PINE TWP — Butler was able to solve one aspect of Pine-Richland's offense.

But the Rams simply called on another weapon in their arsenal.

Eric Duerr, P-R's 6-foot-8 senior center, was held scoreless in the first half of Saturday's Section 3-AAAA boys basketball game.

Yet the Rams held a 28-16 halftime edge and defeated the Golden Tornado 55-28.

"Butler started sagging its defense on Duerr," said Rams' coach Dave Krakoff. "And when that happens, your guards have to step up and make some outside shots."

Pine-Richland was 7-of-22 from beyond the arc (31.8 percent).

"We weren't on fire," Krakoff added. "But we hit enough of them."

Brian Felker, Kevin Wissinger, Brett Matson and Nick Madia all hit 3-pointers during the game, with Madia connecting on three of them.

"Give Pine-Richland credit, they needed to hit some outside shots and they did that," said Butler coach Joe Lewandowski.

Duerr ended the game with 10 points, all in the second half.

As for Butler's offense, the unit had failed to score more than 31 points in two of its previous three games entering Saturday and struggled once again.

As the Tornado defense focused on Duerr, the Rams did the same to Butler center Sean Lowry.

The 6-foot-5 senior scored just six points in the game and was 2-of-7 from the field.

And aside from Chris Klutinoty's team-high 13 points, Butler wasn't able to receive consistent scoring from anybody.

"We needed to have people drive and hit some shots," said Lewandowski. "But we just didn't make them."

"With us, it all starts with defense," Krakoff said. "We contest every shot and make sure that the other team is one shot and out."

Klutinoty scored seven of his team's nine points in the first period, after which the Tornado (10-12, 2-8) trailed 14-9.

And he hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the Rams' lead to 33-22 with 2:43 left in the third quarter before Pine-Richland (14-6, 8-2) ran away with its sixth straight win.

"Chris has been doing a good job for us," added Lewandowski. "He's taken some lumps this season, but he's also making some shots."

Matson led all scorers with 18 points, with 11 coming in the first half.

"I believe Matson has evolved into the best player in the section," said Krakoff.

"Matson is the key for them," said Lewandowski. "He's able to do things that other players in the section just can't do. He can drive the lane and not only score, but create shots for his teammates."

BUTLER 28Clark Liebler 2 0-0 4, Zach Cuffman 0 2-2 2, Jereme Buffington 0 1-2 1, Sean Lowry 2 2-4 6, Chris Klutinoty 5 0-0 13, Bill Coleman 1 0-0 2, Mike Pratkanis 0 0-0 0, Jeff Slater 0 0-0 0, Aaron Dorondo 0 0-0 0, Matt Maloy 0 0-0 0, Austin Snodgrass 0 0-0 0, Jace Lumley 0 0-0 0, Brian DeAngelis 0 0-0 0, Eric King 0 0-0 0, Tony Andreassi 0 0-0 0, Derek Stobert 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 10 5-8 28.

PINE-RICHLAND 55Brett Matson 5 7-8 18, Kevin Wissinger 1 3-6 6, Brian Felker 5 0-2 12, Nick Madia 3 0-0 9, Eric Duerr 3 4-6 10, Brandon Bove 0 0-0 0, Eric Schlegel 0 0-0 0, T.J. Kuban 0 0-0 0, Ian Hennessey 0 0-0 0, Dillon 0 0-0 0, Tom Johnson 0 0-0 0, Ryan Brown 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 17 14-22 55.

Butler 9 7 6 6—28Pine-Richland 14 14 12 15—553-point goals: Butler 3 (Klutinoty); Pine-Richland 7 (Madia 3, Felker 2, Wissinger, Matson)

JV: Butler 42-39 (B-Nick Powers 12 points)

Tuesday: North Allegheny @ Butler