PINE TWP — Butler couldn't hold on to the ball — or the lead.

The Golden Tornado boys basketball team led by as many as 14 points early in the third quarter and never trailed until the fourth period Tuesday night at Pine-Richland.

But six Butler turnovers to begin the final period contributed to a 13-0 Rams run and an eventual 64-56 loss.

“We got too complacent and made some stupid mistakes,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “I called a timeout because of the complacency, but I can't go out onto the floor with the players and install intensity. They have to do that.”

The defeat also spoiled a first half that saw the Tornado (4-5, 1-2) sink 12 of 17 shots from the floor — including seven 3-pointers — to take a 31-20 lead into intermission.

“They did what they've done each of the past three years they've come to our gym: hit shots from just about anywhere,” Pine-Richland coach Brian Gaetano said.

“I told our guys ... if they shoot like that in the second half, we're going to lose and there's not much we can do about it,” Gaetano added.

A three-point play by Bobby Swartwout 18 seconds into the third quarter gave Butler a 34-20 lead. The Rams began generating offense, but a backcourt steal and subsequent layup by Zach Slater gave the Tornado a 43-34 edge with 23 seconds left in the period.

“Our defense built us that lead in the first half,” Clement said. “We began playing not to lose in the second half instead of staying on the pedal.”

Senior 6-foot-4 guard Andy Andrle got hot for the Rams (6-1, 1-1) in the final two quarters. He sank 6 of 9 shots in the second half, including three 3-pointers, in scoring 19 of his game-high 23 points.

“We backed off him a little defensively. That's all it took,” Clement said.

Mike Colosimo came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer for Pine-Richland at the end of the third quarter. The Rams then scored the first 10 points of the final frame.

Butler began the fourth quarter with six consecutive turnovers. A runner in the lane by Nate Snodgrass with 4:10 remaining was the Tornado's first field goal attempt of the period. The bucket cut the Rams' lead to 47-45.

The Tornado never led again, however, as a Chris Rader layup, a 3-pointer, a layup and two free throws from Andrle hiked the hosts' lead to 56-46.

Treys by Snodgrass and Vinnie Schmist cut the gap to four points, but only 21 seconds remained. Pine-Richland sealed the deal at the foul line.

“We had a long uphill climb to get back in this one. But if you can get the lead at some point, it can work out for you,” Gaetano said.

Andrle had eight of 16 P-R rebounds to go with his 23 points. Snodgrass paced Butler with 19 points, hitting five treys.

Schmidt had 11 points and six of his team's 24 rebounds. Cody Herald had 11 points, and Swartwout had 10 points and five boards.

The Tornado had 19 turnovers to the Rams' 13.

BUTLER 56Nate Snodgrass 7-12 0-0 19, Trevor Wideman 1-1 0-0 3, Cody West 0-1 0-0 0, Cody Herald 4-8 0-0 11, Zach Slater 1-2 0-0 2, Jake Hilliard 0-1 0-0 0, Bill Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Vinnie Schmidt 5-9 0-0 11, David Tompkins 0-1 0-0 0, Bobby Swartwout 4-5 2-4 10.

Totals: 22-40 2-4 56.

PINE-RICHLAND 64Eric Holmes 2-4 0-0 4, Brock Baranowski 3-3 55-7 12, Andy Andrle 7-13 5-6 23, Chris Rader 3-5 0-3 6, Mike Colosimo 1-1 0-0 3, Jim Williams 0-0 1-2 1, Ed Baranowski 1-2 5-6 7, Pat Sullivan 0-1 0-0 0, Collin Jackson 4-5 0-1 8.

Totals: 21-34 16-25 64.

Butler 19 12 12 13—56Pine-Richland 11 9 17 27—643-point goals: Butler 10 (Snodgrass 5, Wideman, Herald 3, Schmidt); Pine-Richland 6 (B. Baranowski, Andrle 4, Colosimo).

Junior varsity: Butler, 44-33 (B: Cody West 19, P-R: Pat Sullivan 8

Friday: North Allegheny at Butler