Tornado strikes

Tornado strikes!

WEXFORD — Butler has discovered a home away from home — at North Allegheny, of all places.
A bizarre world, indeed.
Zach Slater drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds left in overtime and Bobby Swartwout stole a pass in the waning moments Saturday as the Golden Tornado stunned top-seeded Shaler, 50-47, in the WPIAL Class AAAA boys basketball quarterfinals.
The game was played in North Allegheny's gym, site of last week's playoff-opening win over Moon and the Tornado's upset of North Allegheny last season.
Butler (14-9) will face Gateway (20-4) — a 65-61 winner over Upper St. Clair Saturday — in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday ... at North Allegheny.
“Before we beat Moon, the biggest win of my coaching career was beating NA here last year,” Butler coach Matt Clemnent said. “I told the kids before this game, let's go get a win that's twice as big ... four times as big as that one.”
Butler never led by more than four points Saturday. That was at 50-46 after Swartwout sank two free throws with 33.9 seconds left in overtime.
The Tornado had to weather a couple of storms before that.
Shaler (22-2) had its biggest lead at 23-14 with 4:55 left in the first half. A 9-2 Butler run cut that gap to 25-23 at intermission.
A Geno Thorpe trey with 7:42 left in regulation gave the Titans a 39-33 advantage.
“We had to keep them on our hip,” Clement said. “Shaler gets the lead on teams and punishes them. They've been rolling through people.”
Since losing to Pine-Richland in overtime, Shaler defeated Altoona by 30 to close the regular season, then throttled Plum 70-45 in the first round of the playoffs.
A Vinnie Schmnidt trey and Swartwout jumper off a turnover pulled Butler back to within 39-38. The game stayed tight the rest of the way.
“I know this is the biggest win in my career,” Schmidt said. “We felt like if we could contain (J.T.) Schwartz and (Geno) Thorpe, we could win the game.
“But that was gonna take a lot of defense.”




		Bobby Swartwout (43) celebrates with the fans after Butler’s win over Shaler. Swartwout had 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists JUSTIN GUIDO/BUTLER EAGLE

Then again, defense has been Butler's calling card as it won for the 10th time in 13 games since an 86-55 drubbing at the hands of North Allegheny on Jan. 7.
With the game tied at 43, Butler held the ball for the final 1:15 of regulation looking for the winning bucket. Nate Snodgrass was whistled for traveling with 2.7 seconds left, however.
The Tornado went into overtime with Snodgrass, Cody Herald and Swartwout playing with four fouls. Starters J.P. Holtz and Thorpe had four fouls for Shaler.
“We were all in at that point,” Clement said. “We just had to play smart.”
Slater, who guarded Schwartz all day, spotted up for the trey that gave the Tornado the lead for good.
“There was no set play there,” Slater said. “The open guy takes the shot. They were collapsing in on Bobby and the perimeter was open.”
Clement said Butler ran its basic offense all day.
“I trust these guys,” he said. “I can't say I trusted their decisions in December, but I trust them now.”
Swartwout's two free throws gave Butler its four-point lead, but Zach Taylor hit a free throw and the Titans regained possession on a jump ball call with 25.4 seconds on the clock.
Titans coach Paul Holzshu called a timeout with 15 seconds to play, trailing 50-47.
“I felt likle we had to get a three, Holzshu said. Even if we get a two, there would only be seven or eight seconds left and that's not enough time.
“We had a couple of options set up, but Butler took them away ... just like they took away most of the stuff we tried to do today.”
Swartwout stepped in front of a pass, tipped it ahead for himself and drove the other way. His shot was blocked at the other end, but the damage had been done.
Swartwout led Butler with 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, but his steal may have been his biggest play of the day.
“That and knocking down those free throws,” Clement said. “Seeing that, seeing a guy like Zach Slater hit such a big shot after playing maybe 30 seconds in our playoff game last year, that's why you love to coach.”
Swartwout recognized the play Shaler was trying to run from two years ago.
“They were trying to set up Schwartz on a back screen,” Swartwout said. “They hadn't run that against us in a couple of years, but I remembered it. I read it and jumped the pass.
“This is the biggest win in my life. High school sports are unbelievable.”
Slater had 10 points for Butler. Besides Swartwout, the Tornado managed only 10 other rebounds.
Schwartz had 17 points for Shaler. Thorpe added 13 and Holrtz had seven rebounds.
The Titans average 63 points per game. Butler limited them to 40 and 47 in their last two meetings.
“I've been around basketball for a long time,” Holzshu said. “The team that controls tempo is the team that wins the game.”




		Butler’s Zach Slater (22) drives to the hoop past Shaler defender Mike Titterington during the Golden Tornado’s 50-47 overtime win Saturday. JUSTIN GUIDO/BUTLER EAGLE

BUTLER 50
Nate Snodgrass 2-6 0-2 4, Trevor Wideman 0-1 0-0 0, Cody Herald 2-3 1-3 7, Zach Slater 3-4 2-2 10, Jake Hilliard 1-2 0-0 2, Vinnie Schmidt 3-5 1-3 9, David Tompkins 0-2 0-0 0, Bobby Swartwout 6-11 6-6 18. Totals: 17-34 10-15 50.
SHALER 47
J.T. Schwartz 6-9 3-4 17, Jake Sieber 0-1 -0-0 0, J.P. Holtz 2-4 0-0 4, Zach Taylor 1-4 1-2 4, Craig Feehan 1-1 0-2 2, Brian Bittner 1-2 0-0 2, Mike Titterington 1-2 0-0 2, Geno Thorpe 4-10 4-7 13, Ryan Mincher 1-3 0-1 3. Totals: 17-36 8-16 47.
Butler 10 13 10 10 7—50
Shaler 16 9 11 7 4—47
3-point goals: Butler 6 (Herald 2, Slater 2, Schmidt 2); Shaler 5 (Schwartz 2, Taylor, Thorpe, Mincher)).