BUTLER TWP — The message was clear from the opening tip.

No regrets.

In a must-win Section 3-AAAA showdown with Seneca Valley Friday night, Butler never trailed in posting a 70-57 boys basketball victory before a raucous crowd in its home gym.

“Every huddle, that's what Coach kept telling us,” senior guard Andrew Paterno said. “Play with no regrets. Leave everything out there.”

“I can't think of one kid on our team who played a bad game,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “The team effort was incredible.

“We had a big game Tuesday night (at Central Catholic) and we failed. When I heard on the bus ride home that North Allegheny had won (over SV) and we were still alive, I thought, this was perfect. Now we know what the experience of playing in a high-pressure game is like. Learn from it.”

The Raiders (13-9, 5-7) dropped their third straight section game and were eliminated from playoff contention.

SV fell behind by eight by intermission and by as many as 16 in the third quarter.

“Butler outplayed us. They outrebounded us badly ... There are no excuses,” SV coach Victor Giannotta said. “This was our playoff game. We knew the situation going into it.

“If this is the worst thing that happens to these kids, they'll turn out fine.”

Butler (13-8, 5-7) sank 26 of 41 shots from the floor, 14 of 17 from the foul line and held a whopping 30-9 advantage in rebounding.

Justice Lewandowski scored 23 points — including three treys — to pace the Tornado. Tyler Frederick had 12 points and eight rebounds, Mark Gross 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.

“Coach prepped us well for this game,” senior center Gross said. “He told us to dominate the boards, play tough on defense and the offense will come. And that's the way it played out.”

Senior guard Keenan Krause had six assists and Paterno contributed seven points and five assists.

“Keenan may have played his best high school basketball game tonight,” Clement said. “The way he handled their pressure, only turning the ball over once or twice all night, making great passes, his defense — he gave us so much.”

Zach Snyder paced the Raiders with 15 points, four rebounds and three steals. T.J. Holl added 15 points.

A Snyder layup capped an 18-6 SV run that cut their deficit to 48-42 with 6:50 to play. Butler scored the next eight points to put the game away.

Paterno sank two free throws, Gross stuck back an offensive rebound, Lewandowski canned a layup and Gross did the same. The Tornado had a 56-42 lead with 4:40 left and the margin never left double digits again.

“We knew we couldn't let up in a game like this,” Paterno said. “We had missed the playoffs the past couple of years. We seniors wanted to get us back in.”

Lewandowski said he couldn't sleep the night before the game.

“We couldn't wait to play tonight,” he said. “It's all we've been thinking about. We knew we could get this done.”

Another senior, Jake Anderson, came off the bench to score six points, including two stickbacks, and snare five rebounds.

“Jake had a big steal off a lob pass to the hoop, a play he gave up earlier,” Clement said. “He made the adjustment and made the play.”

Giannotta lauded the play of his seniors.

“It's a good group, They worked hard,” he said. “Unfortunately, there's no consolation tonight.

“Butler just played a great game.”

SENECA VALLEY 57

Zach Snyder 6-8 2-3 15, Jack Cook 3-6 0-0 8, T.J. Holl 7-12 1-5 15, Cody Boozel 0-0 0-0 0, Chad Izenas 1-5 6-6 8, Dakota Topf 2-7 4-5 8, Matt Drambel 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Hart 0-1 0-0 0, Payton Skalos 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 20-42 13-19 57.

BUTLER 70

Damien Pickett 1-1 0-0 2, Kelley Kuharic 0-0 1-2 1, Kaden Rock 0-0 3-3 3, Jace Stutz 0-2 0-0 0, Justice Lewandowski 7-12 6-7 23, Keenan Krause 1-2 2-2 4, Andrew Paterno 2-3 2-2 7, Tyler Frederick 6-10 0-0 12, Jake Anderson 3-3 0-0 6, Joel Stutz 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Hindman 0-0 0-0 0, Mark Gross 6-8 0-1 12 . Totals: 26-41 14-17 70.

Seneca Valley 10 10 16 21 — 57

Butler14 14 18 24 — 70

3-point goals: Cook 2, Skalos, Snyder; Paterno, Lewandowski 3

JV: Seneca Valley, 64-54 (SV: Payton Skalos 17, Chris Hart 10; B: Connor Ollio 12, Kelley Kuharic 10, Luke Michalek 10

Monday: Kiski Area at Butler