NEW CASTLE — Butler kept raining down treys.

But the only run of the game by either team — a 17-0 spurt by Lincoln Park — eventually drowned the Golden Tornado.

The Leopards broke open a close game late in the third quarter and on into the fourth in posting an 85-67 non-section boys basketball victory Saturday night as part of “The Clash” at New Castle.

“We hung in there for a long time,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “We didn’t let them pull away. Every time they threatened to, we’d hit a big 3-pointer.”

Now in Class AA, Lincoln Park won the WPIAL and PIAA Class A championships in 2013-14. The team is 59-6 over the past three seasons.

Butler sank a season-high 14 treys in the game — four each by Kelley Kuharic and Jace Stutz. The Tornado played without junior forward Tyler Frederick, who was under the weather.

“We missed Tyler, but asking him, to play back-to-back nights while he’s not feeling well wasn’t something we wanted to do,” Clement said.

Stutz’s final 3-pointer of the night cut the Lincoln Park lead to 56-49 with 2:34 left in the third period. That’s when the Leopards (6-1) struck with their 17-0 run.

By the time the smoke cleared, Lincoln Park had a 73-49 advantage with 6:30 left in the contest. The Leopards have scored 80 or more points in five of their seven games this season.

“That team can really shoot the ball,” Lincoln Park coach Mark Bariski said. “We weren’t getting out on their rotations quickly enough and they were hitting.

“Once we adjusted and moved faster defensively, we contested those shots a lot more. We didn’t totally stop them because they’re good shooters, but we were able to deflect away some of those perimeter passes and broke free the other way.”

The Leopards shot a sizzling 67 percent from the floor, many of those buckets being lay-ups. Nelly Cummings, a junior guard, led the team with 20 points, three steals and three assists.

Cummings sank all six of his field goal attempts in the second quarter, including three treys.

“He’s an outstanding talent,” Bariski said. “He’s already been offered by Cornell, Bowling Green, Duquesne and Robert Morris. A lot of bigger schools, including WVU and Pitt, are looking at him, too.”

Nick Aloi had 16 points, three assists and three steals. Anthony Johnson came off the bench to score 15 points and grab five rebounds for Lincoln Park. Zay Craft had 12 points, Dermontti Welling 10 points and five rebounds.

The Leopards had a 28-20 edge in rebounding.

“They are very good, but not having Tyler affected our rebounding, especially the offensive boards,” Clement said. “Tyler’s good at scrambling for loose balls, too.

“Our guys are in there (locker room) fuming right now. That’s what I like about my team. We’ve given up way too many points the past two games and our rebounding needs to get better. But I’m confident we’ll improve in both of those areas.”

Connor Ollio paced the Tornado (5-2) with 18 points and added three assists. Jace Stutz had 14 points, Kuharic 12. Luke Michalek had six assists.

“Ollio and Frederick give us a forward tandem that maybe no one else in our section has,” Clement said. “Connor has improved tremendously over last year and, because of baseball, he didn’t pick up a basketball again until September.

“The improvement he made from September to November was incredible.”

The Tornado return to section play Tuesday, hosting North Allegheny.

“You always gain from playing quality competition,” Clement said. “Kelley hit four 3’s in the fourth quarter tonight. That could help his confidence Tuesday against NA and moving forward, as an example.”

LINCOLN PARK 85

Anthony Johnson 6-9 2-4 15, Dillon Murphy 1-1 0-0 2, Zay Craft 6-8 0-1 12, Nelly Cummings 8-11 1-1 20, Evan Brown 1-2 1-3 3, Nick Aloi 6-10 4-5 16, Kelcey Lowry 0-0 0-2 0, Keeno Holmes 3-5 0-0 7, Dermontti Welling 4-6 2-2 10. Totals: 35-52 10-17 85.

BUTLER 67

Damien Pickett 0-1 0-0 0, Kaden Rock 2-5 0-0 6, Luke Michalek 0-2 0-0 0, Kelley Kuharic 4-8 0-0 12, Jace Stutz 5-10 0-0 14, Jason Gray 1-3 0-0 3, Connor Ollio 8-11 2-2 18, Joel Stutz 3-11 1-2 9, Jefferson Ford 2-2 0-0 5, Andrew Yonkers 0-1 0-0 0, Ian MCCarrier 0-0 0-0. Totals: 25-54 3-4 67.

Lincoln Park 19 21 26 19 — 85

Butler18 15 16 18 — 67

3-point goals: Johnson, Cumminhs 3, Holmes; Rock 2, Kuharic 4, Ja. Stutz 4, Gray, Jo. Stutz 2, Ford

JV: None

Tuesday: North Allegheny at Butler