The Independence Pirates threatened late, but the Grizzlies knocked down free throws and picked up a couple key stops in the final minutes to escape Independence with a 79–74 win Saturday afternoon on the road.
Butler (9-2, 7-2) finished up the month of February 7-1 overall picking up their third straight road win Saturday afternoon in a tough battle with the Pirates. Independence closed the gap to four points on a couple different occasions late but couldn't climb any closer.
All five starters scored in double figures Saturday night. The Grizzlies were paced by Treylon Payne who was a perfect 4-4 from three and finished with a game high 20 points, his second time this season scoring in the 20's. Noah Thomasson played a hard 38 minutes in the win finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Shawn Hopkins, Isaiah Williams and Karrington Davis all scored 11 points in the Grizzlies 79-74 win.
DeeJuan Pruitt returned back to the court after missing a game due to injury and went 2-2 from the floor and 4-4 from the free throw line finishing with eight points. He added in five rebounds and one block.
Butler nearly shot 20% better on the night as they finished shooting 54.7% from the floor while holding the Pirates to 35.4%. Both teams made nine threes, but the Grizzlies only attempted 16 while Independence went 9-32 from deep for 28%. Both teams shot 80%+ from the free throw line in the game.
NEXT UP: Butler (9-2, 7-2) will host the Neosho Panthers (4-4, 2-4) Wednesday, March 3rd at 7:30pm.
