Butler falls to Hutchinson in home heartbreaker, 66-64

The Butler men dropped a heartbreaker at home to arch-rival Hutchinson, falling 66-64 to the Blue Dragons on Saturday.

The Grizzlies fell behind 4-0 early but controlled the first half from that point on, leading by as many as 15 points. Hutchinson's Anthony Thomas hit a half-court shot for three points at the halftime buzzer, but the Grizzlies still led 36-24 at the break.

Hutchinson would control the second half, coming all the way back to tie the game 55-55 with 7:49 to play. The Blue Dragons would take several leads over the next five minutes, but each time the Grizzlies would answer to tie the score before Hutch finally took the lead for good when Rozell Nunn hit a 3-pointer with 2:41 to play.

Butler had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Justin Simmons' shot off the backboard missed as time expired.

Butler had two players – Sean Osler and Andrew Victoria – score 18 points apiece to  lead the way. Zac Bargen scored 12 points and Justin Simmons had 11 points for Butler. Alex Davis had 16 points off the bench to lead Hutchinson in scoring.

Butler falls to 8-16 overall and 2-8 in Jayhawk West Conference play. Hutchinson has won six straight and is 20-5 overall and 7-4 in the conference.

The Grizzlies will take to the road to face No. 13-ranked Barton County on Wednesday.