Butler holds off stubborn Shaler
Rock strikes for 22 points in Tornado’s 63-54 road win

By John Enrietto 
Eagle Sports Editor 


SHALER TWP —
Butler did not take Shaler lightly Tuesday night. 
Good thing. 
The Golden Tornado jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first five minutes, but could not shake the Titans all night in gutting out a 63-54 Section 3-AAAA boys basketball victory on the road. 
Butler defeated Shaler by 42 points — 78-36 — in a December home game this season. 
“I knew this game wasn’t going to be like that one,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “We played extremely well that night and it was going to be tough to duplicate that. And any time a team gets beaten like that, it can serve as extra motivation the next time around.” 
Try as they might, however, the Titans (2-14, 1-7) could not put together any type of run all night in dropping their sixth straight game. 
Butler’s biggest lead in the contest was 11 points. Shaler got as close as six (41-35) midway through the third quarter and got within seven (55-48) with 2:45 left in the game. The Titans could creep no closer. 
“You need stops to generate a run and we weren’t getting any,” Titans coach Rob Niederberger said. “That’s what it came down to. It felt like we were down by seven all night.” 
Kaden Rock led the Tornado (12-4, 5-3) with 22 points, including four treys. All four of those shots thwarted Shaler comeback attempts. 
“It seemed like every time they were primed to make a run at us, Kaden hit a big shot,” Clement said. 
Tyler Frederick had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Butler, which was outrebounded 34-29 overall. 
Connor Ollio contributed 12 points, Joel Stutz and Luke Michalek four assists each. 
Junior guard Tanner Reinheimer struck for 26 points to lead Shaler. He drained five treys. 
In his team’s 42-point loss at Butler, Reinheimer scored only four points. 
“He didn’t shoot well that night. Tonight, he was on,” Niederberger said. 
Rock can respect that. 
“It seemed like every thing he was throwing up there was going in,” Rock said. “Tanner Reinheimer is a great player. He was the difference for them.” 
And Rock is making a difference for Butler. 
He has scored 49 points in the past two games, including 10 3-pointers. 
“I missed my first shot tonight, but I still felt confident,” Rock said. “The foul line helped me tonight, too. Those are free buckets. 
“My teammates did a good job again of finding me with open shots. I hope my game is improving. I just want to be unselfish like everybody else and help this team win.” 
Rock sank eight of his 10 free throws Tuesday. Butler sank 20 of 25 as a team. 
Brennan Keillor contributed eight points and 10 rebounds to Shaler’s cause. 
“I’ve been saying all along, Shaler and Seneca Valley are going to beat some teams in this section,” Clement said. “My stomach was in knots all day thinking about this game. It’s a Tuesday night road game and they are hungry to get somebody. 
“Our guys took a very business-like approach to this game. We came out focused and ready to play. If we didn’t, we would not have won this game.” 
Butler has won seven of its last eight games. 
Niederberger isn’t into moral victories, but he is a realist at the same time. 
“Shaler has been losing a lot of basketball games over the past three years,” he said. “We’re not going to turn that around in three months. 
“Butler jumped on us at their place and we were overwhelmed. They jumped on us tonight and we were able to weather things and hang in the game. We’re definitely getting better.” 
BUTLER 63 
Kaden Rock 5-8 8-10 22, Damien Pickett 0-0 0-0 0, Kelley Kuharic 0-2 1-2 1, Jace Stutz 2-5 1-2 6, Luke Michalek 0-2 0-0 0, Jason Gray 0-2 0-0 0, Tyler Frederick 5-7 5-6 16, Connor Ollio 6-10 0-0 12, Joel Stutz 2-6 0-0 6, Jefferson Ford 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 20-45 15-20 63. 
SHALER 54 
Nick Fugh 2-7 0-2 5, Anthony Venezia 1-8 0-1 3, E.J. Posa 1-5 4-4 6, Tanner Reinheimer 8-17 5-6 26, Austin Bauer 1-3 0-0 2, Brennan Keillor 4-9 0-0 8, Nate Grande 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 19-52 9-13 54. 
Butler 16 19 13 15 — 63 
Shaler11 16 13 14 — 54 
3-point goals: Rock 4, Ja.Stutz, Frederick, Jo.Stutz 2; Fugh, Venezia, Reinheimer 5 
JV: Butler, 46-36 (B: Tarik Taoufik 15, Ian McCarrier 12; S: Jack Quinn 8)