Grizzlies hold off late surge from Tigers, defeat Marshalltown 68-64 Friday night

A 25-point performance from Marque English propelled the Butler Grizzlies past the Marshalltown Tigers, 68-64 in the first of two games that the Grizzlies will play in Iowa this weekend. With the win, the Grizzlies improve to 2-0 on the young season and pick up their first win over an NJCAA affiliated team.

English, who returned to the Grizzlies after a year at Northern Colorado, was sensational in the victory, putting up 25 points and going 9 of 13 from the field and a remarkable 6-8 from three-point range. The Grizzlies would need all of it, as the Tigers roared back from a 16-point deficit to get to within one point with just 9 seconds left. Butler got the clutch stop they needed and were able to put away free throws late to put the Tigers away.

Issac Ondekane was the only other Grizzly player to score double digits, with 10 points. Butler's defense made it tough on the Tigers all night, forcing 22 turnovers and holding Marshalltown to 17% from three-point range. Butler made four three pointers in a row early in the game, taking a 30-19 lead and forcing a Tigers timeout. The lead would grow to as much as 20 before the late Marshalltown rally. Eden Holt hit two clutch free throws to extend the lead to 67-64 before the Tigers missed a chance to tie the game. Jaden Okon cemented the five-point win with two more free throws in the final seconds.

The Grizzlies will hope to continue their unbeaten start to the season with a tough test against the second ranked team in the nation on Saturday, when they play Indian Hills in Ottumwa, Iowa on their home court at 7:00pm.