Dodge City men's basketball team would take #11 Butler to the wire but a three-point basket to tie the game at the buzzer would come up short as the Conquistadors fell 66-63. 
 
The loss drops the Conqs to 4-6 on the season and 1-3 in KJCCC play with three more games before the holiday break. 
 
The day would start slow for both teams as the Conqs opened the Contest falling behind 9-2 early starting 1-9 from the floor. The Conqs would push back and even the contest at 14-14 with under nine minutes remaining in the first half and then took their first lead on a Keshawn Brown Jr. three-pointer to lead 17-16. Things would remain tight as the lead would change hands multiple times until the Conqs would grab their largest lead of the matchup going up 25-20 with just under two minutes left in the half. Butler would however end the first half on a 7-0 run including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Grizzlies a 27-25 lead at halftime. 
 
In the second half over the first three and a half minutes of the half Butler would extend their lead to a 35-37 advantage. Butler would work the lead to as high as nine points, but the Conqs would chip away at the deficit and ultimately tie the game up at 54-54 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Conqs would draw even again and within one several times down the stretch including at 62-62 with three minutes left. Butler regained the lead with just over a minute left on a layup and then made it a four-point game with a pair of free throws The Conqs would split a pair of free throws with under 10 seconds left to draw within three points and then tip a pass on the inbounds to grab the ball giving Brown Jr. a three-point try at the buzzer to tie that came up to strong and the Conqs fell 66-63. 
 
Conqs would shoot only 34.8% from the field but held Butler to just 31.7% shooting in the contest but the Grizzlies would capitalize on the free throw line going 20-25. While the edge in rebounding went the way of Butler at 45-39 the Conqs did force 20 turnovers from the Grizzlies. 
 
A career-high by Jayse Boatwright led the Conqs on the day as he tallied 18 points adding a career-best in rebounds, assists, and steals with eight, five, and three, respectively. Daouda Cisse had a career-best 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Mynor Strong chipped in eight points, while Brown Jr., Kyle Burns, and Kejuan Payne each tallied six points. Wesly Rosa would grab 11 rebounds in the contest. 
 
The Conqs hit the road for more KJCCC action next Wednesday, December 4th to travel to Pratt for a 7:30 pm tilt and then return home on Saturday, December 7th against Seward County for a 3:00 pm contest.