BUTLER TWP— Halftime could not have come at a better time for Butler.

The Golden Tornado boys basketball team had a 24-15 lead on visiting Plum with 4:22 left in the first half Friday night, only to watch the Mustangs close the half with a 10-0 run for a 25-24 lead.

Butler responded by outscoring Plum 19-8 in the third quarter on its way to a 61-46 victory.

"They changed defenses (to a zone) and we weren't attacking it enough,"Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. "Halftime definitely came at a good time tonight.

"We talked to the kids about how we were going to attack that zone. We started going inside-out and that breaks it down. We forced them back into man-to-man, where we felt we had the advantage."

The Tornado (4-1) found two catalysts Friday night: a technical foul and Jeff Slater.

Butler trailed 31-30 with 2:46 left in the third quarter when Plum's Anthony Della Salla was whistled for a technical. Cody Fleeger sank both free throws, and Slater sank a layup as Butler kept possession and the Tornado developed a 9-0 run.

"We never got back in the game after that,"Plum coach Tom Demko admitted. "I'll never blame a loss on an official, but that technical turned the momentum the other way."

Butler never lost the lead after Fleeger sank the technical free throws. The 15-point final margin was the Tornado's biggest lead of the night.

Slater, a 5-foot-10 senior point guard, scored a career-high 17 points Friday, sinking three 3-pointers. His offense came in handy as Christos Klutinoty, usually Butler's best outside shooter, failed to score a point.

"(Klutinoty) started for the first time and got in early foul trouble,"Lewandowski said. "Sometimes that can throw you off your game.

"Jeff Slater did what a good point guard does. When we need assists, he gives us assists. When we need points, he gives us points. He saw we were struggling offensively, so he worked himself free. He's a very unselfish player."

Slater couldn't help but chuckle over his point production.

"It's a different guy every night with this team,"Slater said. "I guess it was just my turn."

Mike Pratkanis contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds while Fleeger added 14 points and nine boards. Nick Rossmiller had nine points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

Andrew Cressler, a 6-4 junior forward being recruited by Robert Morris University and Duquesne, had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Mustangs. Della Salla added 11 points and seven boards.

Plum (2-2) returns four starters from a 14-win season a year ago.

"This is the hardest we've played in a game so far,"Demko said. "We were getting penetration to the basket and open outside shots. We just didn't shoot well."

Butler had a 37-31 edge in rebounding. The Tornado had 14 turnovers to Plum's 10.

Butler opens section play Tuesday when it hosts North Hills.

"You want to go into section play coming off a good win against a good team,"Lewandowski said. "That's what we accomplished tonight."

The Tornado junior varsity improved to 4-0 with a 52-28 victory. Logan Renwick led the way with 11 points.

PLUM46Adam Flood 1-2 0-0 3, Scott McGough 2-4 0-1 4, Anthony DeAngelo 1-4 0-0 3, Anthony Della Salla 4-12 3-5 11, Andrew Cressler 4-12 3-6 11, Sean Blattenberger 0-1 2-2 2, Matt Kraemer 1-8 2-3 4, Jon Sharp 4-11 0-2 8. Totals: 17-55 10-19 46

BUTLER61Jeff Slater 6-10 2-2 17, Cody Fleeger 3-9 7-8 14, Mike Pratkanis 5-11 4-6 14, Austin Snodgrass 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Renwick 3-5 0-0 7, Nick Rossmiller 1-1 7-7 9, Ryan Melder 0-0 0-0 0, Christos Klutinoty 0-8 0-0 0, Nick Powers 0-0 0-0 0, Bob Swartwout 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-44 20-22 61

Plum 9 16 8 13—46Butler 14 10 19 18—613-point goals: Flood, DeAngelo; Slater 3, Fleeger, Renwick

JV: Butler, 52-28 (B-Logan Renwick 11, Jeff Tompkins 10, P-Ryan Duke 12)

Tuesday: North Hills at Butler