FORT MEYERS, Fla. - A month after earning a spot on the top-100 watch list, West Liberty's Bryce Butler has advanced to the top-50 watch list for the Bevo Francis Award, announced by Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee today.

The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.  This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.

Butler is on the heels of his fifth MEC Player of the Week honor of the season after averaging 23 points and eight rebounds in a 2-0 week for the Black and Gold, who have moved back up the national ranks to No. 11/10 riding a six-game win streak into tonight's battle at Frostburg State. 

Butler, a junior guard from Latrobe, Pa., is second in all of DII with 224 made field goals and is shooting 59.6% from the floor this season. He is atop the MEC and eighth in DII averaging 22.6 points per game. Butler has six double-doubles on the season and paces the team on the glass pulling in 7.4 rebounds per game, the fourth-most in the conference. He also dishes out 3.7 assists per game and is fifth in the MEC with a 1.93 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Top 25 Watch List will be released on March 15. For more information regarding the Bevo Francis Award visit smallcollegebasketball.com/bevo-francis-award-2. 

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