Seward Can't Finish, Falls to Butler in Double OT

If Seward County Head Coach Bryan Zollinger had any hair left on his head going into Friday's non-conference battle against former Jayhawk West rival Butler, he didn't have any afterwards as the 7th year head man watched his Saints fail to convert on opportunity after opportunity against the Grizzlies in a heartbreaking double overtime loss in Dodge City.  

The teams played things about as even as you could nearly the entire night.  After Seward gained a double digit early lead with a hot start, Butler roared back to tie the game at 42 at the half.  It was the Grizzlies who were the aggressors to start the second half and looked like they just about had the game in hand when it was the Saints turn for a comeback.  Seward took their first lead of the second half with just 5:23 left and looked like they had the game on ice, leading by five points with just 36 seconds left, but a pair of missed free throws and two Saints fouls later, Butler had tied the game at 83.  Seward had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but couldn't finish and the game went to overtime.  

In the first overtime, the Saints started slow, failing to score in the first two minutes of the period as Butler grabbed an 87-83 lead.  Seward then got things together and after tying the game up and getting a Butler turnover, Secean Johnson drove to the basket and scored to give the Saints an 89-87 lead with 23 seconds left.  To add insult to injury, the Saints had a chance to seal the game as Butler's Bakari Triggs was called for a technical foul to give Seward two free throws.  Seward could not take advantage of the gift and missed both shots from the charity stripe.  Butler missed a three on their ensuing possession, but Seward couldn't clear the glass and an offensive rebound and putback for the Grizzlies knotted the game at 89 with just 1.9 seconds left. On the play the Saints were also called for a foul but luckily Butler missed the free throw to send the game to a second overtime.  

Butler again started the second overtime on top as the Saints struggled to get anything going on offense.  The Grizzlies took a 96-90 lead with 1:48 to go in the period until an 8-3 run, capped by a bank shot three from Kevin Smith got the Saints to within one at 99-98 with 14.3 seconds remaining.  Seward was forced to foul and Butler went back to the line, but two missed free throws later, the Saints had the ball with a chance to win.  With time winding down, Seward committed their 16th and most critical turnover of the night, throwing the ball directly to a Butler defender without even getting off a game winning attempt and that was all she wrote as the Grizzlies brought home the 99-98 win.  

The Saints offensive production was the best it had been all year as Seward shot a season high 46% from the field and 40% from three, dominating the Grizzlies in nearly every offensive category besides one.  Seward's one downfall on the night was their dreadful shooting from the free throw line where they finished the battle 26 for 53compared to the Grizzlies 37 for 55.  

Kevin Smith led the Saints with 27 points including 7 three pointers, becoming one of just seven Seward players in school history to knock down 7 long balls in a game in school history.  Niem Stevenson played above the rim all night, finishing with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Secean Johnson pitched in 16 for Seward.  William Benjamin played the best game of his young Seward career, scoring 8 points and finishing with a game high 13 rebounds.  

The game was 2 hours and 50 minutes from tip to the final buzzer.  There were 74 foul calls and 108 free throws shot in the contest.  

Seward falls below .500 at 3-4 while the Grizzlies snap a six game losing streak to the Saints and improve to 7-1 on the year.  The Saints will take on Raleigh's Finest Prep Academy Saturday afternoon in Dodge City at 2:00.