By Kalon Fullerton

The Butler Grizzlies punched their ticket to the Region VI semifinals with a 76-70 victory over the Independence Pirates in the final home game of the 2023 season at the Power Plant on Tuesday. With the victory, the Grizzlies will move to downtown Wichita to face Dodge City in the semifinals on Friday, on the campus of Friends University.

It was a sloppy first half, as the two teams combined for 23 turnovers and 12 steals. The Grizzlies led most of the way in the first half and took a 37-32 lead into the locker room. The Grizzlies hit just two of their eight three pointers in the first 20 minutes but outrebounded the Pirates by a large margin, with 20 rebounds to Indy's eight.

The Grizzlies jumped out to a 13-6 run to open the second half and led by as many as 16 in the second half. The Pirates stayed alive the entire way, and drew to within four points several times, but pulled no further. A Javon Grant bucket with two minutes remaining pushed the Grizzly lead back to double digits and proved to be the dagger as the Grizzlies held on the rest of the way. 

Butler was led by their starters, as four of the five Grizzlies in the starting lineup finished with double digits, led by Isaiah Williams' 17 points and nine rebounds, just one short of a double-double. Rob Brown and Isaac Ondekane were close behind with 13 points and Javon Grant finished with 11, while Treylon Payne also scored 11 coming off the bench.

The Grizzlies shot 41% as a team from the field and made five of their 17 three point attempts. The Grizzlies put in 36 points in the paint and were boosted by 27 points off Pirates turnovers and 21 bench points. The Grizzlies also finished with 14 assists, led by Payne's four.

Butler held the Pirates to 43% and forced 19 Pirates turnovers. Payne and Williams were both stingy as they led the Grizzlies with three steals. Butler and Independence tied in the rebounding battle, both finishing with 36, but the Grizzlies held the Pirates to just six second chance points. 

The Grizzlies advance to the final four of the Region tourney for the second straight year. They improve to 23-8 on the year and will end their season at the Power Plant with a home record of 13-2, and they won their last nine games in front of the home faithful. Next up for the Grizzlies will be a semifinal contest against the winner of the Dodge City vs Cloud County game. The Grizzlies were swept by the top seeded Conquistadors during the regular season while splitting the series against the Thunderbirds. The game will be held at 3:00 at the Garvey Center at Friends University on Friday, with the winner advancing to the Region VI championship on Saturday.