Clement's touch evident in boys' victory vs. Bethel

By Mike Kilroy
Eagle Staff Writer

DORMONT — Butler boys basketball coach Matt Clement crouched in front of the bench, looked Brian Jendesky in the eye and made an impassioned speech.
"This is why we did all the drills," Clement said. "Pound the boards. Pound them."
Just one game into the season, the new coach already has left his mark.
The Golden Tornado heeded Clement's words, flying around the court in controlled chaos that helped fluster Bethel Park on the way to a 60-43 season-opening win at the Keystone Oaks Tip-Off Tournament Friday night.
"You always want to get that first win," Clement said.
He got it with a style of play that he hopes becomes the signature of his team.
Butler constantly hounded Bethel Park, forcing turnovers and poor shots, and simply wore out the Black Hawks by the fourth quarter.
"I'll tell you what, from the halfway point of the third quarter to the midway point of the fourth quarter, there wasn't one easy pass that team threw," Clement said. "That's the difference in the game.
"We preach bust your butt, do your job," Clement added. "Its getting after it. It's not about getting after it all hyper and fouling people. It's about being on that guy so at the end of the night that guy is going into the locker room saying, 'Just get away from me.'"
The Golden Tornado did that well except for the second quarter, when Clement and Butler faced the first adversity of the season.
After jumping out to a 20-6 lead, the Golden Tornado frittered it away, allowing Bethel Park to go on a 14-0 run to tie the score.
A desperation 3-pointer off the backboard at the first-half buzzer by Evan Schweitzer gave Bethel Park a 28-27 lead at the break.
But Butler responded with two dominant quarters.
Vinny Schmidt got things going with three 3-pointers in the third period and finished with 13 points.
Nate Snodgrass made sure there was no second rally from Bethel Park by draining five-of-six free throws in the fourth quarter.
Snodgrass finished with a team-leading 14 points as four Butler players scored in double digits.
Bethel Park coach Ben O'Connor, who is in his first season with the Hawks after coaching at Fox Chapel, said his team ultimately couldn't keep up with the Tornado.
"The best thing that happened to us was the second quarter and the worst thing that happened to us was the second quarter," O'Connor said. "We spent a lot of energy getting back into the game, and I'm proud of them for that. But Butler's experience took over in the second half."
Butler will play host Keystone Oaks, a 46-45 winner over Bishop Canevin, in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

BUTLER 60
Cole Harvey 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Snodgrass 3-7 8-9 14, Cody Herald 3-5 2-4 10, Jeff Tompkins 0-1 1-2 1, Vinny Schmidt 5-5 0-0 13, Bobby Swartwout 3-6 2-4 8, Eli Christy 0-1 0-0 0, Logan Renwick 4-5 2-3 10, Brian Jendesky 0-4 0-2 0, David Tompkins 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 18-34 15-24 60
BETHEL PARK 43
Brian Hollano 1-2 2-2 4, Alex Edgar 0-0 0-0 0, Kenny Klase 0-2 3-4 3, Jordan 6-19 2-5 15, Alex Mace 0-1 0-0 0, Zane Hahner 1-1 0-0 3, Evan Schweitzer 1-2 0-0 3, Brian Omslaer 3-5 1-2 7, Ryan Thorsen 2-4 4-4 8, Nolan Cavanaugh 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 14-39 12-17 43.
Butler 18 9 19 14—60
Bethel Park 6 22 7 8—43
3-point goals: Butler 5 (Schmidt 3, Herald 2); Bethel Park 3 (Hahner, Schweitzer, Westphal).