How COVID short-circuited Butler boys basketball’s storybook PIAA Tournament run, 5 years later
BUTLER TWP — As each year goes by, the mystique of the 2019-2020 Butler boys basketball season magnifies.
The Golden Tornado won their section then the WPIAL Class 6A championship that season. Butler went on to defeat Central Dauphin and Upper St. Clair in the first two rounds of the PIAA Tournament.
Then the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic stopped everything in its tracks.
“A lot of people think back to that year and remember us just killing everybody,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “But, really, that wasn’t the case. The more time passes, we are thought of as a powerhouse.”
Butler nearly lost its first WPIAL playoff game in 2020, having to rally to defeat Peters Township in double overtime. It then edged Upper St. Clair in overtime in the semifinals before dispatching Mt. Lebanon in the title game.
The state tournament began with an overtime win over Central Dauphin, then a comeback against USC that required rallying from a 14-point, second-half deficit, including being 10 points down in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t know how we would have fared moving forward from there, but we definitely had a shot at it,” Clement said. “We pulled out so many close games, got on a roll that way.
“Our team was battle-tested, that’s for sure.”
Butler’s roster included the program’s all-time scoring leader in senior guard Ethan Morton, another eventual 2,000-point scorer in sophomore guard Devin Carney and an eventual 1,000-point scorer in Mattix Clement. Mason Montag was a senior forward, Charlie Kreinbucher a sophomore center.
Sophomore Raine Gratzmiller and freshman Madden Clement were top players off the bench.
“Our whole team had the feeling we couldn’t lose,” said Morton, who this week is preparing for his final NCAA Tournament after transferring to Colorado State. “It was disappointing the way it ended. Once they told us our next game (against McDowell) was being postponed, no one knew what was gonna happen.
“I just took shots at the hoop in our driveway by myself every day, ran a little bit, just tried to stay in shape.”
“We couldn’t just sit around, but we couldn’t practice together,” Mattix Clement said. “I woke up each morning and started the day shooting on our court at home, staying sharp for when we played again.”
Nearly three weeks after that comeback win over USC at Robert Morris University, the PIAA Tournament was declared over.
“Pure heartbreak ... a punch in the gut,” Gratzmiller said. “If that season would have ended in a loss, then that’s it. But to lose a chance to even play ... I know it’s not the end of the world, things happen in life, but it still hurts.
“Our team was resilient, had confidence and great leadership.”
The intangibles were there. But three strong opponents would have stood between Butler and the state championship.
McDowell was led by standout William Jeffress, who went on to play for the University of Pittsburgh. Abington, a likely semifinal opponent, was led by Eric Dixon, who is having a brilliant career at Villanova.
Roman Catholic may have awaited Butler in the state final. That team featured 6-foot-10 Jalen Duren, who now plays for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
Butler lost one of its most versatile players in senior Luke Patten during the preseason, when he suffered a knee injury.
“There’s no question in my mind, had we had Luke, we would have gone on to win the state championship,” Coach Clement said. “That’s how impactful of a player he was.
“Mattix was coming off his best game, the immediate time off gave Ethan’s ankle time to heal. If they had resumed the state tournament, we’d have been in pretty good shape.”
Mattix scored 26 points and sank five 3-pointers in Butler’s 77-73 win over USC in the second round of the state tourney. Morton, playing with a high-ankle sprain, scored 16 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“I was just a kid and didn’t think an ankle sprain could hinder me,” Morton said. “The atmosphere at Robert Morris that night, the way we pulled that game out, we just wanted it to go on.”
They were hoping.
“Before they canceled the rest of the tournament, we were doing Zoom calls, checking in with each other, remaining tight as a team,” Gratzmiller said. “I was getting ready for track season, too, but basketball was No. 1 on my mind.
“Then it all just stopped.”
“It stinks,” Morton said. “But we had to make our peace with it.”
