The Garden City Telegram

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GCCC men fall again to Butler

Published 2/4/2010 in Sports

By MIKE KESSINGER

mkessinger@gctelegram.com

If the Garden City Community College men's basketball team has ever been in a position to take a step forward at any point this season they've countered it with two steps back.

Wednesday night at Perryman Athletic Complex, the Broncbusters did just that — two steps back — falling to Butler 74-65. The loss came just four days after an inspired 18-point win against Dodge City, and by beating the Broncbusters on Wednesday, Butler swept the Jayhawk Conference Western Division series from the Broncbusters. GCCC lost to the Grizzlies in El Dorado on Dec. 5, 63-61.

"(Butler) is just tougher than we are," GCCC coach Kris Baumann said. "It just came down to they wanted it. They're in second place, and they're really well coached."

GCCC (11-12, 2-7) stayed in its eighth-place spot in the conference, two games ahead of Colby in the cellar and a game behind Barton County.

"We were up by three at half and I thought we'd played just OK," Baumann said. "In the second half I really thought we just laid down and quit. I've never had a team do that, especially at home, especially in a conference game, but we did that tonight. It's just unfortunate."

The Busters did come out energized in the first half answering any run Butler (20-4, 8-2) produced with one of their own. The Grizzlies led by five with 6:36 left before halftime and the Busters finished the half with a 21-13 scoring run to lead 38-35. Sophomore guard Chris McHenry sparked the Busters with a 3-pointer at the top of the key that tied it at 24 with five minutes left, and the Busters never trailed again in the first half.

The Busters took a 41-37 lead early into the second 20-minute stretch on a Vince Banks 3-pointer, but after the Grizzlies Mark Morgan connected on a trifecta that put his team up by two at the 16-minute mark, GCCC never led again.

"It's a team game and it's unfortunate because I recruited all these guys and I take responsibility for it," Baumann said. "Obviously, it has not gone the way we'd hoped it would go."

The Grizzlies methodically pulled away after Morgan's 3-pointer, building a 10-point lead on a Caleb Walker layup, then extended the advantage to as much as 13 points. The Busters made one final surge to pull within eight on a McHenry layup with 4:30 to go, but a Walker trey almost two minutes later expanded the deficit back to 11.

Banks finished with a game-high 24 points for GCCC. McHenry was the only other Buster in double-figure scoring with 15. GCCC shot just 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the floor.

The Grizzlies, who shot 46.4 percent, were paced by Walker and Dushawn Brooks with 15 points apiece. Troy Pierce scored 13 for Butler, and Morgan added 11.

GCCC will be in Hutchinson on Saturday to face the Blue Dragons, who are in first place in the conference. The men's tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Sports Arena.

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Butler 74, GCCC 65

BUTLER (20-4, 8-2) — Cousin 1-7 1-2 3, Morgan 4-6 0-0 11, Pierce 3-5 7-8 13, Walker 4-14 6-10 15, Gibbs 1-4 1-2 3, Anderson 3-3 0-0 9, Hilyard 1-3 2-2 5, Brooks 4-12 6-9 15, Ingram 0-1 0-0 0. Totals — 21-55 23-33 74.

GCCC (11-12, 2-7) — Burley 2-3 2-6 6, Jackson 1-2 2-2 4, Wesley 2-9 0-0 5, Jirmnson 2-6 0-2 5, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, McHenry 6-12 2-2 15, Morales 0-1 0-0 0, Griffin 2-3 2-3 6, Banks 8-17 5-6 24. Totals — 23-54 13-21 65.

Halftime — GCCC 38-35. 3-point goals — Butler 9-19 (Morgan 3-5, Anderson 3-3, Brooks 1-6, Walker 1-2, Hilyard 1-1, Cousin 0-1, Gibbs 0-1); GCCC 6-20 (Banks 3-8, McHenry 1-5, Wesley 1-3, Jirmnson 1-3, Brown 0-1). Rebounds — Butler 43 (Walker 10); GCCC 31 (Griffin 9). Assists — Butler 11 (Cousin, Gibbs 4); GCCC 10 (Wesley 4). Blocks — Butler 1 (Brooks 1); GCCC 3 (three with 1). Steals — Butler 8 (Pierce, Walker 2); GCCC 8 (Jirmnson 3). Fouled out — GCCC, Burley. Team fouls — Butler 18, GCCC 24. Turnovers — Butler 17, GCCC 18.

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