FOX CHAPEL — Butler was on the verge of dropping its third game in a row.

Then Tyler Frederick took one for the team.

The Golden Tornado sophomore forward took a charge from South Park’s Justin Gorny with 11.7 seconds to play, denying the Eagles a game-tying bucket. The play set Butler up for a 62-56 boys basketball victory in the first round of the Peter Sauer Memorial Holiday Tournament Saturday at Shady Side Academy.

“That was the play of the game. It was a game-changer,” Butler coach Matt Clement said.

Butler (6-2) trailed by as many as nine (46-37) with 1:19 left in the third quarter. The Tornado’s last lead was at 17-15, seconds into the second period.

A Frederick free throw with 1:29 left in the contest finally enabled Butler to regain the lead at 55-54. Mark Gross then found Frederick alone under the basket — following a South Park turnover — and the Tornado had a 57-54 lead.

“Our defense came apart in the fourth quarter,” South Park coach Dan DeRose said. “That and turnovers killed us.”

South Park had 19 turnovers in the game, 11 in the second half — but the Eagles (6-3) weren’t done yet.

A Gorny layup cut the gap to 57-56. Keenan Krause hit the front end of a one-and-one for Butler with 40.3 seconds left, extending the lead to two.

With time ticking down, Gorny — a senior 6-foot-6 guard who led all scorers with 30 points — attempted a 3-pointer from the left corner. The ball caromed off the rim, right back to him.

As Gorny drove toward the hoop, Frederick stepped in front of him. Gorny laid the ball in, but plowed into Frederick while doing so.

“It was definitely a charge, but I give the official credit for making that call,” Clement said. “It’s a gutsy call to make in that situation.”

Gross canned a pair of free throws with 9.8 seconds left, Krause doing the same with 4.3 ticks on the clock to seal the win.Butler outscored South Park 21-10 in the fourth quarter.

“That hurt a lot,” Frederick said of taking the charge. “He hit me pretty hard. But I’ll take the pain if it means getting a win. It’s worth it.”

Frederick had 12 points and five rebounds for the Tornado. Eleven of those points came in the fourth quarter as he sat out much of the game in foul trouble.

“Coach just told me to keep my head up and be ready to go back in,” Frederick said. “But, yeah, it’s tough just sitting there watching.”

Andrew Paterno paced Butler with 13 points, sinking three free throws. He added three assists and two steals. Krause had 11 points, three assists and three steals.

Gross had eight points and nine rebounds, sinking all four of his free throws in the fourth quarter.

“Mark Gross is having a tremendous senior year,” Clement said. “People may not see it because he’s not piling up big numbers in the box score, but he continually makes plays to help win games.

“Keenan was outstanding tonight, especially in the second half. This is a good win, a character win. It’s a positive bounce-back from what happened (84-58 loss Tuesday) at North Allegheny.”

Krause scored nine of his 11 points in the second half.

Gorny had 11 rebounds and three steals to go with his 30 points. Dan Wanker, a 6-6 senior forward, had 18 points for the Eagles, but played sparingly down the stretch after taking a hard fall to the floor.

“Things might have been different if Dan was in there the entire time,” DeRose said. “But he was sore and started to experience chest pains ... I’m not gonna risk a kid’s health to win a basketball game.

“Justin Gorny didn’t play well in our last game (50-47 loss to Montour), but he was very good tonight. He’s one of the best players in the WPIAL when he wants to be. He’s a 6-6 guard who can take the ball inside and dominate.”

Clement knew Gorny would be a challenge.

“They came at us with a 6-6 guy and 6-5 guy ... We haven’t seen that,” Clement said. “Experiencing that kind of competition can only help us.”

SOUTH PARK 56

Joey Torris 0-1 0-0 0, Harry Zaremba 3-4 0-0 6, Steven Girgash 0-1 2-2 2, Dan Wanker 6-11 6-8 18, Justin Gorny 10-19 9-9 30, Shawn Coologhan 0-1 0-0 0, Josh Wietholder 0-1 0-1 0, Ryan Mino 0-1 0-1 0, Dylan Teprag 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-39 17-22 56.

BUTLER 62

Damien Pickett 0-2 0-0 0, Kaden Rock 0-1 0-0 0, Jace Stutz 2-3 0-0 5, Justice Lewandowski 1-6 5-6 7, Keenan Krause 4-10 3-4 11, Andrew Paterno 4-13 2-2 13, Tyler Frederick 5-8 2-6 12, Jake Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, Joel Stutz 1-6 0-0 2, Mark Gross 1-6 6-6 8. Totals: 20-48 18-24 62.

South Park 15 20 11 10 — 56

Butler15 16 10 21 — 62

3-point goals: Gorny; Paterno 3, Ja.Stutz

JV: Butler, 51-46 (SP: Dray Benjamin 9; B: Connor Ollio 16, Kelley Kuharic 11)

Today’s Tournament Schedule at Shady Side Academy: Riverside vs. South Park, 3:30 p.m.; Obama Academy vs. Northgate, 5 p.m.; Butler vs. Woodland Hills, 6:30 p.m.; Fox Chapel vs. Shady Side Academy, 8 p.m.