BUTLER TWP — Butler jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 3 minutes and was never threatened by Carrick Tuesday night.

The Golden Tornado went on to post a 73-47 victory in their varsity boys basketball home opener.

But they still have issues.

Butler (2-1) is struggling to find an outside shooting game and the Raiders outrebounded the Tornado 41-37.

“That's with a small, quick lineup,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “North Hills is rolling in here with a 6-foot-8 kid Friday night. Rebounding is desire. We have to get after it.

“Carrick got to a lot more loose balls than we did tonight and our offensive rebounding wasn't there. Those are things that have to change.”

Butler hosts North Hills for a girls-boys doubleheader in a mutual Section 3-AAAA opener Friday night.

On the plus side for the Tornado, 17 players saw action in the varsity game and 12 scored. Junior Matt Baranchak came off the bench to notch a double-double, scoring 12 points and snaring 10 rebounds.

“We probably had seven guys see their first career varsity minutes tonight,” Clement said.

Baranchak was cut from his seventh-grade team and only played for the “B” squad in eighth grade.

“He's a testament to never giving up, staying with it and working hard,” Clement said. “Things can change for kids who do that.

“Matt also shows the benefits of playing two sports. His basketball work has helped his baseball skills. He finishes first in some of our sprint drills whereas he used to finish last.”

Baranchak said he left a few plays out on the court despite his performance.

“I know I can get better and our team can get better,” he said. “We don't have a lot of physical size, so we're going to have to work at rebounding.

“Getting a lot of minutes does help you play better, but you have to be ready all of the time, whether you're on the bench cheering on the team or whether you're in the game.”

Nate Snodgrass led Butler with 13 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. David Tompkins contributed 10 points and four boards, Cody West nine points and six assists.

“David and Matt are similar-type players,” Clement said. “They're physical kids who will go inside and go after the ball. That attitude is critical to us.”

Carrick (0-3) won 13 games last season and reached the City League semifinals. But eight players graduated from that squad.

Hasaun Blair paced the Raiders with 10 points and eight rebounds. Bill Vo added 10 points, Jaquan Wheaton eight points and seven boards.

“Wheaton is our only player back who saw a lot of varsity time last year,” Carrick coach Walt Milinski said. “Besides that, we're a bunch of junior varsity guys getting our feet wet.

“Butler is well disciplined and they were beating us down the floor with regularity. Being a City League team, that shouldn't happen to us.”

Carrick suffered 21 turnovers to Butler's 12. The Raiders did not sink a 3-pointer.

“Coming up here was a nice experience for us. It should help us in the long run,” Milinski said.

CARRICK 47Hausan Blair 5-13 0-0 10, George Lellock 3-6 0-2 6, Zach Roche 0-4 1-2 1, Bill Vo 4-5 2-4 10, Tonyea Curry 2-8 0-0 4, Jaquan Wheaton 4-11 0-0 8, Tom Reimond 1-4 0-0 2, Orlando Harvard 2-4 0-0 4, Devante Roach 0-1 0-0 0, Cameron Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Dai Von Lewis 1-3 0-0 2, Rashan Broqwn 0-1 0-1 0.

Totals: 22-61 3-9 47.

BUTLER 73Nate Snodgrass 3-7 6-8 13, Cody West 4-9 0-0 9, Trevor Wideman 2-3 0-0 4, Jake Hilliard 2-5 1-2 5, Dom Pusateri 3-8 0-0 6, Luke Hartung 3-9 0-0 7, Matt Baranchak 4-6 4-4 12, David Tompkins 3-4 4-5 10, Keenan Krause 0-1 2-2 2, Seth Horwat 0-0 0-0 0, Arum Krause 0-0 0-2 0, Luke Tincha 1-1 0-1 2, Rich Marnic 0-0 1-2 1, Zach Pilarcik 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Neudorfer 0-1 2-2 2.

Totals: 25-55 20-28 73.

Carrick 11 10 12 14—47Butler 20 18 16 19—733-point goals: Carrick 0; Butler 3 (Snodgrass, West, Hartung).

Junior varsity: Butler, 61-24 (B: Jordan Cratty 11, C-Cameron Jackson 10)

Friday: North Hills at Butler