WEXFORD — Dribble penetration can go a long way — especially when Ryan Tiesi is the one doing it.

North Allegheny's 6-foot-2 senior point guard and four-year starter scored 32 points — 21 in the second half — and took control of the game in the third quarter to lead the Tigers to a 65-50 boys basketball victory over Butler Tuesday night.

The game was tied at 25 at halftime. The lead changed hands seven times, the score was tied six times and neither team ever led by more than four points in the first 16 minutes.

"We weren't getting any dribble penetration, and that was playing into the hands of their defense," said North Allegheny coach Dave DeGregorio. "They were facing our shooters straight up."

He did put the ball in Tiesi's hands, and Tiesi did the rest.

Held to 11 points in the first half, Tiesi scored the first two field goals of the second half. With North Allegheny holding a 33-30 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter, he spearheaded a 13-0 run that decided the game.

First, he hit a baseline jumper, then he knocked down an eight-footer. He added two free throws and dished back out to teammate Dan Lavallee, who knocked down a trey.

Lavallee's 3-pointer capped the run and gave the Tigers a 46-30 advantage with 2:19 left in the quarter.

Butler (4-5, 0-2) never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

"We put Jereme Buffington on Tiesi in the first half because he's our best defensive player," Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. "He did a great job on him, too, as good a job as I've seen us do on that kid over the last few years.

"But Tiesi is a great player, and like all great players, all he needed to get going was hitting one tough shot. When players like him do that, they usually go on a roll."

Tiesi went on that roll.

He scored 12 of the Tigers' 21 points in the third quarter. He sank all six of his free throws and a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.

"Ryan had that stretch in the third quarter where he hit some shots and had a couple of nice assists," DeGregorio said. "We're usually in good shape when the ball is in his hands."

Tiesi added five assists in the contest. Lavallee had 15 points — including three treys — and Matt Sudo had 10 points and nine rebounds.

North Allegheny (5-3, 1-0) had a 31-25 edge on the boards. Butler had 16 turnovers to the Tigers' 13.

Nick Martini paced Butler with 13 points and sank three treys. Blake Anderson returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion and netted 11 points, including three treys of his own.

Jade Burka had nine points, 13 boards and three blocked shots for the Golden Tornado. Alan Jackson had five assists.

"Jade's defense and rebounding set him apart from most big men inside," Lewandowski said.

North Allegheny sank 13 of 19 shots from the floor in the second half after hitting just nine of 29 in the first half.

The Tigers drained all 10 of their free throws in the fourth quarter.

"Once we fell behind, we had to take Buffington out because we needed more offense," Lewandowski said. "They're a tough team with the lead.

"I loved our effort tonight. But in this section, you have to play well for four quarters to win, and I don't know if we did that."

BUTLER 50

Cody Fleeger 0-4 2-2 2, Nick Martini 5-7 0-0 13, Adam Monday 2-8 2-2 8, Alan Jackson 2-5 1-3 5, Blake Anderson 4-13 0-0 11, Jade Burka 4-6 1-2 9, Aaron Dorondo 0-0 0-0 0, Jereme Buffington 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 18-45 6-9 50

NORTH ALLEGHENY 65

John Masuga 1-4 1-1 3, Ted Connolly 0-1 0-0 0, John Evans 1-5 0-0 2, Ben Dvorsky 1-2 1-2 3, Greg Dvorsky 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Tiesi 10-17 10-12 32, Brian Block 0-2 0-0 0, Dan Lavallee 4-6 4-4 15, Matt Sudo 5-11 0-0 10. Totals: 22-48 16-19 65

3-point goals:

Martini 3, Monday 2, Anderson 3; Tiesi 2, Lavallee 3

JV:

North Allegheny, 54-23 (B-Matt Maloy 8, NA-Ross Constantino 11)

Friday:

Fox Chapel @ Butler