Miners top Butte, claim Mining City Challenge

East Kentucky outlasted host Butte 109-104 Friday night at the Butte Civic...

  East Kentucky outlasted host Butte 109-104 Friday night at the Butte Civic Center and claimed the Mining City Challenge. The Miners won the Mining City Challenge 3-1, winning two games over the homestanding Daredevils. In Friday night's win, recent CBA American Conference Player of the Week honoree Boo Jackson led East Kentucky with 23 points. Lawrence Barnes pulled down 10 rebounds for the Miners in the non-conference win. Barnes also netted 15 points. Josh Pace dished off a team-best eight assists for East Kentucky. Pace finished with 17 points. Ed Horton scored 16 points and Mike Crain collected 14 for the Miners. The Miners won the quarter points 5-2. East Kentucky carried a 29-27 lead out of the opening quarter. Butte, however, battled back and led 56-55 at halftime. East Kentucky improved to 12-11 following the win. The Miners, after being outscored 26-21 in the third quarter, owned the final period. East Kentucky outscored the Daredevils 33-22 in the fourth quarter. Odell Bradley led Butte with a game-high 38 points. Martane Freeman and Jibril Hodges each had 19 points for the Daredevils.