Butler boys basketball leaves it all on the floor during win vs Seneca Valley: ‘We sold out today’
BUTLER TWP — Jace Gratzmiller hobbled out of the locker room.
Following a 48-44 win over neighboring rival Seneca Valley, the Butler senior embodied the energy the Golden Tornado played with — and the lack of it remaining after the fact.
“I said it at the beginning of the year, all I wanna do is win — and I’ll put my life on the line for it,” Gratzmiller said. “These guys mean the world to me and this sport means the world to me, and it’s just (that I’m) trying to do whatever I can.
“I’m a little sore right now, but I’ll be good tomorrow.”
Three days after Butler (5-6, 3-2 WPIAL Section 1-6A) absorbed the blow of a third straight loss, it responded exactly how it needed to. Rebounding wasn’t as much of an issue. Neither was urgency.
“We sold out today, and we knew we had to because they are very physical,” Tornado coach Matt Clement said. “(Trost) is preaching the same kind of physicality that I’m trying to preach, too, to win games, so it usually means all of the kids are dead tired at the end of the game.”
“I feel like after our last three games, we didn’t have that type of physicality,” Butler senior star Andrew Gettinger said. “We were just tired of it, and we (knew) we needed to change in order to win. ... And that’s what we did.
The Tornado led 12-3 after the opening quarter, but Seneca Valley’s five second-quarter 3-pointers — three by Ryan Priester — tightened matters before the midway point. Butler led by six three times before Gettinger made it an eight-point game late in the third quarter, then again in the fourth.
The Raiders kept at it, though.
Nearly halfway through the final frame, Andrew Omasits pick-pocketed Gettinger right after sinking 1 of 2 at the free-throw line, then did the same after drawing a foul under the hoop. Gratzmiller missed on two free throws after that and before another Priester 3-pointer gave Seneca Valley (6-6, 1-4) its only advantage of the second half.
Two possessions later, Gettinger’s jumper swirled into the cup, putting Butler back ahead. With under 1:20 to play, Stainton Forbes poked an offensive rebound out of Owen Congdon’s hands to Mavrik Clement, who dished the ball ahead to Forbes for an easy lay-in.
“That was the game-winner,” Clement said.
Congdon made a bucket to put the score at 46-44 with 17 ticks left. Clement praised Gratzmiller for sinking a pair of free throws right after, stretching his side’s lead back out.
“That’s probably his high in minutes on the year,” Clement said of Gratzmiller, who finished with a modest six points and two rebounds. “This is gonna get him some momentum and really get him going (as we go) forward. He plays hard all the time, he works his butt off all the time. He does all the dirty work. Just tonight, he did a little bit more in crucial time.”
Knowing a big test was waiting on the horizon, the Golden Tornado prepared for Seneca Valley some even before facing off with McDowell on Saturday.
“We put a lot information in yesterday,” Clement said. “I went home yesterday, and I was almost like, ‘I gave them too much. Their brains are gonna be scrambled,’” Clement said. “I actually broke it down again today on the board, let them know what we were trying to do and had that situation, had them walk through it.
“And at the end of the game, when they were running the plays, we were in the right spots.”
Priester led all scorers with 16 points, while Gettinger followed with 15 and Omasits 13. Gettinger added 11 rebounds to post a double-double.
SENECA VALLEY 44
Ryan Priester 6 0-0 16, Andrew Omasits 5 2-4 13, Owen Congdon 4 0-0 8, Nico Santapau 1 0-0 3, Jaxon Householder 1 0-0 2, Easton Blair 0 1-2 1, Reese Fatur 0 1-2 1, Luke West 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 4-8 44.
BUTLER 48
Andrew Gettinger 7 0-0 15, Stainton Forbes 3 1-1 8, Boden Lenyk 3 1-2 8, Cael Hanley 2 1-2 7, Jace Gratzmiller 1 4-6 6, Mavrik Clement 1 0-0 4, Zavyr Gregory 0 0-0 0, Tobias Geibel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 7-11 48.
Seneca Valley 3 19 11 11 — 44
Butler 12 11 16 9 — 48
3-point goals: Seneca Valley 6 (Priester 4, Omasits, Santapau); Butler 5 (Hanley 2, Forbes, Gettinger, Lenyk)
Friday: Pine-Richland at Butler; Seneca Valley at Woodland Hills
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler’s Andrew Gettinger (35) chases a loose ball during a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Ryan Priester (23) throws a pass in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Andrew Omasits (3) shoots a 3-pointer in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Owen Congdon (0) pivots to protect the ball from being stolen by Butler’s Mavrik Clement (5) in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Jaxon Householder (2) dribbles the ball against Butler’s Stainton Forbes (4) in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler’s Stainton Forbes (4) shoots a 3-pointer in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler’s Mavrik Clement (5) shoots over Seneca Valley’s defense in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler’s Stainton Forbes (4) celebrates with teammates after hitting a 2-point shot to secure the lead against Seneca Valley in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler defeated Seneca Valley 48-44 in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Butler’s Andrew Gettinger (35) and Tobias Geibel (0) celebrate after a 48-44 win over Seneca Valley in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley coach Kevin Trost talks to the guys before playing against Butler in a boys basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Butler High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
