BUTLER TWP — With Butler's Senior Night game on the line, it was only appropriate.

“Our seniors showed up,” Golden Tornado coach Matt Clement said.

After seeing an 11-point halftime lead disappear Monday night, Butler produced a flurry of big plays in the span of a minute midway through the fourth quarter. That series of plays reversed momentum and keyed a regular season-ending 57-51 boys basketball victory over Kiski Area.

Butler (14-8) compiled a 9-1 record in non-section games this season. The Tornado will learn the name of its opponent in the Class AAAA playoffs, along with the date and site of the game, at the WPIAL meeting tonight.

“Our seniors got 90 percent of the playing time tonight,” Clement said. “It was their night. That's how we wanted it to be.”

And they made it count.

All six Butler seniors — Justice Lewandowski, Keenan Krause, Andrew Paterno, Jake Anderson, Eric Hindman and Mark Gross — were honored before the game and contributed to the game.

The Tornado led 22-11 at halftime before the visiting Cavaliers (6-16) battled back to take a 40-39 lead on a Justice Evans trey with 4:25 remaining.

Lewandowski answered with a three-point play seconds later, driving to the basket for a layup and converting the free throw. Gross then stuck back an offensive rebound while being fouled.

Lewandowski grabbed the rebound of the missed free throw and was fouled himself. He sank both shots for a 46-40 lead. Fifty seconds later, Lewandowski scored on another layup and the Tornado had a 48-40 lead with 2:38 left.

Kiski Area never threatened the lead again.

“That flurry they had ... That's our whole season,” Kiski coach Joey Tutchstone said. “Our kids always play hard. They have a lot of fight in them.

“We're just not finishing games. They find a way to slip away. We've lost five or six games like this.”

The Cavaliers lost for the 10th time in 12 games in ending their season.

Gross — the lone Butler senior not to start the game — had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Lewandowski had 16 points and three steals.

“Mark was the odd man out because we were going to start our seniors and I wanted two big men on the floor (Hindman and Anderson),” Clement said. “I explained that to him and he had no problem with it.

“None of the other four would have had a problem not starting, either. These guys are a team.”

Paterno scored eight points — including a trey that gave Butler a 39-37 lead in the fourth — and had three assists. Krause had five assists, Anderson six points and 10 rebounds.

“Jake had a great game tonight,” Clement said. “He's come on during the season. He's been getting a lot more minutes lately because he's become a key part of our rotation.”

Hindman defended senior guard Mike Simmons, Kiski's leading scorer at 20 points per game, for much of the night. Simmons managed only eight points, sinking two of 10 field goal attempts.

“They made him work for everything, but some of the things they did were a bit over the top,” Tutchstone said. “I mean, he got slammed into the wall at one point.

“It was nothing intentional ... just kids being competitive out there ... but I thought the officials could have done a better job of control tonight.”

Evans paced Kiski Area with 15 points. Jon Bracie had 10 points and six rebounds, Simmons three assists.

Butler's junior varsity closed its season with a 15-6 record, posting a 58-50 victory.

KISKI AREA 51

DeShawon Bracie 1-5 0-0 3, Justice Evans 5-11 4-5 15, Lincoln Clayton 1-9 2-2 5, Jon Bracie 5-8 0-2 10, Mike Simmons 2-10 3-4 8, Matt Bisceglia 0-5 0-0 0, Noah Clayton 2-2 1-2 5, Nate Blankenbicker 2-4 0-2 5, Nick Bisceglia 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-54 10-17 51.

BUTLER 57

Damien Pickett 0-2 0-0 0, Kelley Kuharic 0-1 0-0 0, Kaden Rock 0-0 0-0 0, Jace Stutz 0-1 0-0 0, Justice Lewandowski 4-11 7-7 16, Keenan Krause 1-4 2-2 4, Andrew Paterno 3-5 0-1 8, Tyler Frederick 1-1 0-0 2, Jake Anderson 3-4 0-1 6, Joel Stutz 2-3 0-0 5, Eric Hindman 0-3 0-0 0, Connor Ollio 0-0 0-0 0, Mark Gross 7-10 2-6 16. Totals: 21-45 11-17 57.

Kiski Area 6 5 20 20 — 51

Butler7 15 12 23 — 57

3-point goals: D.Bracie, Evans, Clayton, Simmons, Blankenbicker; Lewandowski, Paterno 2, Jo.Stutz

JV: Butler, 58-50 (KA: DeShawon Bracie 11, Noah Clayton 11; B: Joel Stutz 16, Connor Ollio 14)

Next: Butler in WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs, TBA