BUTLER TWP — Plain and simple, the fourth quarter belongs to Butler.

The Golden Tornado boys basketball team outscored Central Catholic 21-9 in the final period in a battle of Section 3-AAAA unbeatens Friday night to come away with a 58-46 victory.

The win gives Butler (12-0, 5-0) sole possession of first place in the section.

"It sounds like our company line because I say it every game, but we want to be in a close game in the fourth quarter," Butler coach Matt Clement said. "We may not win every time, but I like our chances the way we battle."

And they've won every time so far.

Through three quarters in front of a packed house in the Butler gym, the biggest lead by either team was five points.

During the third quarter, the lead changed hands four times and the score was tied on three occasions, including at 37 at the period's end.

"We were in for a tough game tonight. We knew that," Central Catholic coach Chuck Crummie said. "Their 1-3-1 zone gave us more problems in that last quarter than I anticipated.

"We were tentative against it. We turned the ball over. In a high school game involving two good teams, all it takes is a minute or two for a game to turn."

Butler maintained possession for the first minute of the fourth quarter before a Bobby Swartwout layup triggered a 10-0 Tornado run. Nate Snodgrass sank four free throws and Swartwout two before Vinny Schmidt capped the run with a monstrous dunk over a defender with 3:03 remaining.

Logan Renwick stole the ball at midcourt and pushed it ahead to Schmidt for the transition dunk.

"I was a little jealous of that one," Clement admitted.

"They're momentum-boosters," Schmidt said of dunks. "The crowd reacts and it seems to elevate everybody.

"But I don't make those plays alone. Guys steal the ball and get it ahead. That's what keys it," Schmidt added.

The Vikings (9-3, 5-1) suffered five turnovers in the fourth quarter. They didn't score in the period until Will Burgess hit a short jumper from the baseline with 2:48 left.

Central Catholic managed to attempt only four shots from the floor in the first six minutes of the last quarter.

"Once they got the lead, they were able to milk the clock and we had to chase," Crummie said. "That was the ballgame."

The Tornado defense was so intense in the final eight minutes that one Central pass was knocked out of bounds with such authority that it landed in the last row of the first tier of bleachers.

Butler iced the game when Snodgrass stole the ball at midcourt, drove the baseline and laid it in for a 51-41 lead with 1:25 to play. Central never got the deficit out of double digits again.

Schmidt added a second jam with 33 seconds remaining to punctuate the victory.

"Our conditioning seems to take over in the fourth quarter. That's when we play," Snodgrass said. "I could see they were getting tired — bent over, hands on their knees, arms behind their heads. You could see the body language."

Swartwout paced the Tornado with 17 points, adding three assists. Snodgrass had 14 points, Schmidt 10. Renwick had four assists.

Burgess, a 6-foot-3 post player being recruited by Carnegie Mellon and the University of Chicago, had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Central. He sank only 1-of-5 free throws in the fourth quarter, however.

"That kid is a great player," Clement said. "He kept them in this game."

Ultimately, Butler's defense won the game. The Vikings have been held to fewer than 46 points only once this season — a 52-45 loss at Gateway.

Friday's huge fan turnout wasn't lost on Clement.

"One of my goals when I got this job was to pack this gym with people," he said. "I never thought it would happen this soon. But we give blue-collar effort, we're winning and people around here are into all of it.

"All I can say is thank you, Butler."

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 46Andrew Fischer 0-0 0-0 0, Tim Lackner 4-10 0-0 9, Ryan Fish 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan Layton 2-6 3-3 8, Christian Wasik 0-0 1-3 1, Mike Anselmo 0-0 0-0 0, Steven Zappala 0-2 0-0 0, Lincoln Davis 2-6 1-2 5, Will Burgess 10-15 1-6 21, Bryan Ward 1-3 0-0 2.

Totals: 19-42 6-14 46.

BUTLER 58Nate Snodgrass 4-7 6-6 14, Eli Christy 1-2 0-0 2, Logan Renwick 1-5 0-0 2, Brian Jendesky 2-2 0-3 4, Cody Herald 2-4 1-1 6, Jeff Tompkins 0-3 3-4 3, Vinny Schmidt 5-10 0-2 10, Bobby Swartwout 6-8 4-4 17.

Totals: 21-41 14-20 58.

Central Catholic 9 14 14 9—46Butler 13 13 11 21—583-point goals: Central Catholic 2 (Lackner, Layton); Butler 2 (Herald, Swartwout).

Tuesday: Butler at Seneca Valley