CHANUTE, KS. – The Neosho County men's basketball struggled to find any consistent offense in Wednesday night's game against the second-place Butler Grizzlies. But it was the defense that faltered in the second half that ultimately doomed the Panthers.
 
Sophmore Jae-Min Yang paced the orange and black on the scoreboard, posting 13 points along with a combined five assists and four steals. Meanwhile, the Panthers defense lagged in the second half allowing 58 points as the Grizzlies shot an outstanding 62% from the floor connecting on 10 of 22 from deep (45.5%) and 24 of 27 from the free-throw line (88.9%).
 
"Obviously Butler is a really good team but I just felt the effort and mental toughness wasn't there tonight." said Head Coach Jeremy Coombs. "After they went on a run in the first 4 minutes of the second half, we just stopped fighting and that's what disappoints me the most."
 
KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS
-- For the game, Neosho finished shooting 25 of 65 (39%) from the floor.
-- The Panthers only shot 2 of 7 (28.6%) from downtown and just 14 of 21 (66%) at the charity stripe
-- The Grizzlies outrebounded the Panthers 37 to 22.
-- Neosho forced the Grizzlies into 14 turnovers but committed 15 of their own.
-- Overall, the matchup featured 10 different lead changes -- most of which came during the first half and four ties. The Grizzlies posted an 11-point advantage at the half but came out red hot in the second half hitting from three to pull away from the Panthers.
 
UP NEXT
They don't get any easier as the Orange and Black hit the road Saturday to take on a scrappy Coffeyville Red Raven team, tipoff with the Ravens is scheduled for 7 pm at Nellis Hall Gymnasium.
 
STAY SOCIAL
For more information, go to www.goneosho.com or follow @GoNeoshoHoops or @GoNeosho on Twitter for updates throughout the year.