BUTLER TWP - Two is nice. Three is better.

That seems to be the philosophy for the Butler County Community College men's basketball team.

The Pioneers displayed that mantra for all to see Monday night against the Grove City College junior varsity team, raining 3-pointers at a fever pitch in squeaking out a 70-67 win.

"Thank goodness we shot the ball well tonight," said BC3 coach Tony Grenek. "When you play the Grove City JV team, you're going to play a fundamental and disciplined team."

The Pioneers (11-5) were also giving up a lot of height to their counterparts. No worries. Height matters little on the perimeter.

Sharp shooting does, however, and BC3 was as sharp as they come.

The Pioneers hit 14-of-31 from beyond the arc; they were only 10-of-23 inside the 3-point line.

Grove City College junior varsity coach Sean Severson said he knew nothing about the Pioneers before the game. It didn't take him long to try to make some adjustments to slow down the falling 3s.

"We played up full court and half court to try to get out on their shots," Severson said. "But then they started to penetrate and dish it out."

Butler High School graduate Wil Miller was particularly lethal from the outside. He came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers during a 17-2 run that seized the lead for BC3 for the first time midway through the second half.

Miller finished with 14 points.

"I always tell my assistant coaches that when he is on, he can hit six or seven (3-pointers) in a row," Grenek said of Miller. "When he's hot, he won't miss for an hour."

The run turned a 10-point deficit into a five- point lead. The Pioneers spent the rest of the half nursing it.

Oddly, BC3 was helped by the Wolverines' clean defense in the second half.

Grove City had committed just two fouls when it was forced to start reaching in every time the Pioneers' inbounded the ball.

"That's fine," Severson said. "That means we played good defense. The only trouble I had with it was we didn't foul fast enough. It's not in their nature to foul."

Kris Harmon led the Pioneers with 16 points. Jeremy Peterson and Moniteau High School graduate Matt Goettler each had 11 points.

BC3 leading scorer Matt Lobaugh had only nine points, spending most of the game on the bench with foul trouble before picking up his fifth late in the game.

"Lobaugh has been in foul trouble a lot, so we're getting used to playing without him on the floor," Grenek said. "Whenever you can win with your best player on the bench, it helps you sleep at night."

The win didn't come without a price. Starting forward Grant Bailey left early with a hand injury and Butler graduate Joel Rehm missed the start of the second half while trainers checked his heart after he was struck in the sternum late in the first half.

But the Pioneers overcame it all.

"That's one of the nice things about having players who pass their classes," Grenek said. "We have a team full of players who can come in a fill in."

GCC JV (67)

Nike Mihalik 2-8 0-1 6, Ryan Gerber 6-13 2-2 14, Taylor McCown 2-5 1-2 6, Craig Hallman 9-14 1-1 19, Jeremy Hart 2-8 5-7 9, Bobby Turner 4-7 1-1 10, Shawn Carr 0-2 0-0 0, Dave Hodge 1-1 0-0 2, Paul Zacour 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-58 10-14 67

BC3 (70)

Jeremy Peterson 4-6 0-1 11, Kris Harmon 5-11 3-3 16, Grant Bailey 0-2 0-0 0, Matt Lobaugh 4-9 0-0 9, Joel Rehm 3-5 0-0 7, Matt Goettler 3-10 3-4 11, Corey Robinson 0-2 2-2 2, Wil Miller 5-8 0-0 14, Tyler Hempfling 0-1 0-0 0, Nick Dolak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-54 8-10 70

Three-point goals

- GCC: Mihalik 2, McCown 2, Turner;

BC3: Peterson 3, Miller 4, Harmon 3, Lobaugh, Rehm, Goettler 2