Butler men has win streak snapped with 97-84 home loss to Barton

The Butler men had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 97-84 home loss to Barton on Saturday at the Power Plant.

Butler (11-4 overall, 4-2 conference) trailed by as many at 27 early in the second half, but came as close as nine in the final minutes of the contest.

Javaunte Hawkins scored a season-high 22 points, while Grehlon Easter and Payton Dickerson each finished with 15 in the loss.

Barton (12-2, 4-1) scorched the Grizzlies in the opening half by making 58.3 percent (21-of-36), including hitting 50 percent (7-of-14) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Butler struggled from the field by shooting at a 23.7 percent clip (9-of-38).

Barton jumped out to an early 9-2 lead to open the contest, then led by as many as 19 after taking a 29-10 lead midway through the half.

Juwan White and Hawkins each hit a 3-pointer during an 8-2 Grizzly run with under four minutes to play in the half to narrow the margin to 10, but Barton ended the half with a 12-3 run for a 53-34 lead at the break.

Barton took its largest lead of the contest at the 16:46 mark of the second half following a Justin Harmon dunk on a fast break for a 63-36 lead.

The Grizzlies would slowly chip away at Barton's lead over the next 13 minutes, cutting the deficit to 14 following consecutive baskets by Hawkins and Shawn Hopkins.

Butler gained momentum late in the contest after pulling within nine points with 3:01 to play. White assisted on a Payton Dickerson layup, then a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass led to a Hawkins baseline jumper with 3:01 remaining.

Butler failed to cut the margin any closer while Barton made 9-of-11 free throws in the final 2:30 of the contest.

Barton finished the game by hitting 54.8 percent (34-of-62) from the field, while Butler was limited to 36.5 percent (27-of-74).

Barton's offense was led by Jaheim Holden, who scored 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting and made 3-of-6 beyond the perimeter. Mavrick Gildyard added 22 points behind 9-of-12 from the field.

Butler returns to action Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Pratt (8-6, 2-3). The Beavers remained two games above .500 overall on the season with a 80-77 home overtime win over Neosho County on Saturday.