BUTLER TWP — Butler pitched a shutout in the third quarter Friday night.

Then the Golden Tornado threw the ball — and the game — away in the fourth.

Six turnovers within a 90-second span early in the fourth quarter quickly turned a 33-25 Butler lead into a 36-33 deficit with 4:34 left in the game. The Tornado never got the lead again in suffering a 52-44 Section 3-AAAA boys basketball loss to Central Catholic.

“We take an eight-point lead into the fourth and give it away in a minute because of turnovers,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “It's inexcusable. We just made too many poor decisions with the ball.

“They (Central) try to speed you up with their defense and we did exactly what they wanted us to do.”

The Vikings (3-9, 1-5) snapped a five-game losing streak in grabbing their first section win of the season. Central played without veteran head coach Chuck Crummie, who was out of town attending his brother's funeral.

Crummie is in his 35th season and has 603 career victories at Central. One of his sons, Devin Crummie, ran the team in his absence.

“I told the kids before the game that it was up to them,” Devin Crummie said. “That's how my dad has been able to stay at this for so long. It's always been the kids' program.”

Central had a 25-22 lead at halftime before the Tornado defense clamped down in the third period. The Vikings were 0-for-8 from the floor in the third — including an errant slam dunk attempt — as Butler (9-4, 2-3) moved in front.

Jake Anderson scored six of his 12 points in the frame, including the go-ahead bucket off an offensive rebound midway through the quarter. Jace Stutz drained a trey with 56 seconds remaining in the quarter and Butler took its 33-25 lead into the ill-fated fourth.

Anderson contributed four rebounds and two blocked shots to Butler's cause as well. Justice Lewandowski led the Tornado with 14 points, hitting four treys.

Anderson played most of the night for Tyler Frederick, who did not play in the second half due to a nagging injury.

“Jake gave us some of the things Tyler normally does. It's a shame ... We should be praising Jake for giving us a great effort and all,” Clement said. “You just don't get the same applause when you lose the game.”

Butler had 23 turnovers on the night, nine in the fourth period. Central had 13 turnovers, only two in the final eight minutes.

Alex Schoppen, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scored 11 of his game-high 18 points in the final quarter for Central, hitting three treys. He sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Vikings a 42-38 lead with 3:08 to play.

Central led 46-42 when Keenan Krause hit a short jumper to cut the gap to two with 48 seconds left. But John Petrisen beat Butler's pressure for a layup the other way and Central sank four free throws in the final 28 seconds to ice the contest.

“This is huge for us,” Crummie said. “At 0-6, maybe we win one section game in the secod half of the year. Now, at 1-5, we have a sliver of a chance.

“Coming in here without their coach and at 0-5 ... Our kids showed a lot of resilience.”

Schoppen is Central's leading scorer. He was joined in double figures Friday by Petrisen's 12 points and Brice Garner's 10. Central played without 6-4 senior forward Sean Whalen, who had an ankle injury.

Clement referred to Central's 27-point fourth quarter after a scoreless third as “unheard of.”

Mark Gross had seven rebounds and five assists for the Tornado.

“We can't get it back now, but hopefully we'll learn from it,” Clement said. “It's a tough pill to swallow.”

The U.S. Army made its Friday Hoops Hysteria Tour stop in Butler Friday night. Gross, high school teacher Eric Christy and assistant principal Doug Ford all received awards for dedication, loyalty and selfless service to the school during breaks in the game.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 52

John Petrisen 5-6 2-2 12, Alex Schoppen 6-9 3-4 18, Bricen Garner 3-7 4-4 10, Carlo Cantania 1-3 0-0 3, Ryan Sproule 1-5 0-0 2, Damar Hamlin 2-3 0-2 4, Bobby Kiernan 1-2 1-2 3, Rashad Wheeler 0-2 0-0 0, Jonathan DiVito 0-2 0-0 0, Matt Billack 0-1 0-0 0, Ronald George 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 19-40 10-14 52.

BUTLER 44

Jace Stutz 1-2 0-0 3, Justice Lewandowski 5-7 0-0 14, Keenan Krause 1-4 2-2 4, Andrew Paterno 0-6 0-0 0, Tyler Frederick 1-2 1-1 3, Jake Anderson 6-7 0-2 12, Joel Stutz 1-3 0-0 2, Eric Hindman 0-1 2-2 2, Mark Gross 1-2 2-2 4, Connor Ollio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-34 7-9 44.

Cent. Catholic 7 18 0 27 — 52

Butler8 14 11 11 — 44

3-point goals: Schoppen 3, Cantania; Ja.Stutz, Lewandowski 4

JV: Central Catholic, 65-59 (CC: Josh Rewak 16, Luke Nedrow 14; B: Kaden Rock 14)

Tuesday: Butler at Seneca Valley