Butler men can't hold double digit lead in home loss to Pratt

The Butler men suffered a third straight conference loss as Pratt overcame a double-digit deficit at the Power Plant on Saturday to beat the Grizzlies 58-53.

Butler trailed 12-8 in the early going but stormed back to take a 25-19 lead with 6:30 left in the first half. The Grizzlies had a 31-26 advantage at the half and then controlled the first 10 minutes of the second half, building a 44-33 lead with 11 minutes to play following an Eric Clark rebound and putback.

Pratt, however, answered with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to get within five points and eventually continued to pull closer and closer until taking a 52-51 lead with two minutes left in the game.

Butler could only score two points after that and Pratt cashed in on its free throws to pull away for its first conference win. The Beavers outscored Butler 26-9 over the final 11:49 of the game.

Justin Simmons scored 16 points to lead the Grizzlies. Andrew Victoria just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.  Bryton Hobbs scored 21 points to lead Pratt in scoring.

Butler falls to 7-12 on the season, 1-4 in Jayhawk West play. Pratt improves to 10-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference. Butler takes to the road for its next action, travelling to Concordia on Wednesday for a game at Cloud County scheduled for an 8 p.m. tipoff. The game can be heard on KFH 98.7 FM and 1240 AM or online at www.kfhradio.com