After ‘leak delay,’ Butler whips rival Independence, grabs share of league title
It took nearly the entire regular season for the Butler boys’ basketball team to climb to the top of the Southwestern 4A standings.
And when the Bulldogs finally climbed near the summit, they had to wait another 17 hours.
A basketball game that began Friday night and finally ended Saturday afternoon left host Butler as the 63-38 winner over rival Independence — and gave the Bulldogs a share of the conference title.
“It took us a while to get here,” head coach Patrick King said Saturday.
Butler shared the conference regular-season title with Rocky River and will get the top seed — and the first-round bye — in the league tournament this week.
The Bulldogs and Patriots tipped it off Friday evening, but a water leak in the ceiling left the floor unplayable, so officials suspended the game until noon Saturday.
“It gave us time to do something we normally don’t get to do — look at video of a game we’re still playing,” King said.
Independence outrebounded Butler 14-8 in the 12-plus minutes played Friday night. But when the game was resumed Saturday, with 3:49 left in the second quarter and the Bulldogs leading 23-18, it was a different story.
“We challenged our players to go after the rebounds, and they responded,” King said.
Butler outrebounded the Patriots 29-16 in the portion of the game played Saturday and played as if a conference championship was on the line. The Bulldogs chased loose balls, attacked the basket, and used their harassing defense to force turnovers.
“All 13 of our guys come in,” King said. “We won’t give up anything easy. We’ll fight for every 50-50 ball.”
Butler is a young team. There are two seniors on the roster, and King starts two sophomores, two juniors and senior Ty Black, one of the state’s leading 3-point shooters.
King says youth was not the Bulldogs’ ally early in the season.
“We were growing up,” he said.
King said that after an early season loss to Berry Academy, Butler had a 5-8 record.
“One of our assistant coaches said, ‘Every team has a high point and a low point. Let’s make this our low point.’ ”
Since then, the Bulldogs have gone 7-1. They finished Southwestern 4A play with a 9-3 record and moved into position to share the title by beating Rocky River by 14 points last week.
“It’s a young team,” King said. “A lot of guys stepped into roles they were unfamiliar with. But they have responded.”
Independence finished 12-12, 6-6.
Three who made a difference
Peyton Scott, Butler: A 6-4 junior forward and center, Scott scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Bryce Brooks, Independence: A 5-11 senior guard, Brooks scored a team-high 12 points and fearlessly attacked the basket, taking on Butler’s corps of 6-3 and 6-4 defenders.
Ty Black, Butler: A 6-0 senior guard who is second in North Carolina in 3-pointers made, Black had 13 points Saturday but was double-teamed much of the game. So he helped in other ways, including five assists in the second half.
Worth mentioning
▪ The latter stages of the game were played at a hectic pace, with an ample supply of substitutes on the floor. At times, it looked more like a Saturday afternoon church league game. But it was exciting. During one 2½-minute stretch of the fourth quarter, there were three blocked shots, one length-of-the-court pass for a layup, three 3-point field goals, and seven turnovers.
▪ Independence’s Joedan Appling and Bryce Brooks shadowed Butler 3-point specialist Ty Black very closely, preventing him from getting many shots. “Ty has done such an incredible job of adjusting to that,” King said. “He has taken that opportunity to help the team in other ways.”
What’s next?
Both Independence and Butler will play this week in the Southwestern 4A Conference tournament. Independence is the host school.
Friday’s Coverage
Photos: Independence at Butler Saturday
Saturday’s Boys Boxscores
BUTLER 63, INDEPENDENCE 38
Butler: 11 14 23 15 -- 63
Indy: 10 8 11 9 -- 38
BUTLER 63 -- Ty Black 13, Peyton Scott 13, Zion McDuffie 12, Tyler Showalter 11, Ole Swenson 4, Steph Soutzos 3, Aaron Colbert 3, Bryce Heath 2, Ryan Graves 2
INDEPENDENCE 38 -- Bryce Brooks 12, D. Taylor 7, S. Taylor 6, Johnson 5, Alberga 4, Slade 2, Davis 2
Notable: Butler moves to 12-9 (9-3) and wins a share of the SW4A conference title. Butler finished the season 7-1 over their last 8 games. Independence moves to 12-12 (6-6).
MAIDEN 61, EAST BURKE 44
East Burke. 11. 9. 14. 10 -- 44
Maiden. 13. 18. 15. 15 -- 61
East Burke 61 -- Rasheem Misher 15, Mason Lowman 15, Jalen Robinson 11, Sigmon 7, Hall 3, Gibbs 2, Stull 2, Foard 2, Rhodes 2, Hensley 2
Maiden 44 -- Carter Crump 19, Coffey 5, Cox 5, Dennie 4, Keller 3, Hill 3, Cline 2
Records: Maiden 18-6 (12-2 CVAC), East Burke 5-17 (5-9 CVAC)
Saturday’s Girls Boxscores
HICKORY RIDGE 64, SOUTH IREDELL 45
Hickory Ridge 15 19 17 13 - 64
South Iredell. 4. 8. 13 20 - 45
Hickory Ridge 64 - Fearne 17, Lewis 12, Walters 9, Copeland 9, Gidney 7, Cook 4, McClary 4, Evans 2
South Iredell 45 - Fink 14, Johnson 10, Sarver 10, Schram 9, Turner 2
Notable: Solid team effort by the Lady Bulls on both ends of the floor.
Records: Hickory Ridge 16-7, South Iredell 7-17.
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 3:29 PM.
