A show of force by the grizzlies

There was total domination by the Butler Grizzlies on Friday, Dec. 6 as they hosted the Fort Hays Tech Northwest Tigers at the Power Plant. The Grizzlies triumphed with a victory by a 29-point margin, 54-83. 

In the first half, the game went scoreless for the first couple of minutes, as both teams traded possessions by missing shots. Then freshman guard Devin Kerr grabbed a defensive rebound, ran down the court effortlessly and scored the first points of the game. The Tigers answered right back with a three-point shot.  

Both teams traded points for the next five minutes; however, at the 13-minute mark, the Grizzlies put their foot on the gas and asserted their dominance, taking an 11-point lead with nine minutes left on the clock making the score 10-21. The Grizzlies displayed their strengths on both sides of the ball, prolific offensively with major points scored and a real display of defensive effort with big rebounds and blocked shots. The first half ended in favor of the Grizzlies, 22-50.  

The second half was the same the story, a very motivated and aggressive Grizzlies against an unbalanced Tigers. The men dominated the boards grabbing almost every defensive rebound and a couple of offensive rebounds, guard play was on point. Every player impacted the game with their effort, which led to the Grizzlies continuing their runs increasing the lead to 32-points making the score 31-63 with 13-minutes left. This wide margin was beneficial for the habitual players who started on the bench, as they saw their playing time rise as Coach Eric Nitsche rotated the line up with 10 minutes left. 

At that point, the Grizzlies had double the points the Tigers had scored. Sophomore guard Bubba Leavell was a superior force throughout this half on both sides of the ball. Leavell scored an impressive lay-up with four minutes left in the game, which was the representation of how the game went. The Grizzlies highlighted their talent and domination.  

The Grizzlies will host their final home game of 2024 against the Colby Community College Trojans, tonight at 7:30 p.m.