WHEELING — Butler had to wait seven days to get a 32-point loss to Allderdice out of its system.

Then the Golden Tornado boys basketball team produced two wins in 14 hours.

Butler (9-2) won at North Hills by an 81-55 count Friday night, then boarded a bus early Saturday morning to take on Wheeling Central at 10 a.m. in the first game of the annual Cancer Research Classic at WesBanco Arena.

The Tornado started slowly, trailing by as many as nine in the first half, before dominating play late in rolling to an 84-65 win over the Maroon Knights.

“We knew we were in for a challenge,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “It was a quick turn-around and Wheeling Central is very athletic. They hit seven of 14 3-point shots in the first half.

“We only led by a few points in the fourth quarter before pulling away in the final four minutes or so.”

Butler's Ethan Morton produced the first triple-double in the event's history, scoring 29 points, dishing out 14 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds. He had five steals as well.

Morton had 10 assists in the first half of the North Hills and Wheeling Central games. He scored 15 of Butler's 25 points in the third quarter as the Tornado took a 60-49 lead into the final period.

“They said Ethan's performance was the best they've seen in this tournament since Miles Bridges, who plays for the (NBA's) Charlotte Hornets now,” Clement said.

Of course, Morton was not alone in shining on the court for Butler. Devin Carney sank five treys and scored 21 points. Luke Patten scored 14 points and had five rebounds.

The Tornado sank 11 treys as a team and were 13 of 17 at the free throw line.

“Devin shot the ball very well in both of these games,” Clement said. “We got off to a sluggish start and finished strong. I like what I saw from us in this game.

“The kids were tired, but they responded.”

Anthony Robbins paced Wheeling Central (4-3) with 23 points and eight rebounds.

“We executed well on defense again and I was glad to see that,” Clement said. “We switched off from a 1-3-1 to a 1-2-2 and were very active.”

The Tornado travel to Pine-Richland on Tuesday night to face a Rams team that has reeled off eight straight wins. Butler and Pine-Richland are 2-0 in Section 1-6A play.

Pine-Richland's last three wins are by margins of 24 points over North Allegheny, 30 points over Franklin Regional and 40 points over Beaver Falls.

“It's not only the fact they've been winning, but the margin of those wins has been impressive,” Clement said. “Pine-Richland is playing at an extremely high level right now and we have to go into their place.

“This will be yet another challenge for us, I'm sure. We have to play good defense and we have to score enough to stay with them.”

Tuesday's game will mark Butler's 10th road game out of 12 games played this season.

“When I looked at that schedule ... If someone would have told me we'd be 9-2 going into Pine-Richland, I would have gladly taken it,” Clement said.

BUTLER 84

Devin Carney 21, Mattix Clement 6, Luke Patten 14, Charles Kreinbucher 5, Mason Montag 7, Ethan Mortopn 29, Isaiah Scribner 2.

WHEELING CENTRAL 65

Anthony Robbins 23, J.C. Maxwell 9, Ryan Reasbeck 8, Clayton Abate 8.

Butler 15 20 25 24 — 84

Wheeling Ctl.23 14 12 16 — 65

Tuesday: Butler at Pine-Richland