Northwest Florida Topples Butler, Half Of The Quarter-finalist Are Set
March 21, 2023 (Hutchinson, KS) – 7 seed Northwest Florida State and #10 Butler CC met in the last game on Tuesday night. The winner gets a berth in the quarterfinals.
Butler had a dismal shooting display in the early going (on 6-25 from the field for 25%), but only found themselves down 32-20.
In the 2nd half, Northwest turned up the heat, taking their largest lead of 24 at the 9:27 mark. That gap came at the tail end of a 12-0 run. Most of the damage was done in the paint where the Raiders dominated 48-18.
Northwest Florida (27-7) also won the battle of the boards with a plus 12 on their way to a 71-59 triumph.
Butler gained some momentum the last 7 minutes, but could never get the margin under 10.
Tavion Banks propelled the Raiders attack with 20 points and 10 boards. Kesean Pryor finished with 15 points plus 8 rebounds. Chad Baker-Mazara went for 12 and Marcus Niblack ended with 10.
The Grizzlies end their season at 28-7. Rob Brown put in 17 points, Javon Grant and Caleb Golden each had 11.
NWF lands in the quarterfinals and will face #15 Vincennes Thursday at 2:00.
