Head games
Fleeger hits timely 3-pointers as Butler wins in 3 overtimes


By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor


BUTLER TWP— Cody Fleeger felt a little woozy from a kick in the head Saturday night.
Butler's senior forward will accept the pain if he kick-started a Golden Tornado basketball winning streak, however.
Fleeger scored eight points after regulation time — including a 3-pointer that gave his team the lead for good — in
Butler's 56-54 triple-overtime victory over Youngstown (Ohio)Woodrow Wilson.
"Cody was dinged up tonight, but I don't know if he ever left the floor,"
Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. "Maybe for just a few seconds ... He was out there the entire time."
Fleeger sank four treys on the night, the third occurring in the second overtime to give the Tornado a 48-45 lead with
1:11 left. But Wilson's William Johnson — the game's top scorer with 26 points — responded with a trey of his own seconds later to force a third overtime.
Fleeger's final 3-pointer gave
Butler a 53-50 lead with 2:26 remaining in the final extra session and Butler never trailed again. After Montell Scott stuck back an offensive rebound for Wilson, Ryan Melder sank two free throws for Butler with 35 seconds to go.
Lamar McQueen pulled the Redmen (3-5) within one by sinking a lay-up with 16 seconds left before Sean Lowry hit one of two free throws for
Butler with 12 seconds remaining. Wilson's final shot of the night fell well short of the rim.
"Whatever it takes to get a win,"Lewandowski said, smiling. "It feels good to get one."
Fleeger didn't feel good most of the night after accidentally getting kicked in the head while going for a loose ball in the first quarter.
He shook off the cobwebs and kept playing.
"I've got a bit of a headache and my eyes ... All I could see was the rim,"Fleeger said. "But I could still shoot.
"I shot 3-pointers all summer. I'm comfortable shooting from out there. We all are."
Butler (7-7)sank 10 treys Saturday. Johnson's overtime 3-pointer was Wilson's only trey all night. The Redmen sank 26 field goals to the Tornado's 18 in a frustrating loss.
Wilson dropped its fourth straight game despite knotting the contest at 43 on a Scott lay-up with 1.5 seconds left in regulation. The first overtime period was scoreless.
The game featured 13 lead changes and nine ties. The only double-digit lead of the night for either team occurred when Chris Klutinoty's second trey of the first quarter gave Butler a 13-2 lead with 3:20 on the clock.
"That's how it's been going for us,"Wilson coach Mark Cherol said. "We fall behind by a lot early, claw back into it and watch the other team pull away. Only this time, we hung in until the end.
"Butler hit the shots and made the plays to win. We didn't."
Lowry paced the Tornado with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Fleeger had 18 points and eight boards.
Johnson, averaging 23 points per game and being recruited by Mount Union and Oberlin, had seven rebounds to go with his 26 points. Scott had 12 points and 11 rebounds while McQueen added 12 points.
Butler had a 31-30 edge in rebounding and had 21 turnovers to Wilson's 15. The Redmen sank just one free throw in the game. Butler sank 10 of 15 from the charity stripe.
"We've talked about attacking the basket more and gettiong to the foul line more,"Lewandowski said. "We worked on that phase of our game tonight.
"This is the first team we've played that's a run-and-jump team. North Allegheny does that, too, so hopefully, this is good preparation. North Allegheny will shoot a lot more 3's, though."
Butler seeks its first section win of the season Tuesday night at North Allegheny.
"It's always good to get a win,"Fleeger said. "You have to start a winning streak somewhere. Hopefully, this is it."

WOODROWWILSON54
Philip Jones 1-4 0-0 2, Jarvis Tabb 0-0 0-0 0, Lamar McQueen 6-17 0-0 12, William Johnson 12-21 1-5 26, Raylin Poindexter 1-4 0-0 2, Aaron Poindexter 0-1 0-0 0, Montell Scott 6-10 0-2 12.
Totals: 26-57 1-7 54
BUTLER56
Mike Pratkanis 1-3 0-0 2, Jeff Slater 1-4 0-0 3, Aaron Dorondo 1-1 0-0 2, Cody Fleeger 6-13 2-3 18, Ryan Melder 0-3 2-2 2, Sean Lowry 6-13 6-10 20, Chris Klutinoty 3-6 0-0 9, Bill Coleman 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals: 18-44 10-15 56

W.Wilson 8 14 8 13 0 7 4—54
Butler 13 7 11 12 0 7 6—56
3-point goals:
Johnson; Slater, Fleeger 4, Lowry 2, Klutinoty 3
JV: Butler, 56-42 (B-Nick Powers 13, WW-Mark Thorton 11)