Butler men finish 2019 with 20-point victory at NW Tech

GOODLAND, Kan. – With a balanced scoring attack, the Butler men finished the fall semester strong with a 93-73 road victory over Northwest Kansas Technical College on Wednesday at Max L. Jones Fieldhouse.

Grizzly guards Juwan White and Grehlon Easter finished with 17 and 16 points each to lead the Grizzlies (11-3 overall, 4-1 conference). Marque English added 14 points, while Javaunte Hawkins scored 13 in the win.

Butler never trailed in the contest, scoring the opening six points of the game and added a 9-1 run for a 10-point advantage before the first-half media timeout. The Grizzlies limited Northwest (2-10, 0-5) to just three field goals in the opening 9:04 of the contest while taking an 18-8 lead.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 19 in the first half, getting a 17-3 run over a 4:06 span. English scored six points, while Brice capped the spurt with a 3-pointer to put Butler in front 37-18 with 4:20 remaining in the half.

Northwest managed to cut Butler's lead to eight points on five different occasions in the second half, including twice in the opening 2:10 of the half. However, Butler made an 11-2 run with Tracy Jones scoring the final five points on two field goals and 1-of-2 free throws for a 54-37 lead with 14:14 remaining.

The Mavericks again pulled back within eight, 65-57, with 8:10 to play, but Butler iced the game with a 17-2 run as Hawkins hit three 3-pointers during the run. Hawkins opened the run with an open trey at the left wing at the 7:02 mark for a 70-58 lead, then Easter scored five straight – including a steal for a breakaway dunk.

Hawkins drained two 3-pointers on consecutive Butler possessions, which were sandwiched around a Northwest field goal. The last Hawkins trey came at the 3:33 mark, with Butler taking its largest lead at 84-60.

Northwest's Joshua Robinson led all scorers with 27 points on five 3-pointers, while Bryan Phillips Jr. added 12 in the loss.

After the New Year, Butler returns to action with a home game against Barton (11-2, 3-1) on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 3:00 p.m. With 10 wins over their last 12 games, the Grizzlies head into break just one game out of first place in the Jayhawk East standings, behind both Cowley and Allen.