N.A. Less Than Hospitable, Home Sweet Home

It’s that time again. Last week I finished my Finals Week at Point Park University, so that means I am officially back on track. And conveniently enough, the girls’ and boys basketball teams look to be headed that way as well.

The week didn’t start out very well for the Golden Tornado. Last Tuesday, both teams were dealt a crucial section loss at North Allegheny. The boys battled back to only lose by three, 50-47. The girls, however, were blown out 63-31 due to four of the Lady Tornado players being suspended for one game due to violating team rules. I wasn’t there for those two games, so I will continue forward. Also, the girls home contest against Chartiers Valley has been postponed until February 7, 2004, for reasons I am still am not aware of.

My full-time return to Butler basketball really began last Friday when the girls and boys hosted Shaler in a double-header. The ladies got back into their winning ways by defeating the Lady Titans 44-37. Shaler led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter, but through their persistence, the blue ‘n gold rallied and outscored Shaler 13-4 in the third quarter to take a lead they refused to lose. Butler was led by freshman Amy Achesinski with 15 points, Danielle Koehring with 10 points and Heather Spangler chipped in with 8.

The Tornado men also played Shaler on this night only to come up short 46-45. Shaler led Butler 20-18 at the half and 41-35 at the end of three. The Tornado had one last chance with 1.0 seconds remaining, having to go the length of the court. As the pass was inbounded, however, it was tipped away as time ran out. Butler was led by Tyrell Sales with 19 points, Nate Hartung with 10 points and Dan Andreassi with 9.

This past Saturday the boys broke their six-game losing streak by defeating the NSNSports.com fifth-ranked Connellsville Falcons 48-47 in another game that came down to the wire. Coming out of a 23-23 tie at halftime, Butler jumped out to a 39-32 lead to end the third quarter. But just like that, the Falcons hit a 7-0 run to tie the game at 39. With 4.1 seconds left, sophomore Noah Hartung connected on a free throw to give Butler the one-point lead. Connellsville had 2.8 seconds to go the length of the court, btu they bobbled the inbounds pass and let the game slip away. Tyrell Sales led Butler with 22 points and Bobby Freshwater with 9.

Stat of the Week-- In the boys’ 46-45 loss to Shaler, the Titans connected on 8 three-pointers.

Upcoming Games: Girls at North Hills (12/15/03); Boys at North Hills (12/16/03); Girls host Serra Catholic (12/17/03).