The Butler men suffered a third-straight heartbreaking loss, this time falling to first-place Independence by an 83-80 score at the Power Plant on Saturday.

It is Butler's second straight loss at home after opening the season 10-0 in the Power Plant. The Grizzlies, however, were able to hold on to third place in the Jayhawk Conference standings as fourth-place Cowley lost at Neosho on Saturday. The Grizzlies (19-9 overall and 5-5 in the Jayhawk East) remain a game up on Cowley in the standings.

Butler led by five points with 9:50 to play after a steal and layup by Shomari Triggs made it 65-60, but Independence would go on a 16-3 run, building its largest lead at 76-68 with 4:30 to play.

The Grizzlies would answer with a 7-0 run, getting back within a point on an offensive rebound and stickback that made it 76-75 with 2:50 to play. Butler would get back within a point one more time on a bucket by Larry Fitzgerald with 53.5 seconds to play. But the Grizzlies would never take the lead. Trailing by three, Butler would get off a shot from near midcourt as the clock expired, but the attempt from Shomari Triggs was off the mark.

While Butler did have the five-point lead midway through the second half, the Grizzlies had trailed for most of the game leading up to that point. Independence twice led by as many as six points early, but a 3-pointer by Bakari Triggs put Butler in front for the first time, up 18-16 with 10:10 to play in the first half.

The Grizzlies would twice take four-point leads, but trailed by four at halftime, 41-37. Butler would trail by as many as six early in the second half, but came back to tie the game and took a 61-58 lead on a 3-pointer by Bakari Triggs. Moments later, Butler would take the 65-60 lead before seeing it slip away.

Shomari Triggs led Butler with 20 points while Bakari Triggs had 17. Sean Goodwin had 13 and Dominique O'Connor had 12. It is the first time in seven games this season in which the Grizzlies had lost when O'Connor had scored in double figures. Independence's Tarik Phillip had 21 points to lead all scorers in the game.

The Grizzlies will now finish the regular season with a pair of road games, going to Labette on Wednesday and at Neosho on Saturday. If Butler can finish in the top four in the conference, the Grizzlies would host a first-round playoff game on Saturday, March 1.