BUTLER TWP - Once Blake Anderson fouled out, Butler faded out.

The Golden Tornado boys basketball team had a 40-28 lead on visiting North Allegheny when Anderson fouled out with 5:01 remaining Friday.

The Tigers (4-2, 2-0) went on a 16-0 run at that point - taking advantage of numerous Butler turnovers - and scored a 50-44 victory.

"Blake handles the ball for us most of the time," Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. "Once he went out of the game, we definitely had some problems."

North Allegheny sank 17 of 23 free throws in the final quarter, including 13 of 14 in the final 1:48, before Tim Crouch missed two free throws with 11 seconds left and his team holding its 50-44 lead.

The Tigers are shooting 74 percent from the line.

"I like to think we're pretty good in that area," NA coach Dave DeGregorio said.

Butler (4-3, 1-1) suffered 24 turnovers in the game to the Tigers' 12. The Tornado had 16 turnovers in the second half to the Tigers' five. That margin was 7-1 in the fourth quarter.

"It didn't matter to us who was in the game for them because we were behind and had to aggressively go after the ball," DeGregorio said. "We employed a physical half-court trap, and it was effective for us."

Tigers junior guard Ryan Tiesi tied the game at 40 with a layup while being fouled at the 1:33 mark. He missed the free throw, but Crouch grabbed the offensive rebound, was fouled and sank both free throws for a 42-40 lead, NA's first since late in the first quarter.

Tiesi added two free throws with 1:16 left as the lead reached 44-40. Butler guard Jerrod Markle snapped the Tigers' run by draining a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left.

Two more free throws by Crouch and four by Dan Lavalee put the game away for NA.

"They got some big rebounds down the stretch," Lewandowski said. "We had to play some guys out of position toward the end, and North Allegheny took advantage of that.

"In retrospect, we should have attacked a little more in the final three minutes. We played that stretch of the game differently."

Nate Hartung fouled out with 1:31 remaining and Noah Hartung fouled out with 11 seconds left.

Tiesi led NA with 19 points before fouling out with a minute to play. Crouch added eight points and eight of 23 rebounds.

The Tigers sank just 12 of 40 shots from the floor.

"I'm happy we won. I'm not happy with the way we played," DeGregorio said. "We didn't do anything offensively.

"Butler provides matchup problems for every team they play. They have some big bodies down low, and it's tough to get anything done inside. They run their sets very well. … We were having trouble staying with the ball."

Noah Hartung paced Butler with 14 points and six assists. He has 21 assists in the past three games. Nate Hartung had 10 points and five boards with Jade Burka adding seven of the Tornado's 34 rebounds.

"We'll stay the course," Lewandowski said. "This is a tough section and we're going to keep battling over the long haul."

NORTH ALLEGHENY 50

Tim Crouch 2-6 4-6 8, Andy Krewatch 2-4 2-4 6, Brad Vlassich 0-6 0-0 0, Ben Dvorsky 1-3 0-0 2, Ryan Tiesi 3-12 11-13 19, John Woodruff 0-1 1-2 1, Dan Lavalee 1-3 4-6 7, Doug Dzambo 3-5 1-2 7. Totals: 12-40 23-31 50.

BUTLER 44

Nate Hartung 5-6 0-2 10, Noah Hartung 4-13 5-9 14, Nick Martini 0-0 0-0 0, Jerrod Markle 3-9 0-0 9, Adam Monday 1-4 0-0 3, Blake Anderson 1-3 0-0 2, Sean Lowry 0-0 0-1 0, Jade Burka 1-2 4-6 6, Chris Anthony 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-37 9-18 44.

3-point goals: Tiesi 2, Lavalee; Noah Hartung, Markle 3, Monday

JV: North Allegheny, 53-39 (NA-Kevin Vater 12, B-Cody Fleeger 8)

Tuesday: Butler @ Fox Chapel