Grizzlies Handle Pratt in Opening Round, Set for Quarterfinal Matchup at Hutchinson Tuesday

EL DORADO, Kan. – The Grizzlies are moving on in the Region 6 Tournament.

Five-seed Butler (21-10) took down 12-seed Pratt (11-20), 95-78, in the first round of the Region 6 Tournament at the Power Plant on Saturday afternoon.

The Grizzlies move on to the quarterfinal round where four-seed Hutchinson awaits them on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. from the Sports Arena in Hutchinson. The winner advances to the Region 6 Final Four which will be played on Friday and Saturday at Fort Hays State's Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Butler/Hutch winner is matched up with the winner of one-seed Cowley and nine-seed Dodge City's game on Tuesday in Arkansas City. You can view the full bracket and get tournament information by clicking here.

Butler beat Pratt for a third time this season. The first two wins over the Beavers came by a combined six points but the Grizzly offense was clicking on Saturday as they shot 53.8% (35-65) from the field in the 17-point victory.

Emeka Opurum continued the impressive play following his heroic 18-point, 19-rebound effort in the win over fifth ranked Cowley on Wednesday as the freshman from Nigeria led Butler with 20 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocks versus the Beavers.

Bubba Leavell finished with 14 points while Devin Kerr added 12 points, Josiah Kirkwood had 10 points and dished out five assists and Rashad McCormick finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Grizzlies had 47 bench points in the game.

Both teams had 16 turnovers and Butler outrebounded the Beavers 37-32. Butler was 13-28 from distance with Pratt shooting 8-28 from three. Free throw shooting was fairly similar with the Grizzlies finishing 12-14 (85.7%) and Pratt 16-19 (84.2%). The Grizzlies 85.7% from the free throw line was their second-best percentage of the season.

Pratt built an 11-7 lead seven minutes into the game with the four-point lead being their largest of the game. The Grizzlies largest scoring run of the game was a 9-0 run that saw them go ahead 23-17 with 8:15 remaining in the first half. McCormick and Cory Muehler hit back-to-back threes to build a 10-point lead with 6:30 to go in the half and the Grizzlies eventually went to the half leading by 13, 47-34. Butler shot 50% from the field in the half with Leavell pouring in all 14 of his points in the first 20 minutes.

The shorthanded Beavers played just seven players. Jarrett Dingle led all scorers with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds playing all 40 minutes. Parker Whisenhunt added 18 points and six steals while Gavin Luketa had 16 points and four rebounds off the bench. Pratt battled in the second half but the Grizzlies foot never came off the gas outscoring the Beavers 48-44.

The Grizzlies largest lead came with 11:45 remaining in the game as an Opurum layup gave Butler a 21-point advantage at 71-50. Pratt battled back to trim Butler's lead to 10 at 81-71 with five minutes to play but Butler outscored them 14-7 over the final 4:37 to secure the win.

Butler has advanced past the opening round of the Region 6 Tournament for a fourth consecutive season.