STRUTHERS, Ohio — Butler wouldn't go away. So Canton McKinley ran away.

A Mattix Clement steal and lay-up pulled the Golden Tornado within four points of the Bulldogs with 4:10 to play. McKinley used an 8-0 run to rebuild a double-digit lead and went on to an 84-72 boys basketball victory Saturday night in the JBL Hoops Showcase at Struthers High School.

The loss was the first in four games for Butler (3-1), which trimmed double-digit deficits back to single digits three times before finally succumbing.

The Bulldogs' biggest lead was 13 points.

“They have shooters all over the place,” McKinley coach Andy Vlajkovich said of Butler. “When you have guys who can shoot like that, they're never out of a game.”

McKinley has the most high school boys basketball wins (1,886) in all of Ohio. A few graduates of the program — Gary Grant and Nick Witherspoon among them — went on to the NBA.

McKinley last won a state championship in 2006.

“Our players are very aware of our tradition and the expectations of this program,” Vlajkovich said. “I haven't seen us play together as a team like this for a while.

“That's why we like to play games like this. In Ohio, everybody makes the playoffs. It's opponents like Butler that prepare you for them. I'm sure they think the same way.”

Butler sank 11 treys in the contest, the last one by Ethan Morton pulling the Tornado within 76-68 with 1:12 left. A Morton lay-up cut the gap to 76-70 with 56 seconds to play.

A personal foul and two technical fouls on Butler enabled senior guard CJ Hall to drain six of seven free throws with 33.7 seconds left, sealing the win for McKinley.

“That is an extremely athletic, physical team and this was a physical game,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “There was only one free throw in the entire first half. They (officials) allowed a physical game.

“That's OK. We need to face adversity and respond to adversity. I thought we did that tonight.”

Devin Carney led Butler with 28 points, sinking six treys. Morton had 27 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Mattix Clement contributed 13 points, sinking three treys.

“Devin and Mattix both got off to slow starts shooting in this game,” Clement said. “Then they got hot. Both hit some big shots later. That was good to see.”

Hall led McKinley (3-1)with 31 points, adding three assists. Brent Walker, a 6-foot-6 junior center, had 22 points and 18 rebounds.

Antwan Williams had 16 points and five assists for the Bulldogs.

“I loved the way Mason (Montag) and Charlie (Kreinbucher) battled inside against their big kid,” Clement said. “They weren't intimidated. They just played hard and did a good job of not fouling.

“We showed a lot of fight in this game.”

Kreinbucher and Montag combined for nine rebounds. Butler was edged in rebounding, 36-35, as a team.

“Rebounding didn't beat us tonight,” Clement said. “Their point guard (Kobe Johnson) is an outstanding player and they are very quick on defense. They got out and deflected some of our passes and took off the other way.”

Johnson had eight points and four assists for McKinley. Butler committed 10 of its 15 turnovers in the first half.

“I didn't make good decisions tonight,” Morton said. “There were some bad passes and that all starts with me. But it's good to experience a game against a team like this early. This is the kind of game, the kind of speed and quickness we have to be able to play against.”

The lead changed hands six times in the first half. The Bulldogs took the lead for good (21-19) on a Williams trey with 4:42 left in the second quarter.

“We had to play aggressively and together for four quarters to win this game,” Vlajkovich said. “We figured that out pretty quick.”

Butler hosts Mt. Lebanon Tuesday night in a rematch of last year's WPIAL Class 6A title game. The Tornado open section play Friday at North Allegheny.

“We're gonna find out how we respond to this loss,” Clement said. “Our schedule doesn't get any easier.”

BUTLER 72

Zach Slomers 0-0 0-0 0, Raine Gratzmiller 0-1 0-0 0, Devin Carney 10-25 2-2 28, Mattix Clement 4-8 2-2 13, Charlie Kreinbucher 2-3 0-0 4, Mason Montag 0-6 0-0 0, Ethan Morton 10-18 5-5 27, Madden Clement 0-1 0-0 0, David Leslie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-62 9-9 72.

CANTON McKINLEY 84

Kobe Johnson 3-11 2-3 8, CJ Hall 9-13 11-13 31, Amarion Herring 0-1 0-0 0, Brent Walker 11-17 0-0 22, Antwan Williams 6-13 0-2 16, Xavier Black 1-2 0-0 3, Mehki Smith 0-2 1-2 1, James McCullough 1-4 0-0 3. Totals: 31-63 14-20 84.

Butler 14 14 21 23 — 72

C.McKinley14 21 18 31 — 84

3-point goals: Carney 6, Mat.Clement 3, Morton 2; Hall 2, Williams 4, Black, McCullough

Tuesday: Mt. Lebanon at Butler