BUTLER TWP — It wasn't a win, but it was fun to watch.

Butler and Vincentian ran up and down the floor for 32 minutes Saturday night, the defending WPIAL Class A champion Royals coming away with a 91-85 victory in the championship game of the Butler Boys Basketball Tip-Off Tournament.

The Golden Tornado (1-1) scored 27 points in a quarter twice. Vincentian scored at least 24 points in a period three times. The lead changed hands nine times and the score was tied on six occasions.

“This is the way we play all the time,” Vincentian coach George Yokitis said of the fast-paced game. “I learned that about 25 years ago from Rick Pitino when he coached at Providence.

“He listed four reasons for playing that way. The kids love that style. It's great for morale because everybody plays. Fans love to watch it and it's effective because most opponents aren't used to doing it.”

Vincentian led the entire WPIAL in scoring last year, averaging 84 points per game.

The Royals (2-0) pressure the entire court most of the time. Butler will face similar opponents in that sense when it hosts Perry Tuesday night and travels to New Castle Friday.

“I was hoping we'd get a chance to play them and face that style,” Butler coach Matt Clement said of Vincentian. “They have a great program and they play a number of Quad-A teams. Some teams won't even play them.

“They've beaten teams that have 6-foot-10 guys, teams that have Division I college talent. I have a lot of respect for how they do things.”

Butler suffered 29 turnovers Saturday, 20 in the second half. The Royals scored points in waves as a result — scoring 16 points in a two-minute span in the first quarter, 13 points in less than two minutes in the third.

“For two-thirds of this game, we kept our composure,” Clement said. “For the other third, we were in panic mode. We were throwing the ball around like it was a hot potato.”

Vincentian's biggest lead was 24-12 with 1:23 left in the first quarter. The Tornado's biggest advantage was 52-41 with 6:33 left in the third period.

Ryan Wolf, a 5-10 junior, paced Vincentian with 38 points and six steals. He scored 33 against Wilkinsburg Friday night. Kevin Fischer scored 20 points while Jay Cortese had 10 points and six rebounds.

“Ryan was a second team all-state player last year, averaging 22 points,” Yokitis said. “He has a unique shot and scores from awkward angles. That makes him tough to defend.”

Butler had a 41-28 edge in rebounding. Freshman Tyler Frederick came off the bench to snare 14 rebounds for the Tornado. He collected 47 rebounds in the JV and varsity games combined over the weekend.

“In both (varsity) games, he came in and gave us a spark,” Clement said. “He's playing because of his motor. He knows that.”

Andrew Paterno paced Butler with 19 points — including four treys — while Arum Krause added 18 and Nick Patten 14. Mark Gross had eight points and eight rebounds.

Slippery Rock 53, Wilkinsburg 43 — The Rockets (1-1) won the consolation game by sinking 11 of 12 free throws after the Tigers pulled within 41-40 with 2:33 to play.

Slippery Rock entered the fourth period with a 39-25 lead, holding Wilkinsburg scoreless in the third quarter.

“It's a cliche, but basketball is a game of runs,” Rockets coach Phil Bushre said. “Their shooters got hot and started hitting shots.

“Good teams hold off runs like that. We hit our free throws. It was our night to do that.”

Jake Whitmer paced the Rockets with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Brady Kadlubek added 14 points.

Slippery Rock outscored Wilkinsburg 30-12 in the middle two quarters. The Rockets sank all five of their treys on the night during a 21-point second quarter.

Both teams had 28 rebounds.

DeShawn Adaire paced the Tigers with 17 points while Isaiah Pete added 11 tallies.

Championship Game

VINCENTIAN 91

Kevin Fischer 5-8 7-14 20, Jack Monahan 1-1 0-0 2, Jim Kenna 3-9 1-2 9, Jay Cortese 4-6 2-3 10, Greg Kaniecki 1-6 0-2 2, Ian Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Jamison Nee 3-8 3-4 10, Ryan Wolf 12-22 10-11 38. Totals: 29-60 23-36 91.

BUTLER 85

Justice Lewandowski 1-4 0-0 2, Rich Marnic 2-3 2-2 7, Arum Kause 7-11 4-5 18, Keenan Krause 3-4 1-4 8, Andrew Paterno 6-14 3-4 19, Nick Patten 7-7 0-1 14, Cory Wheeler 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Frederick 2-6 1-3 5, Eric Hindman 1-1 0-0 2, Mark Gross 2-5 4-5 8. Totals: 32-57 15-25 85.

Vincentian 24 12 29 26—91

Butler17 27 14 27—85

3-point goals: Fischer 3, Kenna 2, Nee, Wolf 4; Marnic, K.Krause, Paterno 4

JV: Butler, 62-57 (B: Damien Pickett 13, Tyler Frederick 11; V: David Jen 13, Connor Kreutzer 12)

Tuesday: Perry at Butler

Consolation Game

WILKINSBURG 43

Kenny Eleam 0-2 0-0 0, Robert Thornhill 1-2 2-2 5, DeShawn Adaire 8-19 0-0 17, Desmond Stoles 0-1 0-0 0, Isaiah Pete 4-13 3-4 11, Montay Clancy 1-4 0-0 2, Rafeck Simpson 2-3 1-1 5, Koran Fleming 1-2 1-2 3. Totals: 17-46 7-9 43.

SLIPPERY ROCK 53

Jake Whitmer 4-7 6-8 16, Brady Kadlubek 4-14 4-4 14, Matt Badger 2-7 3-5 7, Mark Cessar 3-4 1-2 8, Camren Neal 2-4 0-4 4, Ryan Dutton 0-1 1-2 1, C.J. Welsh 0-0 1-2 1, Blake Heller 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 15-37 18-29 53.

Wilkinsburg 13 12 0 18—43

Slippery Rock9 21 9 14—53

3-point goals: Thornhill, Adaire; Whitmer 2, Kadlubek 2, Cessar

JV: Slippery Rocvk, 43-37 (SR: Blake Heller 15, W: Keny Eleam 24

Tuesday: Slippery Rock at Kittanning

All-Tournament Team: Ryan Wolf (Vincentian), Kevin Fischer (Vincentian), Arum Krause (Butler), Jake Whitmer (Slippery Rock), DeShawn Adaire (Wilkinsburg)