It’s a good thing Grizzlies have teeth because the Butler men were able to hold off the Seward County Saints by the skin of theirs in a 67-65 victory in a Region VI men’s basketball semifinal game at Wichita State’s Koch Arena.
The two teams traded the lead 11 times and had five ties in the contest pitting the Jayhawk West opponents with the Grizzlies being able to hold off the Saints’ final attempt to send the game into overtime…and they needed every second.
Seward’s last attempt came with 1.7 seconds on the clock. Donte McCarter hit the first of two free throws then purposely missed the second attempt. The ball bounced over the Grizzlies back to McCarter, who tried an off-balanced shot that hit the backboard. Post Jon Tassin tapped the ball into the basket, but it was a half-second too late as Butler advanced.
“It can never be easy,” said Butler sophomore Caleb Walker, who led the Grizzlies with 18 points and eight rebounds. “I just kept saying ‘Don’t go in,’ and it didn’t until it was too late.”
Butler used an 11-2 run to lead 57-50 with six minutes remaining in regulation then had to answer each of three rally attempts by the Saints. Troy Pierce and Walker hit baskets after a six-point run got the margin down to one in Seward’s first try; then the Grizzlies hit free throws to push the margin back up to three with 15 seconds on the clock.
Pierce, who scored 17 points and also grabbed seven boards said the Grizzlies (28-5) had been thinking of possible revenge against the Saints (24-9) after Seward beat Butler at Liberal in the final regular season game.
The sophomore also said that rebounding was a big part of the Grizzlies’ victory Sunday night.
“They have strong guys and we had to play just as strong,” Pierce said.
Walker added: “We just needed to be aggressive and tough. We had to go after them; not quit and don’t take any plays off.”
The first half saw the Saints use an eight-point run to build an 18-11 margin midway through the stanza; only to see Butler later use a 9-2 run to regain the lead. The teams traded points for the rest of the half with Seward leading 34-33 at intermission, with 15 of the Saints’ points coming off turnovers.
The second half saw Butler slow down the tempo of the game, scoring the first six points of the stanza. Seward was able to regain their momentum for a short time and pushed ahead 48-46 before the Grizzlies’ big rally.
Pierce scored five points in the rally on a three-point play and two free throws, Walker also had a three-point play and Kyle Sloan hit his third three-point basket of the game.
Anthony Cousin also scored in double figures for Butler with 11 points.
McCarter and Marky Nolen scored 18 points apiece to lead the Saints, with Nolen also grabbing 10 rebounds in the loss.
The Grizzlies will face Coffeyville in tonight’s championship game. The Ravens beat Hutchinson 64-51 in the other regional semifinal game. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Koch Arena after Seward County and Labette will battle for the women’s regional title at 6 p.m.
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It’s a good thing Grizzlies have teeth because the Butler men were able to hold off the Seward County Saints by the skin of theirs in a 67-65 victory in a Region VI men’s basketball semifinal game at Wichita State’s Koch Arena.
The two teams traded the lead 11 times and had five ties in the contest pitting the Jayhawk West opponents with the Grizzlies being able to hold off the Saints’ final attempt to send the game into overtime…and they needed every second.
Seward’s last attempt came with 1.7 seconds on the clock. Donte McCarter hit the first of two free throws then purposely missed the second attempt. The ball bounced over the Grizzlies back to McCarter, who tried an off-balanced shot that hit the backboard. Post Jon Tassin tapped the ball into the basket, but it was a half-second too late as Butler advanced.
“It can never be easy,” said Butler sophomore Caleb Walker, who led the Grizzlies with 18 points and eight rebounds. “I just kept saying ‘Don’t go in,’ and it didn’t until it was too late.”
Butler used an 11-2 run to lead 57-50 with six minutes remaining in regulation then had to answer each of three rally attempts by the Saints. Troy Pierce and Walker hit baskets after a six-point run got the margin down to one in Seward’s first try; then the Grizzlies hit free throws to push the margin back up to three with 15 seconds on the clock.
Pierce, who scored 17 points and also grabbed seven boards said the Grizzlies (28-5) had been thinking of possible revenge against the Saints (24-9) after Seward beat Butler at Liberal in the final regular season game.
The sophomore also said that rebounding was a big part of the Grizzlies’ victory Sunday night.
“They have strong guys and we had to play just as strong,” Pierce said.
Walker added: “We just needed to be aggressive and tough. We had to go after them; not quit and don’t take any plays off.”
The first half saw the Saints use an eight-point run to build an 18-11 margin midway through the stanza; only to see Butler later use a 9-2 run to regain the lead. The teams traded points for the rest of the half with Seward leading 34-33 at intermission, with 15 of the Saints’ points coming off turnovers.
The second half saw Butler slow down the tempo of the game, scoring the first six points of the stanza. Seward was able to regain their momentum for a short time and pushed ahead 48-46 before the Grizzlies’ big rally.
Pierce scored five points in the rally on a three-point play and two free throws, Walker also had a three-point play and Kyle Sloan hit his third three-point basket of the game.
Anthony Cousin also scored in double figures for Butler with 11 points.
McCarter and Marky Nolen scored 18 points apiece to lead the Saints, with Nolen also grabbing 10 rebounds in the loss.
The Grizzlies will face Coffeyville in tonight’s championship game. The Ravens beat Hutchinson 64-51 in the other regional semifinal game. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Koch Arena after Seward County and Labette will battle for the women’s regional title at 6 p.m.
