Butler men struggle in 78-56 road loss at No. 7 Hutchinson

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Butler men were held to a season-low 31 percent shooting in a 78-56 road loss at No. 7 Hutchinson on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Mohamed Fofana was the only Grizzly in double digits with 11 points, as Butler (8-5 overall, 1-3 conference) had more turnovers (23) than field goals made (18). Butler connected on just 18-of-59 from the field and made only 4-of-21 (19 percent) from behind the arc. 

With both teams looking sluggish offensively, Butler managed to take an 8-6 lead with a Mohamed Fofana basket at the 10:47 mark of the half.

Butler would not hit another field goal until 3:38 remaining in the half when Jalin Thorne hit a jumper. Meanwhile, Hutchinson (12-1 overall, 3-1 conference) made an 18-3 run to build a 13-point lead.

After trailing 27-18 lead at the break, Butler continued its offensive woes to open the second half, as the Grizzlies made just one field goal in the first 6:47 of the half.

By the 6:33 mark of the second half, Hutchinson built its lead up to 30 points on a D.J. Mitchell 3-pointer, then extended the margin to 35 under a minute later.

Mitchell led Hutchinson with 29 points behind 6-of-9 3-point shooting and pulled down eight rebounds.

Next up for Butler will be a home contest Wednesday against Northwest Kansas Tech at 7:30 p.m. at the Power Plant. The home game will be the Grizzlies' final contest of 2018.