BUTLER TWP — Quick and to the point.

That’s how New Castle started. That’s how Butler boys basketball coach Matt Clement saw his team’s fate Friday night.

“This game was decided in the first five minutes,” Clement said of the Golden Tornado’s 71-60 Section 1-6A loss to the unbeaten Red Hurricane. “By the time we recovered, settled in and played like we thought we’d play, their lead was too much to overcome.”

Butler never led in the game. The Tornado (9-2, 1-1) turned the ball over six times in the first 4:30, helping New Castle (10-0, 2-0) jump out to a 14-4 lead. Butler turned the ball over on its first three possessions and trailed 5-0 before getting off a field goal attempt.

“That quick start was a big part of this, but I thought we played a solid basketball game all the way through tonight,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “We took care of the ball, played good defense and shot well.

“I have a lot of respect for Matt and his program. Butler-New Castle had been a long, respectful rivalry for years, even before I played. Yeah, this does bring back some of those memories.”

The teams played each other Friday for the first time since 2014.

New Castle had a 10-point lead after the first quarter, led 38-19 by intermission and led by as many as 24 (45-21) early in the third quarter. The ‘Canes had a 68-48 advantage with 3:07 to play. Both teams subbed out their starters shortly thereafter and the Tornado made a quick run late.

“I thought Jon Anderson came out and took control of this game almost from the opening tip,” Clement said. “He was the best player on the floor tonight. He got them going early.”

Anderson, New Castle’s senior point guard, scored 26 points and tallied five assists. He scored 10 points in the first quarter, including a trey to begin the period and another to end it.

Nick Wallace, another guard and one of four senior starters for the ‘Canes — who reached the PIAA Class 5A title game last season — tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Senior forward Da’Jaun Young had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah Boice had eight points, seven assists and three steals.

“It’s basketball. You need a good point guard and we’ve got a very good one,” Blundo said. “The point guard starts things. Without a start, there is no finish.

“Butler is hard to defend because they have good shooters all over the place. I thought we did a good job of getting hands in faces.”

After the six early turnovers, the Tornado turned the ball over only two more times the rest of the night.

Butler had a five-game winning streak snapped with the loss.

“Having a rough start doesn’t mean you can’t come back and our kids are never gonna quit,” Clement said. “It’s just hard to do it against a team like that.”

Braylon Littlejohn paced Butler with 25 points and six rebounds. He scored 15 of those points in the fourth quarter. Donovan Carney scored 11 points while Madden Clement had seven points and 10 rebounds.

The usually sharp-shooting Tornado managed only three treys on the night — two of them coming in the fourth quarter when the game was decided — and sank 22 of 52 shots from the field. New Castle had eight field goals, Butler nine shots, in the first quarter.

“This section is brutal,” Blundo said. “We have 135 kids, we’re the smallest school in this league by far. But we can compete.”

Butler travels to North Allegheny Tuesday night.

“You can’t get too high after a win, too low afte a loss, or it could affect your next game,” Clement said. “It’s on to the next one.”

NEW CASTLE 71

Da’Juan Young 5-8 2-2 12, Kyrell Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Byron Lett 0-1 0-0 0, Isaiah Boice 3-11 1-1 8, Ralphie Blundo 3-5 0-0 8, Jon Anderson 10-17 2-2 26, Angelo Cialella 0-0 0-2 0, Nick Wallace 6-9 5-7 17. Totals: 27-52 10-15 71.

BUTLER 60

Braylon Littlejohn 10-17 4-5 25, Donovan Carney 5-11 0-0 11, Ryan McLister 0-1 0-0 0, Ayden Davis 2-3 0-3 4, Madden Clement 1-11 5-6 7, Mac Schnur 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Porch 1-2 4-4 6, Tayt Lucas 1-1 0-0 3, Lance Slater 1-2 0-0 2, Colin Casteel 1-2 0-0 2, James Desmond 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 22-512 13-18 60.

New Castle 21 17 15 18 — 71

Butler 11 8 17 24 — 60

3-point goals: New Castle 7 (Boice, Blundo 2, Anderson 4), Butler 3 (Littlejohn, Carney, Lucas)

JV: Butler, 68-58 (NC: Kyrell Haris 32; B: Coleton Welter 20, Kyle Casteel 18, Tayt Lucas 17)

Tuesday: Butler at North Allegheny