Grizzlies Surpass 130 Points for the Second Straight Game to Top No. 25 Garden City
GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Grizzlies head coach Eric Nitsche picks up career win number 30 while facing off against his mentor and Garden City head coach Tommy DeSalme.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
70 | 61 | 131 |
|
|
52 | 55 | 107 |
Team Stats
#25 Garden City
| Game Statistics | Butler | #25 Garden City |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (46-98) | (36-63) |
| Field Goal % | 46.9% | 57.1% |
| Rebounds | 46 | 40 |
| Assists | 32 | 19 |
| Turnovers | 15 | 0 |
GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Grizzlies head coach Eric Nitsche picks up career win number 30 while facing off against his mentor and Garden City head coach Tommy DeSalme.
The Butler Grizzlies (8-3, 4-1) defeated the No. 25 ranked Garden City Broncbusters (8-2, 3-1) 131-107 to move into first place in the Jayhawk Conference standings.
Butler took a 12-5 lead less than four minutes into the game and never really looked back. The Grizzlies scored an incredible 70 points in the first 20 minutes, including 10 made threes. Butler forced an impressive 21 Garden City first half turnovers to help them take a 70-52 first half lead.
The Grizzlies kept their foot on the gas in the second half, scoring 61 more points, nine more made threes, and forced 11 more Garden City turnovers.
Guards Tristan Hankins and Tim Walker II led the way offensively for the Grizzlies, with Hankins having 24 points and Walker II added 20. Walker II was a perfect eight of eight from the field, including one of one from deep. Freshman Xavier Brown added 22 points off the bench, including four steals. Odie Williams added 14 points on an efficient night shooting, five of 10 from the field. Two more Grizzlies scored in double figures, including Devin Kerr's 15 points and Aiven Riley finished his night with 12.
Butler forced 32 Garden City turnovers with 45 points off turnovers on the night. The Grizzlies had 33 more shot attempts than Garden City, 96 to 63. The Grizzlies shot 46.9 percent from the field and were 18 of 48 from three.
Grizzlies head coach Eric Nitsche improves to 1-0 against his former coach/mentor Tommy DeSalme. Prior to arriving at Butler last season, Nitsche was the lead assistant for DeSalme for 10 seasons at Cowley and Hutchinson. Garden City will be coming to El Dorado and the Power Plant on February 4th for a rematch at 7:30 p.m.
Next up: The Grizzlies are off until next Wednesday when the Independence Pirates come to town at 7:30 p.m. Both Butler and Independence are the lone 4-1 teams in Jayhawk Conference play thus far.
