Butler men rout Tabor JV 104-63 in home opener

A balanced offensive attack helped the Butler men in a 104-63 home opening win over Tabor College JV at the Power Plant on Saturday.

Five players scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, who improved to 8-0 in season openers under head coach Mike Bargen.   

Sophomore Kyle Steward led all scorers with 16 points, while freshman Travis House was a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point land and finished with 15 points. Sophomore Robert Joiner added 14, while freshman Chris Howell and Jacolby Harris scored 13 each in the win.

Butler was hot from the field, hitting 53.8 percent (35-of-65) - including 55 percent (11-of-20) on three-point attempts. The Grizzly reserves came off the bench to score 56 points. All 11 players who participated scored at least a point in the contest.

A key 30-5 first-half run over an eight-minute stretch broke the game open for the Grizzlies. House opened the run with two three-pointers. Steward scored nine of his 16 points during the run - including hitting a pair of treys. A Steward three-pointer with 7:28 left before the break gave Butler its biggest lead of the half at 41-13.

Butler continued its hot shooting in the second half, hitting 7-of-9 from beyond the arc as a team. The Grizzlies quickly increased the margin to 35 with an 8-0 run to start the second half. Joiner and Steward hit back-to-back three-pointers to put Butler up 59-24.

The Grizzlies added a 14-0 run later in the half, beginning with consecutive layups from Jacolby Harris and Damien Akao. House connected on two three-pointers later in the run, with the latter giving the Grizzlies a 97-52 advantage.

Butler hit the 100-point mark with 4:32 to play on a three-point play from Harris. Adrion Williams then followed with a layup to give the Grizzlies a 102-56 lead - its largest of the contest.

Next up for Butler (1-0 overall) is a road contest at Allen County on Monday at 8 p.m.