Tornado Eruption
Butler scored 10
points in 52 seconds, runs away from SV
February 5, 2020 High School Basketball
Butler
point guard Ethan Morton drives past Seneca Valley's Luke Lawson. Morton scored
24 points and had 13 assists as the Golden Tornado beat the Raiders 76-54 to
finish the section season undefeated.
NATE BLACK/SPECIAL TO THE EAGLE
JACKSON TWP — Ten points in 52 seconds.
Butler erupted with a 10-0 run that quickly
late in the first quarter to take the lead it never lost in a 76-54 Section
1-6A boys basketball win at Seneca Valley.
“That's the sort of thing this team is
capable of,” Golden Tornado coach Matt Clement said.
After the Raiders (3-16, 1-9) rallied from a
9-0 deficit to knot the game at 13, Butler answered quickly and often. Ethan
Morton drove for a layup, found Mattix Clement for a trey, stole the ball and
drove in for a dunk, then found Devin Carney for a trey.
Just like that, Butler led 23-13.
“I called a timeout and we closed that
quarter on a 5-0 run,” Seneca Valley coach Kevin Trost said. “We closed a
couple of quarters well tonight.”
Consecutive layups by Mason Bush ended the
first half and pulled SV within 40-32 at intermission. But the Tornado scored
the first eight points of the third period and built on a double-digit lead
from there.
Six Butler players sank treys and the
Tornado shot 54 percent from the field. They hit 16 of 27 shots in the second
half.
“I was waiting for a game like this when
everybody shot well,” Clement said.
“Our offense just built momentum throughout
the game,” Morton said. “It was good to see that. This is the right time of
year to start doing that.”
Morton had 24 points, 13 assists, eight
rebounds, three dunks, three blocked shots and two steals. Carney netted 24
points.
Mason Montag had 10 rebounds for Butler (16-4,
10-0), which won its 11 consecutive game and joined the 1989 Tornado squad as
the only Butler boys basketball teams to complete a perfect section season.
“Things are so different now,” Clement said
of section play. “Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland, North Allegheny ... The
population in those areas is so heavily concentrated now.
“Going unbeaten in this section is a very
hard thing to do. And doing it after we lost Luke Patten in October ... I'm
just so proud of these guys.”
Carney recognized how Butler has gotten
better as the season's gone on.
“It's just fun playing for a winning team,”
he said. “I'm proud to be a part of a team that went through the section
undefeated.
“We all did a good job of just finding each
other tonight. Six guys hit 3s. That was pretty cool.”
Bush led Seneca Valley with 16 points, seven
rebounds and three assists. Cole Brooks had 12 points, Connor Lyczek 10 points,
seven rebounds and three assists.
Seneca
Valley's Gabe Lawson is surrounded by Butler defenders during the Raiders' loss
to the Golden Tornado.
NATE BLACK/SPECIAL TO THE EAGLE
“They are so hard to guard, especially when
Carney gets going,” Trost said of Butler. “Mattix Clement forces you to extend
your defense because you can't leave him alone.
“It's like, you have to pick your poison
trying to guard those guys. You only hope they have an off-night shooting just
so you can stay in the game.”
Coach Clement said he could hear Trost
yelling for his defense to help defend Morton when he drove inside.
“Ethan made great decisions that way on when
to take it and when to kick it back out,” Clement said. “And our guys were
hitting shots.”
Seneca Valley honored seniors Bush, Gabe
Lawson and Brian Hart before the game. Hart had his season curtailed by a knee
injury.
“Three great kids,” Trost said. “Mason will
be a first team all-section player two years in a row. Between football and
basketball, Gabe will leave here as one of the most decorated athletes this
school has seen for a while.
“Brian battled injuries his whole career and
always played hard. We didn't have the won-loss record we wanted, but the
effort was always there.”
BUTLER 76
Zach Slomers 0-0 0-0 0, Raine Gratzmiller
2-4 0-0 5, Devion Carney 9-20 3-3 24, Mattix Cement 3-7 0-0 8, Charlie
Kreinbucher 3-4 0-0 6, Mason Montag 1-5 0-0 3, Ethan Morton 11-16 1-1 24,
Madden Clement 1-3 0-0 3, Austin Rodgers 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan Fediaczko 1-1 0-0 2,
Dylan Piroch 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 31-60 5-6 76.
SENECA VALLEY 54
Ethan West 0-0 0-0 0, Cole Brooks 5-12 0-1
12, Luke Lawsin 4-6 0-0 8, Gabe Lawson 1-5 0-2 2, Ben Hicks 0-2 0-0 0, Connor
Lyczek 4-11 2-2 10, Brian Olan 1-3 1-2 4, Mason Bush 7-20 1-3 16, Jameson
Grieco 0-4 0-0 0, Beaux Lizewski 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 22-63 6-12 54.
Butler 23 17 17 19 — 76
Seneca Valley18 14 11 11 — 54
3-point goals: Gratzmiller, Carney 3,
Mat.Clement 2, Montag, Morton, Mad.Clement; Brooks 2, Bush, Olan
JV: Seneca Valley, 62-52 (B: Madden Clement
18, C.J. Singleton 13; SV: Connor Orops 12, Luke Lawson 12, Beaux Lizewski 11)