Butler boys head into WPIAL basketball playoffs on hot streak after win over Fox Chapel
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler guard Andrew Gettinger (35) shooting a 3 pointer in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Ayden Andrews (1) shoots a 3-pointer over two defenders in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School forward Kyle Casteel (10) shooting a fade away in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler High School defeated Fox Chapel High School 50-43 in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Ayden Andrews (1) shoots a 3-pointer over two defenders in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
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Butler defender Stainton Forbes (4) steals the ball during a fast break in a boys basketball game Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at Butler High School. Eddie Clancy/Special to the Eagle
BUTLER TWP — Butler reviewed the path of its entire season in one game Friday night.
The Golden Tornado started slow, used a 15-1 run to take the lead in the third quarter, fell slightly behind — and found a way to win in the end. Butler (15-6, 8-6) completed its boys basketball regular season with a 50-43 Section 1-6A home win over Fox Chapel.
“That’s the way it’s been,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “We didn’t start the (section) season well, and we’ve been getting off to slow starts in games. It’s like ... we have to find a way to get it done in the end.”
The Tornado won for the sixth time in seven games and wound up tied for third in the section after getting off to a 1-5 start in league play.
Neither team ever owned a double-digit lead in the contest, and Butler never had the lead until an Andrew Gettinger 3-pointer gave the Tornado a 28-26 edge midway through the third quarter. Gettinger sank four treys and scored 14 points in the third period as Butler turned a 26-21 deficit into a 36-27 lead with 3:23 left in the quarter.
“Getty found a hot hand and put us in front,” Clement said.
“Yeah, I wanted the ball there,” Gettinger said of the third quarter. “I was finding my shot. It felt like my hands were on fire. ... It felt like anything I was tossing up was going in.”
But the Foxes (15-6, 10-4) weren’t done.
Fox Chapel went in a 14-0 run of its own, turning a 36-27 deficit into a 41-36 lead with 4:49 left in the game. Butler senior guard Ayden Andrews stopped the bleeding by sinking three free throws after being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. Layups by Kyle Casteel and Stainton Forbes gave the Tornado a 43-41 lead with 2:04 remaining.
“Those free throws were super critical,” Andrews said. “I think we settled down after stopping that run and just played basketball.”
Butler put the game away at the free-throw line, sinking seven of 10 foul shots in the final 1:47. After an Asher White free throw pulled the Foxes within 46-43 with 40.8 seconds left, Butler’s Tayt Lucas sank two free throws with 29.7 seconds on the clock, and Gettinger drained a pair with 13.4 left in the game.
Gettinger had missed three straight free throws in the fourth quarter before sinking his final three of the game.
“It becomes mentally challenging for me when I miss a couple at the line,” Gettinger said. “It gets in my head a little bit. I just had to concentrate and make the next shot.”
Gettinger had 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for Butler. Lucas had 10 points and three steals, Forbes 10 points and four rebounds.
Fox Chapel, which finished second in the section, was led by John Rehak’s 15 points and six boards. Caden Kaiser added 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
“They don’t let you get anything inside, and they’re the best rebounding team in the section,” Clement said. “If you don’t play hard-nosed, physical basketball against a Zach Skrinjar-coached Fox Chapel team, you’re not going to beat them.
“We were 1-5 in section and lost Stainton to an injury. No one expected us to do much this year. There was never any rallying cry or anything like that. These kids just pulled together, played harder and stayed together.”
Said Andrews of the early section slide: “We couldn’t let it continue. We hit the boards harder, we hustled more, we took control of our season.“
The Tornado went 6-1 in section play in the second half of the season. Upper St. Clair is the only other WPIAL 6A team to match that run.
The WPIAL playoff brackets will be released Monday afternoon.
FOX CHAPEL 43
Joey McGivney 1-2 0-0 3, John Rehak 6-11 3-6 15, Andrew Dockey 0-0 1-2 1, Ike Moser 0-3 0-0 0, Asher White 3-11 0-0 6, Caden Kaiser 4-9 2-2 10, Grant Fenton 2-6 0-0 5, Max Melocchi 1-1 1-2 3. Totals: 17-43 7-12 43.
BUTLER 50
Ayden Andrews 1-3 4-4 7, Jace Gratzmiller 0-1 0-0 0, Stainton Forbes 2-5 5-6 10, Mavrik Clement 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Casteel 2-2 0-2 4, Tayt Lucas 3-11 2-2 10, Tanner Pry 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Gettinger 6-10 3-6 19. Totals: 14-32 14-20 50.
Fox Chapel 11 11 8 13 - 43
Butler 10 8 18 14 - 50
3-point goals: Fox Chapel 2 (McGivney, Fenton), Butler 8 (Andrews, Forbes, Lucas 2, Gettinger 4)
JV: Fox Chapel, 64-43 (FC: Victor Gololios 9, Rihn Carson 9; B: Zavyr Gregory 16, Jaydon Wilbert 13)
