The Butler men rallied from an 11-point deficit, then held off No. 4 Hutchinson down the stretch for an 80-78 upset victory at the Power Plant on Monday.
Sophomore guard Shomari Triggs scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to help Butler improve to 5-1 on the season. Bakari Triggs added 18 points, while Trent Richardson finished with a double-double (16 points, 13 rebounds). Sean Goodwin added 12 points and six rebounds, as Butler had four players score in double figures.
Butler kept pace with Hutch in the first half, which featured seven ties and five lead changes. The Grizzlies took a 29-25 lead with 3:45 to play in the half, but Hutchinson put together a 13-0 run and cruised into the locker room with a 38-29 halftime lead.
The Grizzlies would storm back early in the second half by hitting shots outside the key. Trailing 42-31, Butler went on a 9-0 run with three-pointers by Shomari Triggs, Jonah Legg and Bakari Triggs to get within two points with 16:11 to play.
Two minutes later, Butler had its first lead in the second half when Trent Richardson laid in a basket to put the Grizzlies up 47-46 with 14:17 remaining.
The Grizzlies would then get a pair of three-pointers from Shomari Triggs and Bakari Triggs during a 7-0 run, putting Butler up 57-51 at the 9:57 mark.
Hutchinson would eventually tie the game at 65-65 with just over five minutes to play, but Butler would take the lead with a 7-2 run. With 3:26 to play, Shomari Triggs hit a field goal to give Butler a 70-67 lead. Then after a steal, Triggs went up for a layup but a Hutch goaltend assured the Grizzlies a five-point lead.
Butler would not lose the lead, despite Hutchinson battling back within one point with 6.0 seconds left in the game. Shomari Triggs added 1-of-2 foul shots with 4.4 seconds to play, then after a timeout, Hutchinson's Kadeem Allen fired a desperation heave at midcourt that hit the top of the backboard.
Allen finished with a game-high 35 points, while DeShawn Freeman added 16 points for Hutchinson (4-1).
Next up for the Butler men is a home game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Pratt.
