SHALER TWP — Baseball Hall of Famer Wee Willie Keeler had his theory of "Hit 'em where they ain't."

The Butler boys basketball team used its own version Wednesday night: Throw 'em where they ain't.

The Golden Tornado sank seven 3-pointers in the first half against Shaler, then pounded the ball inside in the second half for a 63-50 victory.

"They were doubling down low in the first half, so we kicked the ball back out, found the open man and hit the shots," Butler guard Nick Martini said.

Butler (7-6, 1-3) hit nearly every shot it took.

During the second quarter, the Tornado sank seven of eight shots from the floor, including five treys, to take a 35-27 lead into intermission.

Martini's first trey of the game capped a 7-0 run that gave Butler its first lead of the night at 12-10 with 50 seconds left in the opening quarter.

After Matt Davis hit a 3-pointer of his own to regain the lead for Shaler (6-3, 2-1), Allan Jackson's buzzer-beating jumper handed the Tornado the lead they never lost.

"They beat the crap out of us," Shaler coach Howie Ruppert said. "They passed the ball better, they played defense better, they shot the ball better.

"They hit seven of 12 shots from 3-point range in the first half. When we took that away in the second half (1-of-7), they got the ball inside and killed us."

Butler coach Joe Lewandowski credited senior center Jade Burka for his team's offensive flow.

"Jade recognized what was going on," Lewandowski said. "He knew when to kick it back out and he knew when to take it to the basket."

Butler played a lot of team offense Wednesday. Five players scored in double figures: Martini with 15 points, Cody Fleeger and Blake Anderson with 12 each, Burka with 11 and Jackson with 10.

Jackson had seven assists, and Fleeger had five assists and five steals

Shaler never got closer than six points in the second half. Butler's 13-point margin of victory marked its biggest lead of the night.

The Titans trailed 54-48 with 1:11 remaining when Derek McQuade stepped to the foul line. He missed the first of two free throws, but was awarded two more shots when a Butler player stepped into the lane early.

McQuade missed the other two shots as well.

Martini took care of business from there, sinking a pair of free throws each with 59, 40 and 29 seconds left to seal the victory.

"We missed the three biggest free throws in this game, then their kid kept draining them," Ruppert said. "They beat us in every phase of the game tonight."

Burka had nine of 25 Tornado rebounds, while Fleeger added five boards.

Matt Davis had 17 points and six of 21 Shaler rebounds. Craig Devinney added 15 points for the Titans.

Both teams turned the ball over only six times.

"To come down here and win a section game on the road, in a place where visiting teams rarely win — this is big for us," Lewandowski said.

Butler won the game without the services of senior Noah Hartung, who didn't suit up because of a swollen knee. His status for Friday's game with Seneca Valley is uncertain.

"Our first three section games were against the three teams sitting at the top of the standings," Lewandowski said. "I don't consider this a must win, but it's a gratifying win."

BUTLER 63

Cody Fleeger 3-5 3-4 12, Nick Martini 3-6 6-6 15, Brian DeAngilis 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Monday 1-2 0-0 3, Allan Jackson 3-4 4-5 10, Blake Anderson 5-11 1-5 12, Jade Burka 4-7 3-5 11, Aaron Dorondo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-35 17-24 63

SHALER 50

Eddie Sauer 1-1 0-0 3, Matt Davis 5-9 5-7 17, Craig Devinney 5-16 3-3 15, Chris Titterington 2-3 0-0 4, Derek McQuade 3-6 1-4 7, John Litwin 0-2 2-2 2, Rich Miller 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 17-39 11-16 50

3-point goals:

Fleeger 3, Martini 3, Monday, Anderson; Sauer, Davis 2, Devinney 2

JV:

Shaler, 48-46 (B-Mike Pratkanis 17, Zach Cuffman 11, S-Dan Wirkowski 15)

Friday:

Seneca Valley @ Butler