Butler Blitzes Colby Early, Secures Road Victory

COLBY, Kan. – The No. 11 Butler Grizzlies used a dominant first half to defeat Colby 68–55 on Saturday afternoon.

The Grizzlies (17–1, 11–1) delivered one of their strongest opening halves of the season against the Colby Trojans (9–9, 6–6), jumping out to a 40–14 lead at the break. Butler shot an impressive 15-of-28 from the field in the first half, including 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Grizzlies held Colby to just 5-of-24 shooting (20.8 percent) and forced 10 turnovers.

Colby responded after halftime, but the deficit proved too large to overcome. The Trojans shot 14-of-28 in the second half and 7-of-15 from three. Butler went 10-of-29 after the break, shooting 34.5 percent. Colby outscored the Grizzlies 41–28 in the second half and held Butler to just 10 points in the fourth quarter.

For the game, Butler shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) and finished 8-of-21 from three and 10-of-16 at the free-throw line. Colby shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52), including 9-of-26 from deep and 8-of-10 at the line. The Trojans outrebounded Butler 28–25 but committed 13 turnovers to Butler's five.

Sophomore Ashley Singhateh led the Grizzlies with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, adding five rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Aliyah Green and Keegan Yarick each scored 10 points, shooting 4-of-7 and 4-of-9 respectively.

Next up: Butler returns to the Power Plant on Wednesday to host rival Coffeyville at 5:30 p.m.