Butler basketball’s offense sputters in loss
BUTLER TWP — Butler boys basketball coach Matt Clement was very direct regarding his team’s meeting with Bishop Guilfoyle on Saturday.
“Against a team that good, we hold them to 51 points and with the scorers we have, we should win the game,” he said.
Instead the Golden Tornado, hampered by 22 turnovers and a four-point second quarter, dropped a 51-49 decision to the Marauders in the Ballin' at Butler event at Butler High School.
Bishop Guilfoyle’s Alex Krimmel missed a chance to put the game on ice when, with the Marauders leading by two points, misfired on two free throws with 2.5 seconds left.
Bod
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Butler guard Andrew Gettinger (35) attempts a shot at the net in a boys basketball game against Bishop Guilfoyle Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at the Ballin' @ Butler event at Butler High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler guard Jace Gratzmiller (3) receives a pass in a boys basketball game against Bishop Guilfoyle Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at the Ballin' @ Butler event at Butler High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler guard Andrew Gettinger (35) looks for a way past his opponent in a boys basketball game against Bishop Guilfoyle Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at the Ballin' @ Butler event at Butler High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler guard Mavrik Clement (5) passes the ball over Bishop Guilfoyle's Taurean Consiglio (3) to Butler guard Andrew Gettinger (35) in a boys basketball game against Bishop Guilfoyle Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at the Ballin' @ Butler event at Butler High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler guard Stainton Forbes (4) is boxed in by Bishop Guilfoyle players in a boys basketball game against Bishop Guilfoyle Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at the Ballin' @ Butler event at Butler High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler guard Stainton Forbes (4) dribbles the ball in a boys basketball game against Bishop Guilfoyle Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at the Ballin' @ Butler event at Butler High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Butler forward Zavyr Gregory (20) attempts a 3-pointer in a boys basketball game against Bishop Guilfoyle Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at the Ballin' @ Butler event at Butler High School. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
en Lenyk rebounded the second miss and was fouled with two seconds remaining, though the Tornado had to inbound the ball underneath the Marauders’ basket.
Cael Hanley’s desperation 3-point attempt from just inside of midcourt was off the mark as time expired.
“We could have thrown a Hail Mary to (Andrew Gettinger, game-high 28 points), who had two guys on him near the basket,” Clement said. “But with that little time left, you’re lucky if you get a shot off at all.”
Gettinger had given the Tornado (4-4) a 36-35 lead with a bucket late in the third quarter, but the Marauders followed with a pair of treys and Butler never pulled even afterward.
The second 3-pointer in that sequence was incredibly frustrating for Butler.
With time in the period winding down, Guilfoyle’s Troy Ruggery rebounded a teammate’s missed 3-point attempt along the baseline and scrambled to the corner, where he hastily turned and put up his own shot from beyond the arc just before the third-quarter buzzer sounded. This one was true and the Marauders took a 41-36 lead into the fourth period.
Guilfoyle (4-0) missed its first 12 attempts from 3-point range, and ended the game making just four of 24.
“We didn’t mind taking 3s, but we were a little too quick with them in the first half,” Marauders coach Ryan Lestochi said. “We were settling for rushed shots, but did better with that as the game went on.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, and we just had to grind it out to win.”
Lestochi said most of his team’s focus on defense centered on Gettinger and fellow senior Stainton Forbes (17 points). The duo combined for 45, but too many empty possessions did in Butler.
“There’s no other way to put it. This (loss) was not about defense, it was about offense,” said Clement. “But it does show what we are capable of. Bishop Guilfoyle is a very solid team. We turned the ball over 22 times, they turned it over eight times, and we lose by two points.”
A trio of Marauders — Taurean Consiglio (12 points), Ruggery (11) and Krimmel (10) — combined for 33 points.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 51
Tyson Lestochi 3 0-0 7, Troy Ruggery 4 2-2 11, Alex Krimmel 4 0-2 10, Grant Okonak 3 0-0 6, Jake Kissell 2 1-2 5, Taurean Consiglio 5 2-2 12. Totals: 21 5-8 51.
BUTLER 49
Jace Gratzmiller 1 0-0 2, Stainton Forbes 5 3-4 17, Andrew Gettinger 10 6-6 28, Boden Lenyk 1 0-0 2, Cael Hanley 0 0-0 0, Mavrik Clement 0 0-0 0, Jaydon Wilbert 0 0-0 0, Tobias Geibel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 9-10 49.
Bishop Guilfoyle 6 17 18 10 — 51
Butler 12 4 20 13 — 49
3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 4 (Krimmel 2, Ruggery, Lestochi); Butler 6 (Forbes 4, Gettinger 2).
