DODGE CITY, Kan. - Sophomore Josh Boutte would have a career-night by finishing with 37 points and 23 rebounds to lead the Dodge City Community College men's basketball team to a much-needed 86-79 home victory over Butler Community College in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference action at the Student Activities Center on Wednesday, February 8th. 

DC3 avenged their loss earlier this season to the Grizzlies to improve to 17-7 overall and 14-6 in the KJCCC while Butler drops their third-straight game to fall to 14-9 overall and 11-9 in the Jayhawk Conference. 

In what would a mount to a quick start to the game, Dodge City would score the first four points of the game before the Grizzlies would bounce right back as the Conquistadors would hold a 9-7 lead just four minutes into the game. A 10-0 run over a span of 1:41 would push the Conq lead to 23-10 with 11:25 remaining in the first half as DC3 would see 11 of their first 21 shots form the floor go through the hoop. The Grizzlies would claw their way back into the game by using a full-court press defense to cut the Dodge City lead to 25-22 with 6:53 remaining in the first half before five straight points by DC3 would push the lead back out to eight with 5:14 remaining. Butler would stay within striking distance of the Conquistadors, but would go the final 2:03 of the first half scoreless while allowing Dodge City to score the final five points of the half to put DC3 up 39-27 at the break. 

Six straight points to open the second-half would give Dodge City their largest lead of the game just 1:42 into the half before Butler would once again turn to their full-court pressure defense to slow down the Conquistadors. Holding onto a 55-43 lead with 14:18 left in the game, Butler would score eight of the next nine points over the next 2:17 to cut the DC3 lead down to 56-51 and get within two at 57-55 with 10:40 left in the second half. Dodge City would maintain their two-possession lead for the next several minutes before finally pushing their lead back out to eight on a Kourtney Ware triple to put the score at 70-62 heading into the final 4:58 of regulation. Ware's three would start a 9-2 run for the Conquistadors to go up 76-64 with 3:28 left in the game and in a position to put away the Grizzlies for good. Things would look to be in store for Dodge City up 82-68 with 1:05 remaining when Butler would outscore the Conquistadors 11-2 over a span of 51 seconds to get within five with 14 seconds left in the game. Ware would be sent to the line after being fouled and ice the game with two clutch free-throws to give DC3 a three-game lead over fourth place in the KJCCC. 

"We were good for 39 and 1/2 minutes tonight, and we thought the game was over before it actually was" said head-coach Kyle Campbell in a post-game interview. "Our zone is getting better and if you look at the past two-games we are starting to get more comfortable with our roles." "Butler is a really good team and you I can't emphasize just how big this win was for us tonight."

Dodge City finished 31 of 74 (41.9%) from the field despite going just four of 21 (19.0%) from beyond the arc. Butler edged DC3 49-48 on the glass, but would be outdone 23-13 on second-chance points. The Conquistadors would score 52 of their 86 points in the paint and hold a 24-16 advantage in points off turnovers. 

After being held to just four points and five rebounds in the first meeting between the two schools, Boutte made sure that wouldn't happen again by hauling in 11 of his game-high 23 rebounds on the offensive glass while also blocking two shots and recording three steals. His 37 points came on 17 of 23 shooting from the floor and a three of seven performance from the charity stripe. Ware would be the other main scoring threat for the Conqs on the evening, finishing with 24 points and two assists while going a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line. Butler was led by Ketarrious Bouchum who scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds. 

Having gone 2-0 to start a crucial three-game stretch, Dodge City caps off their current three-game swing with a Saturday evening contest at Barton County Community College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on February 11th, as the winner will have the inside track to finish in second-place in the KJCCC. Barton currently holds a one-game lead over Dodge City for second-place, but DC3 can sweep the season series with a win. Earlier this year, DC3 opened a double-digit lead late into the second half before hanging on for a 86-79 win over the Cougars.