BUTLER TWP — His critics were out there. They just didn't have a voice for very long.

Butler High graduate Matt Clement, fresh off retirement from major league baseball, took over the Golden Tornado basketball program last summer with no high school coaching experience.

"I know there were people out there upset that I got the job," Clement admitted. "I definitely felt a need to prove myself."

He did exactly that, guiding Butler to a 13-0 start, a 16-5 overall record, a WPIAL Class AAAA playoff berth and the program's most wins in a season in 10 years.

For all of that, Clement was named the Butler Eagle Boys Basketball Coach of the Year by the Eagle sports staff, edging Freeport's Garrie Davies.

Davies returned from a coaching hiatus to lead the Yellowjackets to a section championship.

Clement had Butler in contention for the section title down to the final regular season game.

"I wanted the team to get off to a good start because it would give them positive results for all the offseason hard work they put in," Clement said. "But 13-0? Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that."

That 13-0 start included a 6-0 record in section play. The Tornado allowed as many as 50 points in a game only three times during the streak that included a 13-point road win at North Allegheny, which reached the PIAA Western Finals.

Butler allowed 49.4 points per game, fewest in Section 3 and fifth-fewest in WPIAL Class AAAA.

"Defense is the No. 1 priority," senior guard Logan Renwick said in preseason. "Coach Clement wants us to be in their faces all the time."

Clement's assistant coaches were Rob Niederberger and Ron Zawrotuk. Ted Harris, a pastor at his church, was a volunteer assistant, and Clement's former baseball coach, Ron Zawrotuk Sr., was the scorebook keeper.

"When I got the job, I wanted to have assistants on the same page as me," Clement said. "Rob and I both like hard-working, man-to-man defense.

"Ron was the first person I was going to ask about being an assistant. He's got a wealth of basketball knowledge. Both of those guys do. They were invaluable to our success.

"We coached that team, not me. We made decisions as a staff," Clement added.

The younger Zawrotuk was a senior on Butler's WPIAL championship team when Clement was a sophomore.

"We practically grew up together," Clement said. "His dad coached me from the time I was seven years old, so we were always around each other."

All four of Butler's regular season losses were to section opponents late in the season.

"It's hard to sweep teams in section play," Clement said. "They're hungry for you the second time around and they've made adjustments to what you're doing. We'll be better in the adjustment area next year.

"I wanted our kids to experience success and we did. That good start was needed," he added. "Now we have something to build on."

Senior forward Brian Jendesky said before the season that "it's all about developing work ethic. It paid off for (Clement) and it can pay off for us."

Clement noticed that work ethic early.

"All I asked of those kids was to give me what they've got," he said. "They busted their butts for me.

"They did a phenomenal job of turning the program around. And they did it, not me."