Support system does Butler in
NEW CASTLE — Butler forced New Castle’s supporting cast to step up in a Section 1-6A clash at the latter’s place Tuesday night. The adjustment was everything the rival Red Hurricanes could have hoped for.
Their deep production, paired with a Golden Tornado lull over a five-and-a-half-minute stretch in the second and third quarters, meant a 64-49 boys basketball defeat for Butler. The loss came despite a 32-point performance by Braylon Littlejohn.
New Castle (16-2, 6-1) senior guard Isaiah Boice returned from an injury and came off the bench about two minutes into the game. It didn’t catch Golden Tornado coach Matt Clement off guard that the Red Hurricanes’ 1,000-point scorer played, just that he didn’t start.
“I knew he was due to play this week,” Clement said. “I figured he’d play tonight … They didn’t really try to keep it quiet. They said he was getting ready, he was getting close, and he’s been practicing.”
“We just felt like if you haven’t played in seven games, it’s better off to sit there, get a look at things, and then put him in,” New Castle coach Ralph Bundo explained. “I don’t care if he scores three or 20, Isaiah Boice’s presence means everything for me.”
The Golden Tornado (13-5, 4-3) limited him and Jonathon Anderson, the hosts’ talented point guard, a factor in New Castle’s 11-0 run to cap off the first half. Neither side had led by more than a bucket before Da’Juan Young, Nick Wallace, Boice, Anderson, and Nate McNight all scored in a span of 3:08 to go into halftime.
“I think they laid their focus on stopping Isaiah and Jonathon and did some things that opened up opportunities for other guys,” Bundo said. “The other guys made plays.”
Not counting Littlejohn’s hurried three as the buzzer sounded on the second frame, Butler only got two shots up in that same time frame.
“They got some offensive boards and put-backs and made some open shots,” Clement said.
The 10-minute pause in play didn’t stop the onslaught. The Red Hurricanes scored on five of their first six touches in the third, a surge that included three treys and widened the gap to 15 points.
The slashing Littlejohn put the Golden Tornado on his back as his crew tried to chip away, netting a dozen points in a little over six minutes. He was the team’s lone consistent scorer on the night.
“The zone hurt us,” Clement said. “We were 4-for-23 from three. You can look at two, three, four things and they went to the zone to protect themselves from foul trouble and to contain Braylon and it worked well for them.”
The only other Butler players to get on the board were freshman guard Donovan Carney (10 points) and senior forward Colin Casteel (7). To go away from the hot hand, though, wouldn’t have made much sense.
“Really, we were getting the matchup we wanted with Braylon and he scored 32 points, so I’m not going to go away from that,” Clement said. “I felt like maybe the other guys stood a little flat-footed because it was a lot of Braylon. But, at the same time, when I went away from it being all Braylon, we weren’t executing. We weren’t able to throw two or three passes without getting out of that offense.
“That’s a tough decision you make as a coach.”
New Castle now holds the tiebreaker in the section in the case that the squads finish with the same number of losses. The Golden Tornado will turn their attention forward to section rematches with North Allegheny (Friday), Central Catholic (Feb. 7), and Pine-Richland (Feb. 10).
“We’ve just got to keep winning games,” Clement said. “You never know what’s going to happen … We’ve seen upsets in this section up and down the whole section.”
The senior swingman, Young, paced the Red Hurricanes with 22 points while Wallace bucketed 18 and Anderson 11 — seven of which came in the last eight minutes.
BUTLER 49
Braylon Littlejohn 12 6-6 32, Donovan Carney 3 3-5 10, Colin Casteel 3 0-0 7. Totals: 18 9-11 49.
NEW CASTLE 64
Da’Juan Young 10 1-2 22, Nick Wallace 7 0-0 18, Jonathon Anderson 2 7-9 11, Ralphie Blundo 2 1-1 6, Isaiah Boice 1 0-0 3, Byron Lett 1 0-0 2, Nate McNight 1 0-0 2.
Butler 11 8 17 13 — 49
New Castle 10 18 17 19 — 64
3-point goals: New Castle 6 (Wallace 4, Blundo, Boice); Butler 4 (Littlejohn 2, Casteel, Carney)
Friday: North Allegheny at Butler; New Castle at Central Catholic
