Gut check
JACKSON TWP — Zach Snyder almost stole away
Tyler Frederick stole the show, period.
The Golden Tornado sophomore came off the bench to score 19
points and collect 13 rebounds in leading his team to a 52-45 Section 3-AAAA
boys basketball overtime victory at
“That was just a gutsy effort by that kid,”
“He wasn't even part of the game-plan.”
But he was a big part of the game.
“I'm not surprised he did what he did,” SV coach Victor Giannotta
said. “He's one of the top five players in the section.”
In a game that featured nine lead changes — six in the first half
— and neither team ever leading by more than seven, the Raiders (10-4, 3-3)
took a 32-26 lead into the fourth quarter.
Butler (10-4, 3-3) began the quarter on a 15-4 run to assume a
41-36 advantage with 2:13 to play. And Frederick was in the middle of the
spurt.
Justice Lewandowski got the rally started with a rare four-point
play less than a minute into the final quarter. He was fouled while sinking a
trey and added the free throw.
Frederick's lay-up with 4:04 to go gave the Tornado a 37-36 lead.
He stuck back an offensive rebound off a missed free throw by Lewandowski with
3:19 on the clock, then canned a baseline jumper a minute later to widen the
lead to 41-36.
“I didn't know how long I could go tonight,” said Frederick, who
has been battling an undisclosed injury the past two games. “By halftime of our
last game, I couldn't even walk.
“But during pre-game warm-ups, I was out there jumping around and
felt pretty good. And I didn't feel bad at all at halftime.”
Snyder, the Raiders' 6-foot-6 senior forward, made his presence
felt in the closing minutes of regulation. He completed a three-point play with
1:23 left to get Seneca Valley within two.
With 1:04 to go, Snyder stole the ball at midcourt and drove in
alone for a game-tying dunk.
“Zach stepped up and made big plays at the end,” Giannotta said.
Butler held for the last shot, but a baseline jumper by Jace
Stutz sailed over the rim and Snyder corralled the ball to force overtime.
“In our last overtime, we kind of crumbled against
Pine-Richland,” Clement said. “It was good to see so many of our guys make
clutch plays this time.”
Indeed, they did.
The Tornado never trailed in the extra session. Andrew Paterno's
layup was answered by Snyder's at the other end. Mark Gross hit a short jumper
for Butler, Snyder countered with two free throws.
Then the Raiders were out of answers.
Almost fittingly, Frederick put Butler ahead for good on a layup
with 1:58 remaining in OT. Paterno added a free throw with 33 seconds left,
Lewandowski sinking four from the charity stripe in the final 13 seconds.
“They got the lead and made their free throws at the end. That
was it,” Giannotta said.
“This was typical Seneca Valley-Butler. This was typical section.
Anybody can beat anybody.”
Lewandowski had 14 points and four rebounds for Butler. Paterno
had four assists, Gross six rebounds.
“Two seniors, Lewy and Andrew, grabbed huge rebounds in overtime,
found the open man and didn't turn the ball over,” Clement said. “We played
with composure during crunch time tonight. It's a step in the right direction
for us.”
Butler turned the ball over only once in the fourth quarter and
overtime combined.
Frederick added three steals to his night's work.
“I don't know how I'm going to feel in the morning ... probably
pretty sore,” he said. “That's OK. This win was more important.”
Snyder had 18 points and five rebounds for the Raiders. Dakota
Topf added 12 points and six boards, Chad Izenas 11 points, three steals and
three assists.
“This win puts us in a better position, but it's still only one
section win,” Clement said. “We're going to have to grind out these next six
games. Everything is up for grabs.”
BUTLER 52
Damien Pickett 0-0 0-0 0, Jace Stutz 3-9 0-0 7, Justice
Lewandowski 3-6 5-6 14, Keenan Krause 1-2 0-0 2, Andrew Paterno 2-5 1-2 5,
Tyler Frederick 7-11 5-7 19, Jake Anderson 0-4 0-0 0, Joel Stutz 0-2 0-0 0,
eric Hindman 0-0 0-0 0, Mark Gross 2-3 1-2 5. Totals: 18-52 12-19 52.
SENECA VALLEY 45
Zach Snyder 7-14 4-6 18, Jack Cook 1-4 0-0 2, Cody Boozel 0-1 0-0
0, Chad Izenas 4-11 3-4 11, Dakota Topf 6-11 0-0 12, Matt Drambel 1-3 0-1 2,
Chris Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Payton Skalos 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 7-13 45.
Butler 9 12 5 15 11 — 52
Seneca Valley8 14 10 9 4 — 45
3-point goals: Lewandowski 3, Ja.Stutz
JV: Butler, 52-42 (B: Andrew Yonkers 9m, Jason Gray 9; SV:
Patrick Uher 10, Jamie Carter 8)