Tornado turn momentum
Gritty 4th period turns back Titans in 67-57 victory
BUTLER TWP — Shaler had the momentum — and
The Golden Tornado led the Titans throughout their Section
3-AAAA boys basketball clash Friday night in the
But his teammates gutted out a 67-57 victory.
“We showed a lot of resiliency out there. A lot of guys took
part in this win,” Tornado coach Matt Clement said.
After Pusateri left, Luke Tincha sank a baseline jumper and
Nick Patten drained a trey to give the Tornado a 51-45 lead with six minutes
left. Shaler (6-7, 0-6) pulled within three, but a Seth Cook lay-up and two
Patten free throws hiked the
“Tincha and Patten getting those buckets when the game got
close were huge plays in this game,” Clement said.
The Titans never got closer than six the rest of the way.
“Games like this are decided late. The team that makes the
plays late wins the game, the team that doesn't, loses,”
Shaler coach Paul Holzshu said. “We've been on the wrong end so far this year.”
Cook paced the Tornado with 26 points, 10 rebounds and three
assists. His thoughts after the game were on the well-being of Pusateri.
“Dom is the heart and soul of what we're trying to do here,”
Cook said. “Losing him would be devastating. It would kill us. Hopefully, his
ankle heals quickly.”
Clement echoed those sentiments.
“Dom brings the intensity, the energy,” Clement said. “He is
the epitomy of a high school basketball player. He absolutely hates it when we
lose.
“I love that kid as if he was my own son. I'm hoping and
praying this is just a scare and he's able to play more basketball for us this
year.
“As for Seth, I challenged him after our loss at North Hills
and again before the start of this game. I told him he could have a huge game
and he responded,” Clement added.
“This was a team we believed we could out-rebound and that
was our focus coming in,” Cook said. “We wanted to beat them down the floor and
get some easy lay-ups the other way, too.”
The Tornado stuck back five offensive rebounds in the first
half.
“I think this is the first time I've used it and we won with
it,” Clement said. “The kids worked hard at it.”
Geno Thorpe scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds for
Shaler. Greg Lydon contributed 14 points for the Titans.
“Geno is our only player on the floor with any kind of
varsity experience from last year,” Holzshu said. “This is a tough section to
compete in — great coaches, great players — when you're in that situation.
“I can't fault the effort of our players. We played hard.
“They're all big for us now,” Clement said. “If we go down
there and win, our foot is right back in this thing. But it won't be easy.”
SHALER 57
Louis Ferraro 1-2 1-2 3, Geno Thorpe 10-18 9-10 32, Zach
Weaver 2-9 2-2 6, Bill Reinheimer 0-4 0-0 0, Greg Lydon 6-14 1-1 14, Chris
Basile 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Potock 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 19-47 15-17 57.
BUTLER 67
Dom Pusateri 3-12 2-2 10, Seth Cook 9-10 8-9 26, Keenan Krause
2-4 5-9 9, Zach Neudorfer 1-2 0-0 3, Shae Stobert 0-0 0-0 0, Arum Krause 0-3
0-0 0, Nick Patten 3-6 3-4 11, Luke Hartung 1-3 0-0 2, Mark Gross 2-2 0-0 4,
Luke Tincha 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 22-43 18-21 67.
Shaler 11 12 20 14—57
Butler19 11 16 21—67
3-point goals: Thorpe 3, Lydon; Pusateri 2, Neudorfer, Patten
2
JV: