FOX CHAPEL — Fall behind, battle back.

Such has been the trend of Butler boys basketball late this season.

The Golden Tornado repeated that scenario Saturday in their WPIAL Class 6A playoff opener against Latrobe at Fox Chapel High School.

“We always find a way to get back in games,” senior guard Luke Michalek said. “Sometimes we finish the job. Sometimes we don't.

“Today, we didn't.”

The Golden Tornado trailed by 16 late in the third quarter, rallied to take a one-point lead with 1:53 to play, only to drop a 73-66 decision to the Wildcats.

“The resiliency of these kids is something I'll always respect,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “Unfortunately, we've been falling behind by a lot of points in recent games against high quality teams.

“It's tough to finish off comebacks against teams of that caliber.”

Butler (18-5) fell behind by 20 to Seneca Valley and lost by three. The Tornado fell behind 16-2 at Central Catholic, rallied to tie the game, yet lost. They fell behind Latrobe 47-31 with 2:29 left in the third quarter Saturday.

Then Ethan Morton and his teammates caught fire.

Morton was 0-for-11 from the floor in the first half and did not score his first field goal until sinking a lay-up with 3:14 left in the third period. The sophomore guard scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half.

“Ethan Morton is a tremendous basketball player. You're not going to hold him down forever,” Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel said. “He did his job down the stretch.

“Fortunately, we had a couple of our stars do their job, too.”

Morton was not alone in fueling Butler's comeback. Michalek scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half and sophomore Mason Montag came off the bench to score 12 of his season-high 14 points in the final two quarters.

Montag drained three treys from the right corner as Butler rallied.

“Mason basically took over the role Mattix (Clement) usually plays for us,” Clement said. “They were coming out and face-guarding Mattix, not letting him take a step.

“Mason was the one being left alone who can hit the three and he made the shots.”

Montag also sank one of two free throws with 1:53 to play, giving Butler a 60-59 lead. It was the Tornado's first lead since 7-6 five minutes into the game.

But this last lead didn't last long.

Reed Fenton, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, sank a trey from the corner seconds later for the Wildcats. Bryce Butler, a 6-5 junior guard/forward, then converted a three-point play and Latrobe had a 65-60 edge with 1:12 to play.

Butler never got it back to a one-possession game again.

“Two huge plays, absolutely,” Wetzel said. “But with those two guys, we've come to expect that sort of thing.”

Fenton and Butler both average more than 20 points per game. Fenton had 24 points, four assists and three steals while Butler produced 23 points, three assists and three steals.

“They are two great players for them,” Clement said. “But their support players came up big for them as well.”

Marcus Dudzenski, a 6-6 senior forward, scored 15 points for Latrobe. Jason Armstrong contributed nine rebounds and three assists.

Morton and Tarik Taoufik had six rebounds each for Butler, which held its own on the boards against a much taller opponent.

“I thought we'd get more rebounds, but there were so many balls being tipped around,” Wetzel said. “Everybody was crashing in there.”

While Latrobe (16-7) avenged a 70-64 loss to the Tornado in last year's playoffs, Butler says goodbye to eight seniors. The Tornado had 10 seniors on last year's roster.

“They're all good kids who handled their roles well,” Clement said. “While we'll miss them, there's a youthful core coming back and some good young players coming up behind them.”

Michalek agreed.

“There is so much talent here and there's more coming,” he said,. “Ethan will be back and that's the biggest thing. This program is going to keep winning for a while.”

LATROBE 73

Bryce Butler 9-12 3-5 23, Reed Fenton 9-17 4-5 24, Anthony Fannie 3-6 0-0 7, Jason Armstrong 0-5 4-4 4, Marcus Dudzenski 7-8 1-2 15, Mirko Pandini 0-1 0-0 0, Ethan Jacquet 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-49 12-16 73.

BUTLER 66

Luke Michalek 5-8 5-6 16, John Michalek 2-5 0-0 6, Mattix Clement 0-1 0-0 0, Tarik Taoufik 2-6 0-0 4, Luke Patten 1-4 0-0 2, Mason Montag 5-6 1-3 14, Ethan Morton 7-24 5-8 20, Isaiah Scribner 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 24-56 11-16 66.

Latrobe 15 14 20 24 — 73

Butler10 12 21 23 — 66

3-point goals: Butlert 2, Fenton 2, Fannie; L.Michalek, J.Michalek 2, Montag 3, Morton