Butler loses its edge after half
Hangs on to hand Armstrong a loss in OT

By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor

KITTANNING — A nine-point lead at halftime seemed secure for Butler.

It wasn't.

Armstrong scored the first nine points of the third quarter, tied the game again four other times in the second half, but never got the lead. The Golden Tornado survived with a 58-52 overtime win Saturday in the championship game of the Armstrong Boys Basketball Tip-Off Tournament.

“We came here and did what we wanted to do,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “It didn't come easily, but facing adversity builds character in a team.”

The host River Hawks presented a front-court of players 6-foot-7, 6-5 and 6-4. Butler's biggest player, Tyler Frederick, did not score a point in regulation.

But he worked some major overtime.

“Tyler was incredible in the overtime period. He never stopped working,” Clement said.

Butler (2-0) was nursing a 47-45 lead when Mike Kunst stole the ball in the back-court and drove the other way for a game-tying lay-up with 1:11 left in regulation. It marked the fifth time Armstrong (1-1) tied the score in the second half. The Tornado held the ball for the last shot, but Joel Stutz's runner as he drove the lane didn't fall.

“We may have held the ball a little long there. We needed to move it more,” Clement said.

Frederick dominated the overtime session, giving the Tornado the early lead on a lay-up. He stuck back an offensive rebound to give Butler a 52-49 lead with 1:33 left, only to have Kunst knot the game with a trey at the 1:11 mark.

Frederick, Joel Stutz and Jace Stutz all hit two free throws in the final 41 seconds to give Butler the win.

“We lost to a great team ... and we grew up tonight,” Armstrong coach Greg Hutcherson said. “Our guys got a taste of what Quad-A basketball is like and they responded to it.”

Joel Stutz was the lone Butler player in double figures with 21 points. He had five assists as well. No other Tornado player scored more than six.

“We feel like we can wear teams down because of our conditioning and the fact we play so many players,” Clement said.

“Kelley Kuharic came off the bench and hit a big three. Jason Gray comes in and hits two big shots in the third quarter. We can find production from a lot of people.”

Frederick wound up with 10 rebounds for Butler. Luke Michalek came off the bench to collect six rebounds and three steals.

Armstrong had a 32-27 edge on the boards. Kunst had 15 points, 6-7 Brandon Heilman 11 points and 13 rebounds, Dawson Porter 10 points.

“We like to play a slower paced game and pound the ball in to our big guys,” Hutcherson said,. “We know Butler likes to run and we got them to play our type of game.

“They beat us anyway. That's a credit to them.”

BUTLER 58

Damien Pickett 0-0 0-0 0, Kaden Rock 2-7 1-2 6, Luke Michalek 2-8 0-0 5, Kelley Kuharic 1-1 0-0 3, Jace Stutz 1-2 3-4 6, Jason Gray 2-2 0-0 5, Tyler Frederick 2-5 2-2 6, Connor Ollio 1-3 2-2 4, Joel Stutz 5-15 7-10 21, Jefferson Ford 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 17-48 15-20 58.

ARMSTRONG 52

Jake Bowman 0-0 0-0 0, Hunter Shanty 0-1 1-2 1, James Webb 1-2 0-0 3, Dawson Porter 5-9 0-1 10, Mike Kunst 4-7 6-7 15, Nate Baillie 2-6 4-4 8, Brandon Heilman 5-10 1-2 11, Tanner Witenski 1-3 2-4 4, Zach Young 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-39 14-20 52.

Butler 15 16 6 10 11 — 58

Armstrong14 8 12 13 5 — 52

3-point goals: Rock, Michalek, Kuharic, Ja. Stutz, Gray, Jo. Stutz 4; Webb, Kunst

JV: Butler 40, Deer Lakes 32 (B: Andrew Yonkers 12, Jacob Kradel 12