Butler men defeat Neosho to advance to Region VI semifinals

DODGE CITY, Kan. – The Butler men moved into the Region VI semifinals for the first time since 2017 with an 82-65 quarterfinal victory over Neosho County on Sunday at United Wireless Arena.

Javaunte Hawkins led the Grizzlies (24-7 overall) with 25 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting and added five steals, while Shawn Hopkins finished with 20 points on 8-of-10 attempts and pulled down nine rebounds. Juwan White and Tracy Jones also scored in double-digits, finishing with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Butler (24-7) advances to the semifinal round where they will face Jayhawk West champion Colby (27-4), who defeated Independence 99-93.

"It's a big relief," White said about the Grizzlies advancing to Monday's semifinals. "I would have never pictured going this far with the team last year that we had. It's definitely exciting. It's really special."

"We're doing what we set out to do," said Grizzly first-year head coach Kyle Fisher. "When the team arrived in August, we set out to put ourselves in this position. We set out to win every single game – no matter who we play… this is where we expected to be this year with this team. Hopefully this isn't a one-time thing. This is what Butler basketball should be about."

Hawkins and Hopkins were consistent in their offensive play against Neosho, as both players scored at least 10 points in both halves. The duo combined to make 15-of-23 shots on the night for the Grizzlies, who made 48.4 percent from the field in the second half enroute to pulling away from the Panthers.

Butler overcame an early first-half deficit and limited Neosho to just 3-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc. The Panthers made 18 3-pointers in Wednesday's opening-round win over Pratt and came into the contest hitting 57 percent (43-of-75) over their last three games.

"That's just guys being tough and committed and being down in the stance and saying 'You're not going to do that to us.'," said Fisher. "I've got to commend our guys for staying focused for a full 40 minutes and eliminating the 3-point shot from this game tonight.

"Our defensive effort was really what won the game for us and what has put us in this position all year long," Fisher added. "They were in the 50s until the last two minutes of the game when it was already out of reach."

Butler struggled offensively in the opening five minutes of the game, making just 2-of-11 from the field while Neosho established a 15-8 lead.

Hopkins took charge of the Grizzly offense by scoring six straight points, then after the midway mark of the half, White and Hawkins nailed consecutive 3-pointers to put Butler up 20-19 with 8:57 left before halftime.

"Somebody had to do it," Hopkins said of his own 6-0 run to spark the Butler offense. "I just set it upon myself to set the tone for the team."

"Regardless of our start, we know that once we get to start playing our basketball, we're going to be good," said Hawkins, who made 7-of-13 from the field and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. "We just have to stay down through the hard times. When we're missing shots, we've got to keep playing our ball and that's what we did."

Fisher stated that the Grizzlies started getting into its offensive groove once they stopped turning the ball over.  

"We had 11 turnovers in the first half - several of them were in the first ten minutes," said Fisher. "Eventually, we settled in and had stronger drives and finishes at the basket. We started taking care of the ball better, which created better offense for us."

The Grizzlies went without a field goal for a 4:34 stretch as Neosho went back in front at 28-23. Hawkins then jumpstarted a 12-0 run before halftime with a field goal, followed by a White 3-pointer to tie the game. After Tracy Jones made 2-of-2 free throws, White made a steal on the other end which resulted in a fast-break basket and bonus by Hopkins.

Hawkins capped the run with two foul shots to give the Grizzlies a 35-28 lead at the 1:07 mark.

Butler continued to surge in the second half with an early 9-0 run to extend its lead to 47-36, beginning with a Ndongo Ndaw dunk and a Hopkins steal and breakaway slam.

Leading 51-45, Butler began to pull away from Neosho as a Hawkins trey started a 15-2 run, which included five straight points from Marque English. Consecutive baskets from Jones and Hopkins put the Grizzlies up 66-47 with 8:47 remaining.

Neosho was led by Jae-Min Yang, who scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the first half. Daniel Titus added 16 points for the Panthers, who shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the field.

Butler hit 43.3 percent (26-of-60) from the field and outrebounded the Panthers by a 39-31 margin.

NOTES: Top-seeded Cowley will battle defending Region VI champion Coffeyville in Monday's second semifinal game at 7:00 p.m. Cowley, ranked No. 15 in this week's NJCAA poll, eliminated Hutchinson 110-91 in quarterfinal action, marking the first time since 2012 the Blue Dragons have not made the semifinal round.