Butler falls in OT
BUTLER TWP — Lack of rebounding, not getting defensive stops and no killer instinct.
They’re all things Butler boys basketball coach Matt Clement feared could get in the way of his team winning games this winter and Tuesday night, they conspired to hand the Golden Tornado an incredibly frustrating 73-71 overtime loss to visiting North Hills.
Freshman Nathan Schanbacher hit a floater from the baseline as time expired to send Butler’s players off the court in a dejected mood.
“Our top two scorers (Zach Pollaro and Eric James) were both on the bench with fouls,” said North Hills coach Buzz Gabos. “Nathan’s a freshman and stepped up at the end of the game for us.
“We hadn’t played in 10 days, but the guys battled and made plays. Defensively, we guarded well and didn’t make it easy for Butler ... and we benefited from some missed free throws.”
The last two of those came with the score knotted at 71 with 19 seconds remaining. Butler’s Donovan Carney missed both attempts from the line, the Indians rebounded and brought the ball to midcourt before calling a timeout to set up the winning shot.
Carney finished the game with 22 points. His trey gave Butler a 67-66 lead with 2:48 left in overtime.
“He’s a very good free throw shooter,” said Clement of Carney. “He has high expectations for himself and he walked off the court tonight believing he lost the game. But I told him and I told the team, this game was lost long before he went to the line.”
The Tornado (2-1) led 37-27 at halftime. Pollaro and James led North Hills’ rally, though Butler never did allow the Indians to pull even until Schanbacher’s bucket made it 62-62 at the fourth quarter buzzer.
Twelve turnovers from Butler in the second half helped the Indians (2-1) remain within striking distance.
“We were turning the ball over on the inbound against a press, and not a very good one to be honest,” said Clement. “North Hills did what it needed to do to win and they did it with their top two scorers on the bench, but I thought we became less aggressive after they went out.”
Butler’s Braylon Littlejohn led all scorers with 28 points. James netted 25 for the Indians and Pollaro 20.
“We made a lot of mistakes and in the grand scheme of things, I have to get the team better prepared,” said Clement.
The Tornado visit Franklin Regional on Friday.
NORTH HILLS 73
Logan Ilnicki 1 2-2 4, Michael Blass 2 0-2 4, Andrew Taschner 1 0-0 3, Jackson Long 2 3-4 8, Nathan Schanbacher 4 1-2 9, Zach Pollaro 8 1-2 20, Eric James 8 8-11 25. Totals: 26 15-23 73.
BUTLER 71
Mavrik Clement 1 0-0 2, Donovan Carney 8 3-6 22, Ayden Davis 3 0-2 6, Braylon Littlejohn 10 8-10 28, Kyle Casteel 1 3-4 5, Tayt Lucas 2 1-2 6, Ayden Andrews 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 15-24 71.
North Hills 15 12 20 15 11 — 73
Butler 13 24 12 13 9 — 71
3-point goals: North Hills 6 (Pollaro 3, James, Long, Taschner); Butler 4 (Carney 3, Lucas).
Friday: Butler at Franklin Regional
