CENTER TWP, Beaver County — Suffering through a 123-second drought didn't necessarily sink the Butler boys basketball team Friday night at the Golden Dome.

But to knock off Pennsylvania's best teams, Golden Tornado guard Ethan Morton knows they need to make those stagnant stretches rare.

Taylor Allderdice punished Butler's scoreless drought before halftime with an 8-0 run, allowing the Dragons to score a 95-63 win in the Blue Division championship game during the 27th annual CJ Betters Holiday Classic.

“Frankly, it's kind of embarrassing for us,” said Morton, who scored 14 points, but was held to two after halftime. “On the defensive end, you can't give up 95 points. I don't care who it is. Credit to them, they are a good team and have a lot of good players.”

Beating Allderdice isn't something anyone in the WPIAL has figured out this season. The City League stalwart Dragons improved to 4-0 against District 7 foes and has won by a margin of 28 per contest.

“They are a good team,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “Having zero days to prepare for them isn't a benefit to us. They had zero games to prepare for us at the same time. We are worried about our section games.”

Trouble started for Butler after Ethan Morton made a 3-pointer with a little more than two minutes left in the first half to tie the game at 34.

Dalen Dugger, Allderdice's 6-foot-7 center, then kicked off Allderdice's run. Two layups from Dugger, who finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks, was followed by another basket from Bobby Clifford.

“They got easy rebounds and finished inside because we weren't boxing out,” Morton said. “The fouls shots at the end of the first half, that is what it is.”

Adding insult, Butler's Dominick McCowan was whistled for a foul on Dragons' guard Jackson Blaufeld as time expired. Blaufeld, who was the tournament MVP and finished with 32 points, made two of three to put Allderdice up 42-34.

“They made the shots,” Clement said. “Blaufeld shot the ball well and didn't miss too many open or contested shots. We're a team that had a weary game last night, where they had an easier game, which didn't help us.”

After halftime, Allderdice continued to shoot effectively. Butler (7-2) couldn't keep pace. The Golden Tornado shot 37.8 percent (14-of-37) from the 3-point line.

Luke Patten knocked down seven 3-pointers and led Butler with 21 points. Devin Carney, who along with Morton was selected to the all-tournament team, finished with 19 and made five treys.

“They live and die by the three — I don't think we did that much,” Allderdice coach Buddy Valinsky said. “Maybe, they just went a little cold. Our biggest thing is we wanted to push them inside toward our shot blockers.”

Dugger made things tough inside. Butler's treys wouldn't fall.

Clement wants to see the Golden Tornado continue to mature and focused on their section games. Fretting over taking on the heavyweights can wait for a few months.

“I keep thinking when people keep asking me about those two teams is we have to get there,” said Clement of Allderdice and Kennedy Catholic. “We weren't in it last year. They are going to play against each other, so there's no point about worrying about both of them. We'll figure it out as we go along.”

ALLDERDICE 95

Jackson Blaufeld 12 3-5 32, Dalen Dugger 10 0-0 22, Bobby Clifford 7 2-2 17, Terrell Childs 2 1-1 6, Blake Haber 3 0-0 7. Rob Jones 1 2-2 4, Josphat Mukagosi 2 0-0 5, Tony Henderson 1 0-1 2. Totals: 39 8-10 95.

BUTLER 63

Ethan Morton 5 3-6 14, Luke Patten 7 0-0 21, Mattix Clement 1 0-0 3, Devin Carney 7 0-0 19, Isaiah Scribner 0 0-0 0, Colby Anderson 0 0-0 0, Mason Montag 2 0-0 5, Charles Kreinbucher 0 1-2 1, Dominick McCowan 0 0-0 0, Kevin King 0 0-0 0, Anthony Malloy 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 4-8 63.

Allderdice 23 19 29 24 — 95

Butler16 18 16 13 — 63

3-point goals: Allderdice 5 (Blaufeld 2, Mukagosi, Childs, Clifford); Butler 15 (Patten 7, Carney 5, Morton, Clement, Montag)

Friday: Butler at North Hills