3-pointers,
clutch free throws lift Butler over North Hills
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Butler's David
Tompkins (35) drives to the basket between North Hills defenders Sam Tovissi
(24) and Danny White (22) Friday night. The Golden Tornado posted a 66-51
victory in their section opener. |
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BUTLER TWP — Butler welcomed back an old friend Friday
night.
The outside shot.
The Golden Tornado — struggling from the perimeter in their first
three games — sank seven treys and canned 23 of 24 free throws in defeating
North Hills, 66-51, in a mutual Section 3-AAAA boys basketball opener in the
Butler gym.
“This is the way we've been shooting all summer and in
preseason,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “This is what I've been expecting
to see.
“Cody West and Luke Hartung have the potential to be the two best
outside shooters I've had in my three years here. If teams are going to throw
everything but the kitchen sink at Nate (Snodgrass), those guys have to be
open.”
They were — and they delivered.
West hit three of his four 3-pointers in the second quarter,
helping the Tornado build a 40-28 lead by halftime. Hartung's second trey of
the game gave Butler a 47-32 advantage midway through the third quarter.
Butler's lead peaked at 18 (52-34) on a three-point play by David
Tompkins with 3:07 left in the third quarter.
“West's shooting pretty much took us out of our zone and they
were beating us to the basket,” North Hills coach Buzz Gabos said.
Tompkins had seven points and seven rebounds for Butler (3-1,
1-0).
“David played a nuts and bolts kind of game,” Clement said. “He
battled hard on the boards and took three charges in the first quarter.
“Those charges can have a double effect. You get the turnover and
you get fouls called on the other team.”
Fouls are nothing new to North Hills (2-3, 0-1).
“We've been in foul trouble in every game but one so far this
year,” Gabos said.
Alex Wright fouled out with 1:34 to play for North Hills. Three
other Indian starters finished the game with four fouls each, including
6-foot-8 center Steve Hearty, who managed only six points and five rebounds on
the night.
“Luke Tincha did a great job this week in practice, simulating
Hearty,” said Clement. “There's 22 guys in this locker room and they all play a
role.”
The Tornado had a 56-44 lead with 5:25 left when they decided to
run clock. After controlling the ball for more than a minute, Snodgrass was
fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one with 4:17 to play.
The errant free throw was Butler's only one all night. Wright
scored a layup on the other end and the Indians regained possession with more
than 3 minutes left.
“We missed a 3-pointer that could have cut it to seven,” Gabos
said. “We were in the game at that point. But we had to deny Snodgrass the
ball.”
They didn't and the game was over.
Butler's senior point guard finished with 25 points, seven
rebounds and three assists. He was 16 of 17 at the line, 8 of 9 in the fourth
quarter.
“We didn't force him to be a scorer. We put him at the line and
let him shoot free throws,” Gabos said. “With that kid, you just can't do
that.”
West and Jake Hilliard contributed 12 points each for Butler. The
Tornado held a 28-23 edge in rebounding.
“We feel like we're in better condition than most teams, so when
Coach sees they're tired, we run clock,” Snodgrass said.
“We need our outside shooting and free throws because with Bobby
(Swartwout) gone, we're not going to be as productive inside. If we're going to
win the section, we need our outside shooting.”
Sam Tovissi paced North Hills with 16 points. Joel Pepmeyer had
10 points and eight boards while Wright scored 10 points.
“This was a good team win, just what we needed before heading to
Shaler on Tuesday,” Clement said.
NORTH HILLS 51
Cory O'Malley 0-1 0-0 0, Tom Gavin 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Sieber 1-2 0-0 2, Bryce
Henny 1-4 0-4 2, Alex Wright 4-14 2-2 10, Sam Tovissi 5-9 4-6 16, Mark McIntyre
0-0 0-0 0, Joel Pepmeyer 5-9 0-0 10, Steve Hearty 1-4 4-4 6, Danny White 2-3
0-0 5. Totals: 19-46 10-16 51.
BUTLER 66
Nate Snodgrass 4-9 16-17 25, Cody West 4-9 0-0 12, Trevor Wideman 1-3 0-0
2, Jake Hilliard 5-8 2-2 12, Dom Pusateri 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Hartung 2-4 0-0 6,
Matt Baranchak 0-3 2-2 2, David Tompkins 2-3 3-3 7, Keenan Krause 0-0 0-0 0,
Zach Pilarcik 0-1 0-0 0, Arum Krause 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Tincha 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas
Wesolek 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-41 23-24 66.
North Hills 6 22 12 11—51
Butler 12 28 14 12—66
3-point goals: North Hills 3 (Tovissi 2, White); Butler
7 (Snodgrass, West 4, Hartung 2).
Junior varsity: Butler, 52-47 (B: Lucas Wesolek 10, NH:
Tanner Bergman 10)