FOXCHAPEL — It all works for Butler ... when it holds on to the ball.

The Golden Tornado suffered 18 turnovers Saturday — 15 in the first three quarters — but still managed to post a 52-38 boys basketball victory at Shady Side Academy.

"We broke down our numbers in our first three section games,"Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. "We shot 39 percent on 3-pointers, 62 percent on 2-pointers, 55 percent overall and had a 70-28 advantage in rebounding."

And the Tornado lost two of those three games.

"The telling number is turnovers,"the coach said. "Teams don't score much on us when we don't give them extra possessions."

Butler (7-3) has held the opposition to fewer than 50 points in all seven of its wins this year.

Add free throw shooting to Lewandowski's positive numbers. The Tornado have drained 47 of 52 foul shots in their past four games.

"I know we've been hitting them. I didn't know the number was like that,"Lewandowski said, a smile coming across his face.

The Tornado had plenty to smile about Saturday.

Butler jumped out to a 12-3 lead, buoyed by a Cody Fleeger 3-pointer and consecutive lay-ups by Jeff Slater, the first one resulting in a three-point play.

Shady Side (5-4) pulled within 18-17 with 3:01 left in the first half before a 15-2 Butler run put the game away for good. Slater got to the hoop for two more lay-ups to begin that spurt.

"He's seeing the floor so well right now and he's making great decisions with the ball,"Lewandowski said of Slater.

The host Indians had three sophomores on the floor at times, including one at the point guard position. Regular point guard Dan Rooney — grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers CEODan Rooney — did not play after tweaking a knee Friday night against North Catholic.

"Butler's a physical team and we had a hard time handling them,"Indians coach Terence Parham said. "They were coming off a big win at Pine-Richland and had momentum coming in here.

"We've seen aggressive defense before. North Catholic plays great defense. So does Fox Chapel. Today, we didn't handle it."

The Tornado were prepared for Shady Side, the players reporting to the school at 11 a.m. Saturday to watch film.

"They showed up 90 minutes before we were scheduled to come dfown here,"Lewandowski said. "That's how dedicated these kids are."

Fleeger paced Butler with 15 points and added four steals. Slater had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Mike Pratkanis had 11 points and nine rebounds while Nick Rossmiller grabbed 13 rebounds and had five assists.

"Rossmiller does every little thing on the floor well," Lewandowski said. "He's always the one talking and pointing on defense, too.

"Cody Fleeger always guards and he scores the tough baskets. He's quietly been a very efficient player."

The Tornado held a whopping 37-16 advantage on the boards.

Rob Bennett was Shady Side's only player in double figures, scoring 12 points.

BUTLER52Mike Pratkanis 3-8 5-5 11, Jeff Slater 6-10 1-1 13, Cody Fleeger 7-11 0-0 15, Clark Liebler 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Snodgrass 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Rossmiller 0-2 2-2 2, Jeff Tompkins 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Melder 0-0 0-0 0, Christos Klutinoty 3-7 2-4 8, Nick Powers 1-1 1-1 3, Bob Swartwout 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Jendesky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-39 11-12 52

SHADYSIDEACADEMY38Ed Sheerer 2-4 0-0 5, Ben Cohen 0-2 0-0 0, Tim Egan 1-5 0-0 2, Ben Kander 3-7 1-2 8, Rob Bennett 5-14 2-6 12, Mark Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0, Jerome Barnes 2-3 0-0 5, Bill Nickel 2-6 0-0 6. Totals: 15-44 3-8 38

Butler 14 10 13 15—52SSAcademy 8 11 6 13—383-point goals: Fleeger; Sheerer, Kander, Barnes, Nickel 2

JV: Butler, 49-44, 2 OT(B-Bob Swartwout 13, Jeff Tompkins 11; SA-Jerome Barnes 17

Thursday: Butler vs. Burrell at Butler Christmas Tournament