James who had five. The Grizzlies and Thunderbirds were dead even in the rebounding department, but it was Butler with the edge in second chance points, finishing with 13. Jada Knight led the Grizzlies on the glass, finishing with seven rebounds. Butler also held Cloud to just 31% as a team and just 25% from the three point line.

Butler improves to 10-2 on the year and 6-2 in conference play. They'll look to build a winning streak when they return home on Monday for a game against the Barton Cougars at the Power Plant.

NOTES: Coach Mike Helmer is now 22-11 in his career against Cloud, but the Grizzlies have won 20 of the last 21 games against the T-Birds...After starting 9-1, Cloud has now lost three in a row...The Grizzlies had their worst shooting percentage (27.9%) and fewest shots made in a game (17), but they still managed to win the game by double-digits