BUTLER TWP — When push came to shove, Cody Herald allowed himself to get shoved — bad shoulder and all.

The charging call he drew helped to give Butler critical momentum early in the fourth quarter of the Golden Tornado's 58-44 boys basketball triumph over North Hills Friday night.

Butler's lead was only 39-34 entering the final eight minutes.

"Cody's shoulder was banged up, but he stepped in front of (Jeff Witt) and drew a big charge," Butler coach Matt Clement said.

While the Indians (1-3, 0-1) struggled to get off a shot early in the final period, the Tornado were making possessions count.

Butler's David Tompkins came off the bench to convert a layup and sink a free throw. Bobby Swartwout completed a three-point play with 5:45 remaining and Butler's lead was 45-34.

A 12-2 run gave Butler (4-0, 1-0) a 51-36 advantage with 3:30 left. North Hills never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

The Indians sank three of 11 shots from the floor, two of six from the foul line, in the fourth period. By contrast, Butler hit four of five from the floor, 11 of 13 from the line in the final quarter.

"First home game, first section game in front of a big crowd and our kids came up big late," Clement said. "They just grinded this one out. That fourth quarter was a product of their hard work."

North Hills suffered three turnovers and that charge on consecutive possessions early in the final period.

"It's one thing to miss shots, it's another not to get any," Indians coach Buzz Gabos said. "We didn't make good decisions. We do have some new players on the floor this year, and hopefully we'll be a little better next time we play them."

North Hills returns three starters from a team that went 18-9 and reached the WPIAL Quad-A semifinals last season.

"The heavy hitters in this section have been whipping us in multiple sports for multiple years," Clement said. "We scored 64 total points in two games against this team last year. Tonight's a nice step, but we're far from where we want to be."

Swartwout paced Butler with 16 points and six rebounds. Vinny Schmidt came off the bench to record 14 points, four boards and two steals. Nate Snodgrass had 11 points and six assists.

Schmidt stole the ball at midcourt and jammed it home on the other end to extend a Butler lead to eight points midway through the third quarter. He sank three 3-pointers in the contest.

"Vinny came off the bench tonight and gave us a spark," Clement said. "This is the way it's going to be: A different hero every night."

D.J. Scott paced North Hills with 15 points. Joe Dice added 12 points on four treys. Witt had nine rebounds for the Indians.

Butler had a 25-22 edge on the boards and had 10 turnovers to North Hills' 15.

"Butler has a lot of experience, including sophomores and juniors who played a lot as freshmen and sophomores," Gabos said. "That's huge for them because those guys have a lot of upside.

"Swartwout and Snodgrass did a lot of good things for them tonight."

Friday's section opener was played in front of a nearly packed gym.

"Our players had smiles on their faces when they saw this crowd," Clement said. "These kids are so hungry for support and they deserve it because they work so hard.

"I thank the community for coming out tonight. I hope they all come back."

NORTH HILLS 44D.J. Scott 6-11 2-3 15, Scott Zubik 2-5 3-5 7, Nate Marx 1-2 0-0 3, Jeff Witt 3-7 1-2 7, Andrew Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Joe Dice 4-9 0-1 12, Jared Glatz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-36 6-11 44

BUTLER 58Cole Harvey 0-1 0-0 0, Nate Snodgrass 2-6 6-6 11, Logan Renwick 1-3 0-0 3, Brian Jendesky 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Herald 2-5 0-0 5, Jeff Tompkins 2-3 0-0 4, Vinny Schmidt 5-10 1-2 14, Bob Swartwout 6-10 4-4 16, David Tompkins 1-2 3-4 5. Totals: 19-40 14-16 58

North Hills 10 11 13 10—44Butler 13 11 15 19—583-point goals: North Hills 6 (Scott, Marx, Dice 4); Butler 6 (Snodgrass, Renwick, Herald, Schmidt 3).

Junior varsity: Butler, 38-30 (B: David Tompkins 10, Cody West 10; NH: Alex Wright 10, Steven Hearty 10)

Tuesday: Butler at Shaler