Tornado building momentum
Shooting heats up late in besting Burrell, 70-66, for 4th straight win

By Derek Pyda 
Eagle Staff Writer 


LOWER BURRELLButler expects to be in a dogfight when it dives back into Section 3-AAAA play Friday at Central Catholic. 
But it found itself in the middle of one Wednesday night at Burrell. 
The Golden Tornado trailed almost the entire game before catching fire in the fourth quarter. Relentless defense and outside shooting ignited a comeback in a 70-66 boys basketball victory over the Bucs. 
Butler trailed by 10 points after the first quarter and at halftime before a change in strategy helped it muscle its way back into the game. 
“We switched to more of a zone trap,” said
Butler coach Matt Clement. “That’s (assistant coach) Cody Herald’s favorite defense and he said we should try it. It was a difference-maker and we stayed with it the rest of the way.” 
The Bucs (4-7) had committed just six turnovers in the first half, but gave the ball up 15 times in the second half and the Tornado took advantage. 
Butler turned it into a Butler game,” said Burrell coach Shawn Bennis. “The second half was very physical and they shot 29 free throws to our 12. But hats off to Butler. Their kids played well.” 
Butler junior guard Joel Stutz sank four 3-pointers in the game, all in the second half. Two of them came in a 30-second span of the fourth quarter, the second one giving the Tornado their first lead of the game at 61-58 with 2:26 left. 
Butler hit 10 treys in the game. 
“Nobody shot well in the first half,” said Clement, “but shooting comes and goes and 3-pointers got us over the top. Joel, Luke Michalek and Kelley Kuharic all hit big ones in the fourth quarter. Luke (14 points) is only a sophomore and he had an unbelievable game. He brought the energy we were looking for.” 
After taking the lead,
Butler turned Burrell turnovers into points at the free throw line, where the Tornado made 9-of-12 attempts in the final 2:04 to seal the win. 
“Our defensive intensity picked up,” said Joel Stutz. “We were able to turn it into easy points.” 
“It was our game to win,” said Bennis, “but we started playing not to lose. When we’re getting double-teamed, somebody’s got to be open, but we were too cautious.” 
Burrell opened the game with a 23-13 edge in the first quarter, which featured Max Garda, Nick Kotecki and Devon Resnick all hitting a 3-pointer. 
Burrell’s Brendan Lettrich scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, after which the Bucs led 36-26. 
“You get down and you can take one of two avenues,” said Clement. “You can stay down and start worrying about Friday (Central Catholic) or you can pick yourself up off the mat like we did. 
“I believe winning like we did tonight is better than if we would have won by 20 because we had to fight. We know that’s what we need to do on Friday. It shows the character of these guys. They keep growing day by day.” 
Wednesday’s game was the fourth straight non-section tilt for
Butler (9-3), which will now tackle six section games in a row. 
“This win was big because it gives us momentum going back into the section,” said Joel Stutz, who led
Butler with 18 points. “Everybody has to be feeling good now.” 
Connor Ollio added 14 points for
Butler
BUTLER 70 
Kaden Rock 2 0-0 6, Luke Michalek 4 4-5 14, Kelley Kuharic 3 0-0 8, Jace Stutz 0 2-2 2, Jason Gray 1 0-0 2, Tyler Frederick 0 6-10 6, Connor Ollio 4 6-8 14, Joel Stutz 6 2-4 18, Jefferson Ford 0 0-0 0, Damien Pickett 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 20 20-29 70. 
BURRELL 66 
Max Garda 4 4-4 15, Cody Legters 4 3-4 13, Brendan Lettrich 8 2-2 19, Nick Kotecki 2 0-0 5, Lucas Cable 2 1-2 5,
Devon Resnick 1 0-0 3, Jack Ryan 1 0-0 2, Donovan Russell 2 0-0 4. Totals: 24 10-12 66. 
Butler 13 13 16 28 — 70 
Burrell23 13 12 18 — 66 
3-point goals:
Butler 10 (Jo. Stutz 4, Rock 2, Michalek 2, Kuharic 2); Burrell 8 (Garda 3, Legters 2, Lettrich, Kotecki, Resnick