Late surge lifts Butler men to comeback win at Allen

IOLA, Kan. – Down by six with seven minutes to play on Wednesday at Allen County, the Butler men finished the game on a 27-11 run, including a 10-0 stretch in which the Grizzlies took the lead for good.

That late game surge allowed the Grizzlies to get a Jayhawk Conference road victory, defeating the Red Devils 88-78. It is Butler's fourth straight win and sixth in the past seven games.

Butler trailed 67-61 before mounting its comeback. The Grizzlies were still down by a point when Juwan White nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:58 to go to put Butler up 75-73.

That was the start of Butler's 10-0 run, putting the Grizzlies up 82-73 after a Tyrone Coley free throw with 2:58 to go. Butler would lead by as many as 10 in the closing minutes.

Butler's dominance to end the game overshadowed a back-and-forth effort by both teams all night long. Butler didn't take its first lead until a Juwan White bucket made it 10-8 in the early going.

A Saw Ward 3-pointer with 10:17 to play in the first half closed a 7-0 Butler run that put Butler up 24-18. When Immanuel Allen scored with 8:28 left in the first half, Butler led 28-20.

That lead quickly evaporated, however, as Allen County tied the game 30-30 and scored the final bucket of the half to take a 42-40 lead at the break.

Butler would get the lead back in the second half when Kamron Brice hit two free throws to make it 48-47 with 17:04 to go. Butler would take a 54-51 lead, but fell behind 61-55. Butler would tie the game at 61-61 after a bucket by Tyrone Coley, but Allen answered with its 6-0 run.

That's when Butler took over and started its run to end the game.

White, the reigning Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week, led Butler with 26 points. Tyrone Coley had 16, while Daviyon Dennis and Jon'il Fugett had 12 apiece. Kamron Brice added 10.

Butler is now 13-6 overall and 6-4 in Jayhawk East Conference play. The Grizzlies are scheduled to play at home on Saturday against Independence, but there is a chance the game could be postponed until Monday due to impending winter weather.