PITTSBURGH - Members of the Butler boys basketball team entered the third quarter of their game at Pittsburgh Central Catholic tied with the Vikings at 29.

They came out of it scratching their heads.

Central Catholic owned the action in the third period, outscoring the Golden Tornado 23-9 before a late Butler rally fell short in a 74-66 decision Thursday night.

"This is a tough place to play," Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. "But our kids fought hard the whole game, and I think this was a good test to get us ready for section play."

"I felt we would be pretty evenly matched," said Central Catholic coach Chuck Crummie. "But we're a team that looks to our defense to create things for the offense, and our defense really picked things up in the third period."

The Vikings led 52-38 with one quarter remaining, but a rejuvenated offense helped the Golden Tornado to pull within 64-61 at the 1:25 mark after two clutch 3-pointers by junior guard Adam Monday.

"After we got down, we went with a scramble defense," said Lewandowski. "We rotated different guys to the ball. It created some turnovers for us and we used them to get back in the game."

Rich Michalek's basket stopped Butler's run and gave the Vikings a 66-61 cushion with 54 seconds left before sealing the game at the free throw line.

The difference between the first two quarters and the third period was like night and day for the Golden Tornado (2-2).

Though the score was tied at halftime, Butler had the upper hand in the action for the majority of the first half, led by Nate Hartung's 12 points.

But the Vikings clamped down on the senior forward in the third quarter, as Hartung had four of his shots blocked in the period.

Though he did end up as Butler's leading scorer with 17 points, Hartung's first field goal in the second half came with just 14 seconds left in the game.

"We used a whole lot of guys to guard him tonight," said Crummie. "And I think by the third quarter, he may have gotten tired."

On the opposite end of the court, the Vikings' offense was perfectly balanced. Of their eight field goals made in the third quarter, four came from beyond the arc.

The Vikings connected on nine trifectas in the game.

"Last year, we had the guys to pound it down inside," said Crummie. "This year, we've got players who can hit the long-range shots. That kind of performance is going to be expected this year."

Also turning in fine performances for Butler were Noah Hartung (10 points, nine rebounds), Jerrod Markle (11 points) and Blake Anderson (14 points).

Central Catholic's Chris McDowell was his team's high scorer with 17 points to go with six blocks.

John Burgess added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Vikings (2-2).

BUTLER 66

Nate Hartung 6 5-7 17, Noah Hartung 3 3-4 10, Jerrod Markle 4 1-2 11, Blake Anderson 5 2-2 14, Adam Monday 2 0-0 6, Sean Lowry 1 2-2 4, Jade Burka 1 2-3 4, Nick Martin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 15-20 66.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 74

Pat Ionadi 3 0-0 7, Rich Michalek 6 2-5 16, Sean Kelly 3 2-2 10, John Burgess 4 3-4 12, Chris McDowell 6 3-4 17, Joe Berenato 1 0-0 3, Mike Leo 0 1-2 1, Chris Saltzman 4 0-0 8. Totals: 27 11-17 74.

3-point goals:

Monday 2, Markle 2, Anderson 2, No. Hartung; Michalek 2, Kelly 2, McDowell 2, Burgess, Ionadi, Berenato.

JV:

Central Catholic 65-31 (B-Brian DeAngelis & Cody Fleeger 5; CC-Charlie Duggan 18).

Saturday:

Connellsville @ Butler