PITTSBURGH — In unfriendly territory, there wasn’t a lot going Butler’s way.

Challenging Central Catholic — the team at the forefront of WPIAL Section 1-6A — on the road, the Golden Tornado were trying to piece together a critical win without their senior leader on the floor.

After taking an inbound pass from behind half-court, Ayden Davis used most of the three seconds left in the penultimate frame to split a pair of defenders and heave a shot that banked in at the horn.

The make narrowed Butler’s deficit to two, with the momentum seeming to even — if not adjust slightly in the visitors’ favor. No other player would score for the entire fourth quarter, though, as Davis’ pair of treys 4:20 apart would wind up being the rest of the Golden Tornado’s six points in a 57-48 boys hoops loss Tuesday night.

“(Davis) made a heck of a shot, but we knew the fourth quarter was going to be about defense,” Vikings coach Brian Urso said. “Our guys in the huddle weren’t even panicked at all. It shows that they were still locked in on the game plan, which was to hold them under 50 points.”

Butler (15-5, 5-4) trailed by one when Braylon Littlejohn navigated the left baseline and went airborne for a contested finish at the rim with 5:18 to go in the first half. He sunk the try, then landed hard and stayed on the ground with a cut above his eyebrow. The bucket was erased by a charging call as Littlejohn exited.

The offensive efforts of Donovan Carney and Jordan Epps helped the Golden Tornado enter the halfway mark with a one-point lead. Littlejohn returned for second-half warm-ups, but was kept out for the remainder as a precaution.

“I thought the guys didn’t fold up tent whenever Braylon got hurt,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “I give them a lot of credit. They played really hard. It’s a shame that he got hurt, because I think that it would’ve been a pretty good finish to this game.”

The Golden Tornado were fragmented on offense at points early on in the third quarter, giving the ball away on a few occasions on inbounding tries. Urso stuck senior Vernon Settles on Carney, which further complicated things on that side of the court for Butler.

Central Catholic (12-8, 7-2) went ahead by six — its largest advantage to that point — after a Payton Wehner basket with 57 ticks left in that frame. Lucas and Davis both knocked down three-pointers as a reply.

“We held in there strong,” Clement said. “We played hard. A couple inbound turnovers and a couple run-outs hurt us. At the end of the day ... those are the plays that are the difference-makers.”

Even while being out-scored 13-6 in the final eight minutes, Davis and Coleton Welter served as the team’s heart. The former had 11 points and five rebounds, while the latter finished with 16 rebounds.

Carney paced the team with 13 points, second on the night only to Wehner’s 17.

Clement said Littlejohn will be back on Friday at home against Pine-Richland, though the Golden Tornado fell out of the race for the section crown with the defeat.

“Any given night, the last-place team can beat the first-place team,” Urso said of the grouping. “The second- and third-place teams can kind of go at it and exchange blows.”

BUTLER 48

Donovan Carney 5 0-0 13, Ayden Davis 4 0-0 11, Braylon Littlejohn 2 5-7 10, Tayt Lucas 4 0-0 9, Jordan Epps 1 0-0 3, Coleton Welter 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 5-7 48

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 57

Payton Wehner 7 2-4 17, Enzo Khalil 4 0-0 9, Calvin Vento 3 0-0 8, Vernon Settles 3 1-2 7, Bradley Gompers 2 0-0 4, Xxavier Thomas 2 0-0 4, Alex Pitcher 2 0-0 4, Billy Keyes1 0-1 2, Ryan Hower 1 0-1 2. Totals: 26 3-8 57.

Butler 11 14 17 6 — 48

Central Catholic 11 13 20 13 — 57

3-point goals: Butler 9 (Carney 3, Davis 3, Littlejohn, Epps, Lucas); Central Catholic 4 (Vento 2, Wehner, Khalil)

Friday: Pine-Richland at Butler; Central Catholic at North Allegheny