BUTLER TWP — The mystery continues.

Butler's boys basketball team improved its record to 8-3 in nonsection games by knocking off Mt. Lebanon, 46-41, Tuesday night.

The Blue Devils (11-5) lead Section 4-AAAA and had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Golden Tornado also have defeated Quad-A powers Upper St. Clair and Penn Hills.

But Butler is 0-6 in section games.

"We're a young team that's coming together, and we have to take the wins when we get them,"senior forward Sean Lowry said. "But it's hurting us. We'd much rather be 6-0 in section play.

"Maybe Cody (Fleeger) and I are trying to create too much in those (section) games, I don't know."

Butler coach Joe Lewandowski can only shake his head when thinking about his team's section record.

"It's taken a while for everyone to feel comfortable in their roles,"Lewandowski said. "We've dropped some close ones in section. ... Things just haven't gone our way.

"We've still got the makings of a good basketball team."

Mt. Lebanon will buy that.

Butler trailed only briefly Tuesday night after Shane Phillips hit a jumper for a 26-25 Blue Devils advantage with 3:45 left in the third quarter, but Butler's Mike Pratkanis got the lead back by draining a 3-pointer 22 seconds later.

And the Tornado never trailed again, despite never having a double-digit lead. Butler's biggest advantage of the game was 39-30 with 4:27 left in the contest.

Mt. Lebanon cut the gap to 39-36 with 3:41 to play by sinking six consecutive free throws, but the Tornado sank seven free throws down the stretch to hold on.

The teams combined to hit 21 of 26 free throws in the fourth quarter.

"We were getting to the line, and that's what we want to do,"Lewandowski said. "We played a more deliberate style tonight and it worked. Not being in such a hurry to score enabled us to cut down on our turnovers."

Butler suffered 13 turnovers to Mt. Lebanon's 15.

When Butler doesn't turn the ball over, it can be stingy on defense. Mt. Lebanon's 41 points marked its second lowest total of the season. The Blue Devils defeated Bethel Park, 35-34, a week ago.

"This was a trap game for us,"Mt. Lebanon coach Joey David said. "We played poorly, and when you play poorly, you get beat. We had 11 turnovers in the first half. That's way too many."

Phillips was Mt. Lebanon's only player in double figures, scoring 16 points. Andrew Devlin had nine points and eight of his team's 21 rebounds.

The Blue Devils sank only one of 12 shots from the field in the final quarter. They hit 12-of-20 in the first three periods.

"Butler made their free throws and hit the big shots when they needed to," David said. "They deserved to win. I don't care about their section record. They've lost some close games there. ... That's no 0-6 team."

Lowry led Butler with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals. Cody Fleeger added 16 points and five of 21 Tornado rebounds.

"His statistics may not show it, but Clark Liebler gave us a big lift tonight,"Lewandowski said. "He plays with a lot of fire in practice, so we started him tonight to take advantage of that heart and desire."

Liebler fouled out with 2:45 remaining. Jereme Buffington came off the bench to get three steals for Butler in the first half.

MT. LEBANON 41Rob Marasti 0-0 0-0 0, Shane Phillips 5-9 5-6 16, Andrew Devlin 3-6 3-5 9, Ryan Lang 3-11 0-0 6, Nick Sandusky 1-3 0-0 2, Brian Lackner 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Mackin 1-3 6-7 8.

Totals: 13-32 14-18 41

BUTLER 46Mike Pratkanis 2-6 3-4 8, Aaron Dorondo 0-1 0-0 0, Cody Fleeger 5-11 5-6 16, Austin Snodgrass 0-0 0-0 0, Jace Lumley 0-0 0-0 0, Jereme Buffington 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Deangelis 0-1 2-2 2, Ryan Melder 0-1 0-0 0, Sean Lowry 6-9 3-6 17, Chris Klutinoty 1-2 0-0 3, Clark Liebler 0-3 0-0 0.

Totals: 14-34 13-17 46

Mt. Lebanon 10 8 10 13—41Butler 11 9 10 16—463-point goals: Phillips; Pratkanis, Fleeger, Lowry 2, Klutinoty

JV: Butler, 42-39 (B-David Schmidt 12)

Friday: Butler atBeaver Falls