BUTLER TWP — Too much Eric Duerr. Too little offense.

That combination spelled doom for Butler's boys basketball team Friday night as the Golden Tornado dropped a 52-26 decision to Pine-Richland in a mutual Section 3-AAAA opener.

The Golden Tornado (4-4) sank just eight of 41 field goal attempts, including three-of-25 in the second half.

Butler had 11 turnovers and only 12 points in the first half.

"We had a lot of open looks, I thought," Tornado coach Joe Lewandowski said. "We just couldn't knock anything down."

Duerr, Pine-Richland's 6-foot-8 junior center, knocked down his share of shots early. The Rams jumped out to an 11-4 lead and he was in on all of his team's scoring.

Duerr sank a layup, a short jumper, a fade-away jumper and two free throws — and assisted on a Greg Andrle trey — to help the Rams get off to a quick start.

Pine-Richland (4-2) never trailed in the game. Duerr wound up with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He entered the contest averaging 16.6 points per game.

"He's our go-to guy offensively," said Pine-Richland coach Dave Krakoff. "When he gets the ball in one-on-one situations, we want him to go for it."

When Butler's defense collapsed more on Duerr in the second half, he dished the ball back out to open shooters on the perimeter.

"It's pick your poison with that kid," Lewandowski said. "He's an outstanding player. He's tall with long arms and he can find the open shooter."

Court awareness is the latest addition to Duerr's game.

"Eric worked on that hard during the off-season," Krakoff said. "He keeps adding to his game, and that's making us a better team."

Butler trailed 24-12 at intermission and fell behind by 18 with 4:16 left in the third quarter. The Tornado pulled within 13 by the end of the quarter as Cody Fleeger and Brian Deangilis combined for four points at the line to close out the quarter.

The Tornado could have crept closer, however.

"We had three possessions there late in the third where we could have pulled within 10 and didn't convert any of them," Lewandowski said.

"They hit a couple of big shots to begin the fourth and we were forced to play a different style of basketball."

Andrle and Brett Matson sank 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the final quarter. Butler managed to sink one of 16 shots and was outscored 17-4 in the final eight minutes.

The Tornado played Friday without point guard Blake Anderson, who missed his second straight game with a concussion, and forward Alan Jackson, who was not available for action.

The status of both is uncertain for Tuesday's section game at North Allegheny.

"Those are two senior lettermen and it does hurt not having them," Lewandowski said. "But the kids we had on the floor gave everything they had tonight."

Pine-Richland has allowed only one opponent — Hampton — as many as 50 points in a game this year. The Rams entered Friday's game giving up an average of 45 points per game.

Butler's point production was its lowest in Lewandowski's tenure as head coach.

"We pride ourselves on defense," Krakoff said. "Every team in this section is good, and if you play good defense every night, you have a chance to win every night.

"I am surprised Butler scored just 26 points, but that won't happen when they come to our place. It will be a war because they're a physical, scrappy team on defense."

Andrle contributed 10 points and five rebounds for Pine-Richland, which had a 29-28 edge on the boards. Adam Monday paced Butler with eight points while Jade Burka had seven rebounds.

Butler's junior varsity failed to score a point until 4:49 remained in the second quarter and trailed 28-9 at halftime before rallying for a 47-46 overtime victory.

Clark Liebler sank a game-tying 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in regulation.

PINE-RICHLAND 52Dominic Lombardi 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Bove 0-0 0-0 0, Greg Andrle 4-7 0-0 10, Eric Schlegel 0-1 0-0 0, Shane Hennessy 1-1 1-2 4, Brian Felker 0-0 0-0 0, Brett Matson 3-11 2-3 10, Nick Madia 2-3 0-0 5, Matt Blocki 1-2 1-2 3, Eric Duerr 9-17 2-5 20. Totals: 20-42 6-12 52

BUTLER 26Herb Klann 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Fleeger 2-5 2-3 7, Nick Martini 1-3 0-0 3, Josh Marchinoski 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Anthony 0-1 0-0 0, Adam Monday 3-11 2-2 8, Brian Deangilis 0-5 4-4 4, Jade Burka 2-11 0-0 4, Aaron Dorondo 0-1 0-0 0, Jereme Buffington 0-2 0-0 0, Mike Pratkanis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 8-41 8-10 26

3-point goals: Andrle 2, Hennessy, Matson 2, Madia; Fleeger, Martini

JV: Butler, 47-46, OT (B0-Zach Cuffman 12, Bill Coleman 10; P-R-Kevin Wissinger 15)

Tuesday: Butler @ North Allegheny