BUTLER TWP — A scoreboard malfunction couldn't stop Butler, but Nate Snodgrass' absence almost did.

The Golden Tornado (9-0, 3-0) put together a strong fourth quarter, however, to hold off Pine-Richland in a 51-35 boys basketball victory Tuesday night.

Butler had a 23-6 lead midway through the second quarter, only to watch the Rams (2-6, 0-2) trim the deficit to 35-29 with 2:29 left in the third period.

Play was delayed for a few minutes early in the third period when a glitch in the scoreboard showed Butler with a 144-20 lead.

Tornado coach Matt Clement only wished it was that easy.

"Section games can be a grind sometimes, and that's what this one was," Clement said. "It's a crazy game. A scoreboard problem, an argument at the scorer's table over possession — a lot of things can break momentum, but we're not excuse-makers."

Snodgrass, a sophomore point guard, wasn't feeling well and was in the locker room during the scoreboard delay and for a few minutes once play resumed.

Butler suffered 10 turnovers, took only five shots from the field and missed four of five free throws during the third period. The Tornado entered the final quarter ahead by seven points.

"We were able to turn up the pressure and get some turnovers with Snodgrass out of the game," Pine-Richland coach Brian Gaetano said. "Snodgrass not being on the floor was a bigger factor than any scoreboard problem."

Clement agreed.

"Nate's been playing about 32 minutes per game," Clement said. "We're not used to him not being out there. But we weathered the storm.

"Our identity is defense. Play good defense and you've always got a chance in the fourth quarter."

The Tornado outscored the Rams 15-6 in the final eight minutes, allowing Pine-Richland only one field goal. Butler sank eight of nine free throws during the final period.

"Nate showed a lot of courage coming back out there not feeling his best," Clement said. "He didn't take another shot the rest of the game, but he settled down the tempo of the game.

"Brian (Jendesky) and Jeff (Tompkins) guarded (Eric) Holmes and (Andy) Andrle tonight and did great jobs. Those two Pine-Richland kids are more like shooting guards than forwards. They're two of the better players in the section," the coach added.

Holmes and Andrle scored eight points each to lead Pine-Richland. The Rams entered the game averaging 57 points per outing, but sank only 12 of 47 field goal attempts.

Butler has allowed an average of 37 points per game.

"We were missing a lot of everything," Gaetano said. "When you shoot that poorly, you're not going to win."

Bobby Swartwout paced the Tornado with 16 points and eight rebounds. Cody Herald had 10 points and Tompkins had seven rebounds.

Butler enjoyed a 34-18 edge in rebounding, but suffered 23 turnovers.

"They know we turned it over too much and so do I," Clement said. "We don't dwell on that stuff. We work on it."

Butler will work on staying unbeaten Friday at North Allegheny as part of a girls-boys doubleheader.

"I hope a lot of people make the trip over there and support the girls and boys teams in a couple of big games," Clement said.

"It's been a long time since the athletes in our room have beaten North Allegheny."

PINE-RICHLAND 35Eric Holmes 1-2 6-7 8, Brock Baranowski 1-7 0-0 2, Andy Andrle 3-11 2-3 8, Collin Ryan 1-7 3-3 5, Chris Rader 2-9 0-0 4, Ed Baranowski 2-8 0-0 4, C.J. Jackson 1-2 0-0 2, Ben Brown 1-1 0-0 2,

Totals: 12-47 11-14 35.

BUTLER 51Cole Harvey 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Snodgrass 2-3 2-4 6, Eli Christy 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Renwick 0-2 2-2 2, Brian Jendesky 1-2 4-4 6, Cody Herald 4-4 1-2 10, Jeff Tompkins 3-4 0-1 6, Vinny Schmidt 2-6 1-1 5, David Tompkins 0-1 0-0 0, Bobby Swartwout 5-9 6-8 16,

Totals: 17-31 16-22 51.

Pine-Richland 4 12 13 6—35Butler 15 14 7 15—513-point goals: Butler 1 (Herald).

Junior varsity: Butler, 35-18 (B: Zach Slater 7)

Friday: Butler at North Allegheny