Grizzly men need overtime to beat Pratt 64-58

Grizzly men need overtime to beat Pratt 64-58

The Butler men found a way to get a 64-58 road win in overtime at Pratt on Saturday, despite struggling offensively for much of the game.

Butler came from four points down with 1:38 to play in regulation, then scored seven straight points in overtime to finally put away the win.

The Grizzlies started the game slowly on offense, scoring just four points in the first 11 minutes of the game. At that point, the Grizzlies trailed 11-4. Butler would get two three-pointer late in the first half, one each from Larry Fitzgerald and Bakari Triggs, and would lead 21-18 at the half.

Butler would get up by five points early in the second half, but Pratt would get hot from the perimeter, making six of eight 3-pointers in the period. Eventually, the Beavers led 48-44 with less than two minutes to play.

Butler to on a 6-1 run and led 50-49 after a layup by Sean Goodwin and two layups by Shomari Triggs with 27 seconds to go. But the Grizzlies fouled Sean Michaelson on a 3-point attempt with 20.1 seconds left and he made all three free throws.

The Grizzlies played for the tie as the clock wound down and did just that when Bakari Triggs banked in a floater from six feet out with eight seconds left in the game. Pratt's shot at the buzzer missed, sending the game to overtime.

Butler scored first in overtime, by Pratt hit yet another 3-pointer to take a 55-54 lead. That's when the Grizzlies took control. After a flagrant foul on Pratt, Shomari Triggs made a free throw, followed by a layup by Larry Fitzgerald .

Lamont Pruitt then scored a layup that was actually tipped into the basket by a Pratt player. Moments later, Butler stole the inbounds pass and Pruitt threw down a dunk to cap a 7-0 Butler run.
Shomari Triggs scored the final three points at the free throw line, helping score a team-high 15 points. His twin brother, Bakari, was the only other Grizzly in double figures with 10 points. Lamont Pruitt had nine points and Trent Richardson scored eight.
Pratt's Michaelson led all scorers with 18 points. The Derby native made four 3-pointers in the game.
With the win, Butler has now won two in a row and is 15-4 overall and 3-2 in Jayhawk West Conference play, while Pratt falls to 12-7 and 2-3. Butler has a big weekend coming up with a home game against Cloud on Wednesday and a road game at Seward County on Saturday.