Coming off back-to-back losses this past week to two NJCAA Top 25 teams, it looked as if the Grizzlies may drop their third straight as they stared down a 17-point deficit with 9:46 to play Monday night against the Cloud T-Birds. Butler wouldn't check it in early as they started to chip away slowly at the T-Bird lead, eventually tying the game up and sending it into overtime. Butler had all the momentum in overtime and came away with a thrilling come from behind win 81-76 over Cloud County.
Shawn Hopkins came up huge at the end of regulation as he scored eight of his 19 points in the final four minutes with his biggest basket coming with :05 seconds left on the clock when he made a go-ahead layup putting Butler on top 67-66.
A foul in the back court would send Cloud to the line to shoot two. Zavien Smith made the first one but missed the second one allowing the Grizzlies to get down the court with a chance to win but a shot from Noah Thomasson bounced off the back of the rim and the buzzer sounded.
A Thomasson layup and a big three from Karrington Davis to start the overtime period gave Butler a lead they wouldn't give up and they came away with the 81-76 win.
Cloud came out early with the help of Savian Edwards who finished with 23 points. The T-Birds led most of the way with their largest margin getting to 17 points with 9:46 left in the game. Butler's largest led came in the overtime period where they were up seven at one point.
Butler improved on their dismal three-point shooting performance Saturday night finishing 5-16 for 31% and went 46% from the floor. The Grizzlies got to the rim and finished strong scoring 50 of their 81 points in the paint. They limited their turnovers to 14 in the game while forcing 17.
For the third straight game, Noah Thomasson scored a game high 24 points. He finished with seven rebounds, four assists, a steal, a block and played all 45 minutes. Shawn Hopkins came up big late and finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. DeeJuan Pruitt posted another double-double, his fourth of the season, with 16 points and 14 rebounds. He also had two blocks in the game, one coming at a crucial moment late in regulation. Keyon Thomas got his confidence back hitting back-to-back threes in the second half during the Grizzlies comeback and finished with 10 points on the night.
Butler won the rebound battle 39-36 and held the T-Birds to 39% shooting from the floor and 28% from deep.
NEXT UP: Butler (12-4, 10-4) will take the rest of the week to prepare for the Independence Pirates (10-6, 8-6) as they host them on Saturday, March 22 at 7:30pm. Butler defeated the Pirates on February 27 on the road in a tight 79-74 matchup.
NOTES: Largest comeback this season (17 points)…Last loss to the T-Birds was on December 9, 2017…Thomasson scores 24 points for third straight game…First overtime game of the season.
