WEXFORD — Butler did a whole lot of things right Saturday against Pine-Richland.

- The Golden Tornado turned the ball over only seven times.

- Freshman point guard Ethan Morton scored 21 points.

- Senior center Tyler Frederick produced a double-double despite sitting the final 6:54 of the first half with two fouls. And Butler played the Rams even while he was out.

- Senior guard Jace Stutz was the primary defender on P-R's Andrew Petcash, holding the 20 points per game scorer to eight points and only two field goals.

- Butler sank all nine of its free throw attempts and sank 100 of 121 shots from the foul line in the postseason.

The only thing the Tornado didn't do Saturday was win.

Pine-Richland took the lead for good late in the third quarter, never led by more than eight points until the final seconds, and defeated Butler 64-58 in their PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal boys basketball game at North Allegheny.

It was the Rams' (27-1) fourth win over Butler (19-10) this season — by margins of 1, 5, 11 and 6 points. All four games were in doubt in the final two minutes.

“They only have one loss for a reason,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “We played them as tough as anyone.

“But that's not good enough. We're not satisfied. We didn't win. It stinks.”

Butler's last lead of the day occurred with 45 seconds left in the third period. Morton sank a trey for a 45-44 edge. But Evan Luellen answered with a lay-up and Nolan Rausch canned two free throws to give Pine-Richland a 48-45 lead heading into the final period.

The Rams extended that margin to seven with five minutes left, but a baseline jumper by Morton and two Frederick free throws cut the gap to 57-55 with 1:23 to play.

“Butler has a great team. We know what we're going to get with them ... a tough, physical game,” Pine-Richland coach Jeff Ackermann said. “But we don't mind playing that way.”

The Rams' final seven points came from the free throw line. A Petcash free throw upped the lead to 64-55 with 15 seconds left as the Tornado did not score again until a Joel Stutz trey with 3.4 seconds to go.

“We were right there and I thought we defensed them well,” Clement said. “They made their shots when it mattered.

“They have a great program over there. We have a lot of respect for them and I feel like that respect comes from their locker room back to us. That's what high school sports are all about.”

Rausch led Pine-Richland with 18 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Andrew Kristofic had 12 points, Phil Jurkovec 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Rausch is averaging 5.5 points per game.

“It was just his turn today,” Ackermann said. “Everyone has had a big scoring game in the playoffs so far except Nolan. I've been telling him to keep his confidence up.

“We knew before this game ... before this tournament ... our role players were going to have to step up big.”

Morton had four assists to go with his 21 points for Butler. Joel Stutz had 15 points and five assists, Frederick 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

“This is hard right now, this being over,” Morton said of the season. I'll forever be grateful for the way these seniors, everyone on this team, welcomed me and made me a part of things.

“This has been the best year of my life.”

Eight of Butler's 10 losses this season have been by single-digits. Seven were by six points or less.

“I feel like we've been on a rollercoaster ride,” Frederick said. “We'd get down and we'd keep bouncing back up. I'll never forget this season. I'll never forget these teammates.”

Nor will Clement.

“This was a special group. When the Stutz boys reported for open gym after soccer, the whole mood of the team, the atmosphere of practice, changed,” Clement said. “I've never seen two guys make such an impact like that.

“I'm looking forward to seeing Tyler perform at the next level and we have Ethan around for a while. This whole senior group ... They were just different. Times have changed and you can't coach kids the way I was coached. But these guys? They were so coachable, so hungry to succeed. And they did.

“We played seven playoff games. That's a success. These guys are champions in my book,” Clement added.

Pine-Richland will face Carlisle (21-8) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Altoona in the PIAA Western Final.

“Our goal is a state championship. That's been the goal from the start,” Ackermann said.

Saturday's game was played in front of a packed gym.

“I felt a sense of calmness when I looked into the stands before the game,” Clement said. “The community and student support have been fantastic.

“It's hard to express that in words. Thank you ... just thank you.”

PINE-RICHLAND 64Greg Shulkosky 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Petcash 2-6 4-5 8, Nolan Rausch 4-9 7-10 18, Evan Luellen 3-4 1-3 8, Andrew Kristofic 5-8 2-3 12, Phil Jurkovec 4-10 3-4 11, Sean Colosimo 3-3 0-0 7. Totals: 21-41 17-25 64.BUTLER 58Luke Michalek 0-1 0-0 0, Jace Stutz 1-3 0-0 3, Jason Gray 1-4 0-0 3, Tykler Federick 4-10 4-4 12, Connor Ollio 2-5 0-0 4, Ethan Morton 9-19 2-2 21, Joel Stutz 5-16 3-3 15. Totals: 22-58 9-9 58.Pine-Richland 15 17 16 16 — 64Butler13 18 14 13 — 583-point goals: Rausch 3, Luellen, Colosimo; Ja.Stutz, Gray, Morton, Jo.Stutz 2