Butler basketball teams sweep on night of celebration
The Butler Community College basketball teams swept a pair of games Tuesday night at home while honoring the national champion Grizzly football team.
The Grizzly women's team opened with a 77-66 win over the Tabor College junior varsity, and the men's team completed the evening with a 100-41 victory over the Central Christian College junior varsity. The football team, which won the NJCAA national championship Saturday, was honored in a ceremony during halftime of the men's game.
The Grizzly men's team reached the 100-point mark for the first time this season. Butler scored the game's first seven points and never looked back, leading 47-23 at halftime. The Grizzlies had their best shooting night of the season, going 46-for-80 from the floor. The defense forced 24 turnovers, including 14 on steals.
D.J. Harrison led four Grizzlies in double figures with 19 points. Marcus Batiste had 17 points, including a pair of baseline dunks. Kevin Sechrist had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Avery Richardson added 11 points and six assists. The Grizzlies are now 5-8 overall on the season.
The Butler women's team bounced back from losing twice at the Jayhawk Shootout over the weekend, but they had trouble shaking the pesky Bluejays from Hillsboro for most of the game. The Grizzlies led 40-30 at halftime, but Tabor rallied to take a brief one-point lead midway through the second half.
Butler held off Tabor by finishing with a 15-5 run, highlighted by Tiffany Stokes, who had three baskets, some key rebounds and a pair of big steals which led to transition baskets. Butler finished the game with one more rebound than Tabor (44-43).
Phylicia Freeman led the Grizzlies with 16 points, Stokes finished with 13 points and Lindsey Handcox had 13 points and nine rebounds. Point guard Taylor Lockridge finished the game with six points, 10 assists and four steals.
The Grizzlies will finish the fall semester Saturday with a home date against Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa. The women's game will start at 6 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 8 p.m.
Men's Basketball
Cent. Christ. JV 23 18-41
Butler 47 53-100
Central Christian JV-Chris Levy 6, Christian Goulsby 1, David Hix 2, Terrance Guillory 8, Jaren Ford 5, Casey Coates 2, Kyle Tahkeal 11, Jamie Taylor 2, Xavier Graves 4. FG 13-51 (7-23), FT 8-12.
Butler-Maurice Colter 4, Kevin Sechrist 14, Avery Richardson 11, Austin Birkholtz 2, D.J. Harrison 19, Cody Arnold 6, Dominique Ngiman 6, Marcus Batiste 17, Keil Riemann 4, Logan Stutz 17. FG 46-80 (7-18), FT 1-4.
Rebounds-CCJV 27 (Guillory, Tahkeal, Graves 3), Butler 47 (Sechrist 10); Assists-CCJV 2, Butler 20 (Richardson 6); Steals-CCJV 4, Butler 14 (Sechrist 5); Turnovers-CCJV 24, Butler 8.
Women's Basketball
Tabor JV 30 36-66
Butler 40 37-77
Tabor JV-Cassandra Huxman 10, Abby Claassen 3, Stephanie Silvas 12, Amanda McDonald 18, Cheri Mount 6, Dana Champlin 4, Katie Mount 6, Jenny Gaskell 5, Haley Parsley 2. FG 25-65 (9-22), FT 7-12.
Butler-Raneisha Hunter 4, Taylor Lockridge 6, Phylicia Freeman 16, Brittany Aldrich 8, Lindsey Handcox 13, Tiffany Stokes 13, Damara Lewis 3, Brittany Fernandez 8, Kelsy Bruner 6. FG 29-66 (3-18), FT 16-24.
Rebounds-Tabor 43 (C. Mount, Gaskell 6), Butler 44 (Handcox 9); Assists-Tabor 14 (McDonald 3), Butler 15 (Lockridge 10); Steals-Tabor 8, Butler 13; Turnovers-Tabor 21, Butler 17.
El Dorado Times