VANDERGRIFT — Slow start, strong finish, disappointing result.

Welcome to the Butler boys basketball team’s lost weekend.

The Golden Tornado fell behind 13-2 in the first four and a half minutes Saturday afternoon at Kiski Area before a furious fourth-quarter rally fell short in a 58-53 loss.

Butler (2-5) followed a similar script in Friday night’s 57-52 home loss to Pine-Richland.

“If we come out and play the first quarter like we did the other three, we win both of those games,” Butler coach Matt Clement said.

“We’re just making too many mistakes ... unforced turnovers, passing the ball to nobody, walking, not hitting the big shot when we need it. But we’re not giving up. We’re staying with it.”

In the two weekend losses combined, the Tornado sank 10 more field goals than the opposition, but shot 32 fewer free throws.

“Those are pretty significant numbers,” Clement said.

Butler trailed 22-11 with 3:14 left in the first half Saturday before going on a 13-1 run to take a 24-23 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter. Freshman forward Tyler Frederick had a lot to do with the surge.

He stuck back an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, stole the ball twice at midcourt for easy layups the other way, and put back another offensive board to give the Tornado the lead.

“Tyler’s accomplishing a lot lof things right now while still not totally knowing what he’s doing,” Clement said. “He’s one of the biggest difference-makers on this team. He wants to be a part of it.

“He’s got an incredible motor. (Opponents) try to push him around out there and he just keeps on coming.”

Unfortunately, the host Cavaliers also kept coming once Butler took that one-point lead — its only lead of the game.

Kiski Area (5-2) responded with a 15-0 run for a 38-24 lead with a minute to go in the third quarter.

“We knew they would keep coming back at us. That’s why we wanted to play a team from that dominant section,” Cavaliers coach Joe Tutchstone said. “We turned the ball over a few times and missed some free throws in the middle part of this game to help them come back.

“Fortunately, our guys stepped up big at the end and made some clutch free throws.”

Butler trailed 44-31 with 6:07 to play before making another run at it. Mark Gross converted three-point plays on consecutive possessions and Andrew Paterno drained a trey.

When Gross laid in a shot with 1:43 left, the Tornado were within 51-49. The teams traded points until Tre Talton sank a layup with 32 seconds left and Michael Simmons drained two free throws with 14 ticks on the clock to extend Kiski’s lead to 58-52.

Simmons, the Cabaliers’ 6-foot-2 junior point guard, had 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Senior guard Joe Brungo added 16 points, six rebounds and two steals.

“Those are our only two starters back and our team leaders,” Tutchstone said. “They stepped up big today. We’re trying to fill out a lineup around them.”

Kiski’s win was its fourth in a row.

Keenan Krause paced Butler with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Frederick had 10 points, nine boards and four steals off the bench and Gross contributed nine points and six boards.

“Mark is playing more aggressively and he’s playing smarter,” Clement said. “As a team, we just have to start making plays to win games.”

Butler takes a four-game losing streak into the Shady Side Academy holiday tournament. The Tornado will play three games in three days there, beginning Thursday.

BUTLER 53

Justice Lewandowski 0-6 0-0 0, Rich Marnic 0-0 0-0 0, Arum Krause 1-6 0-0 2, Keenan Krause 5-10 3-8 13, Andrew Paterno 3-5 0-0 8, Nick Patten 3-9 1-2 7, Cory Wheeler 0-1 0-0 0, Tyler Frederick 4-7 2-4 10, Eric Hindman 2-4 0-0 4, Mark Gross 3-4 3-5 9. Totals: 21-52 9-19 53.

KISKI AREA 58

Ryan Sciullo 0-5 1-2 1, Joe Brungo 6-9 2-4 16, Lincoln Clayton 0-1 0-0 0, Billy Johnson 2-3 3-7 7, Michael Simmons 5-11 1-16 24, Tre Talton 4-5 2-3 10, Matt Beseglia 0-0 0-1 0. Totals: 17-34 21-33 58.

Butler 8 11 8 26—53

Kiski Area13 10 15 20—58

3-point goals: Paterno 2; Brungo 2, Simmons

JV: Kiski Area, 43-40 (B: Joel Stutz 13, KA: Nate Blank 12

Thursday: Butler vs. Obama Academy at Shady Side Academy Tournament