BUTLER TWP — Butler kept looking for the knockout punch that never came.

Then the Golden Tornado took one on the chin.

Trailing by eight points with 1:56 to play Friday night on the road, Hampton closed with a 10-0 run to stun Butler, 67-65, in a non-section boys basketball game.

“I loved the way our guys responded after falling behind,” Talbots coach Joe Lafko said. “They never quit. We made enough plays at the end to win the game.

“This was a good high school basketball game involving two good teams. We're very happy to get this one.”

And Butler coach Matt Clement was very disappointed to see this one slip away.

“Up by that many late ... You can't let that happen, not with a veteran team like we have,” Clement said. “This is very disappointing.

“Too many turnovers late, we took some bad shots, missed free throws and we didn't defend well after those turnovers. That's a recipe for disaster, especially against a team that can score quickly like Hampton.”

The lead changed hands eight times and the score was tied on five occasions. After a Mike Shehady lay-up pulled Hampton even at 51 with a minute left in the third quarter, Butler (11-8) went on a 10-0 run to seemingly take control of the game.

Jason Gray and Jace Stutz sank treys during the surge that opened up a 61-51 Tornado advantage with 5:46 left in the game.

Ben Huber and Nick Schuit answered with treys for the Talbots (13-7), but Butler held serve with an offensive rebound and stick-back by Connor Ollio and a lay-up by Stutz.

It all added up to that 65-57 Tornado lead at the 1:56 mark.

“We stayed with our pressure and were able to force a few mistakes,” Lafko said.

After turning the ball over only five times all night in a win at North Allegheny Tuesday, Butler had six turnovers in the fourth quarter alone Friday night. The Tornado had 16 turnovers in the game.

Kyle Reese started the late Hampton comeback by hitting a lay-up. Huber drained a trey to cut the gap to 65-62 with 1:10 left. A back-court steal and lay-up by Shehady made it 65-64 with 50 seconds to play.

Butler freshman Ethan Morton missed the front end of a one-and-one with 25 seconds to go. The Talbots took the lead on a three-point play inside by Reese with 11.9 seconds on the clock.

“Their guards got to the basket too much,” Clement said. “You have to keep those guys in front of you, make them shoot over you.

“When you let them get by, you're giving them easy shots.”

Trailing by two, the Tornado had a chance to at least force overtime, but Huber intercepted a pass inside with three seconds left and quickly dished the ball to a teammate in the corner to allow time to expire.

Hampton placed five players in double figures. Huber led the way with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Antonio Ionadi had 15 points, Reese and Schuit 11 each and Shehady 10.

Tyler Frederick paced Butler with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Ollio had 12 points and eight boards, Morton 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jace Stutz had 10 points.

Butler did enjoy a 34-21 rebounding advantage.

“We just played our usual defense against (Frederick), sliding over help when necessary,” Lafko said. “I thought we contained him OK.”

Butler's loss was its fourth this season by two points or less. The Tornado's last seven losses have been by seven or fewer.

“The good news is we've had to pick ourselves up after tough losses before and we've done it,” Clement said. “Now we have to do it again and get into the playoffs.

“But tonight is very disappointing. This one should not have gotten away.”

HAMPTON 67

Ryan Sickles 0-1 0-0 0, Nick Schuit 4-9 0-0 11, Kyle Reese 5-7 1-1 11, Ben Huber 6-8 0-0 16, Antonio Ionadi 6-14 2-2 15, Mark Shehady 4-6 2-2 10, Issac DeGregorio 0-1 2-2 2, Ryan Murray 1-2 0-1 2. Totals: 26-48 7-8 67.

BUTLER 65

Luke Michalek 1-1 0-0 2, Andrew Yonker 0-3 0-1 0, Jace Stutz 4-10 0-0 10, Ian McCarrier 2-3 0-0 6, Jason Gray 2-5 0-0 6, Tyler Frederick 8-9 0-0 16, Connor Ollio 5-8 2-2 12, Ethan Morton 3-9 4-6 10, Joel Stutz 1-7 0-2 3, Jefferson Ford 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 26-56 6-10 65.

Hampton 18 16 17 16 — 67

Butler11 24 21 9 — 65

3-point goals: Schuit 3, Huber 4, Ionadi; Ja. Stutz 2, McCarrier 2, Gray, Jo.Stutz

JV: Butler, 54-35 (H: Colby Mignogna 11; B: Pat McLachlin 13, John Michalek 11)

Tuesday: Central Catholic at Butler