Pressure cooked

By DEREK PYDA Eagle Staff Writer

December 06, 2007 Last Updated: December 06, 2007 02:01 PM High School

Butler's Bob Swartwout grabs the ball in front of a Central Catholic player Wednesday in the Golden Tornado's 75-49 loss.

Butler gives up ball too many times in loss

JACKSON TWP — Butler boys basketball coach Joe Lewandowski knew his team was going to face pressure against Central Catholic.

He just wishes his players could have responded differently.

The Golden Tornado had 14 turnovers in the first half as the Vikings turned a 33-22 halftime lead into a 75-49 win at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Wednesday at Seneca Valley High School.

In the evening's first game, the host Raiders crushed Oliver 55-34.

Butler fell behind early, but got a boost when Jeff Slater beat the buzzer with a basket that cut Central Catholic's lead to 21-13 after one quarter.

The Vikings outrebounded Butler 9-3 in the second period and pushed their lead to double digits.

Slater again provided a bit of momentum when he drained a 3-pointer just before halftime, cutting his team's deficit to 11 points.

"Handling their pressure was going to be key, and we just gave them too many possessions," said Lewandowski.

"We made some errors that are correctable," Lewandowski added. "And Central is able to send 14 guys into the game and have them do things all over the floor. We won't play another team like that."

Leading the Vikings' attack was junior forward Evan Tsudis, who scored 26 points.

"He had been struggling on offense," said Central coach Chuck Crummie. "Tonight, he was in the right place at the right time."

Cody Fleeger led Butler (3-1) with 15 points, while Christos Klutinoty added 10 and Jeff Slater nine.

The Golden Tornado were outrebounded 27-21. Nick Rossmiller led Butler with four.

Central (3-0) was the first Quad A opponent Butler has faced this season, but the Vikings are also one of the top teams in all of the WPIAL.

"Some polls have them at No. 1 and others at No. 2," said Lewandowski. "I don't know if you can gauge anything after just four games."

The Raiders dominated the Bears in every facet of the game en route to this lopsided victory.Oliver went almost two full quarters without scoring a field goal — a drought that ended with Dion Hollinger's basket with 3:55 left in the third period — but the Raiders still held a comfortable lead at 37-15.C.J. Brown continued his solid play with 12 points before SV coach Vic Giannotta emptied his bench late in the third quarter.Nate Herrmann added 11 points for the Raiders (4-0), who committed only six turnovers in the first three quarters.The Bears (0-4) struggled to manage an inside presence on offense, as five of the team's 12 field goals were from beyond the arc.CENTRAL CATHOLIC 75Mike Hyland 0 2-2 2, Trey McCune 1 1-2 4, Matt McKenna 3 0-0 8, Lucas Mickens 4 0-0 8, Brandon Sams 5 0-2 10, Evan Tsudis 10 6-7 26, Brian Rajakovich 1 0-0 3, Liam Halferty 2 0-0 5, Grant Mellon 0 1-2 1, Dylan Layton 3 2-4 8, Zeke Nicholson 0 0-0 0, Ron Fischer 0 0-0 0, Sean Sauter 0 0-0 0, Dan Schnelbach 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 12-19 75.BUTLER 49Mike Pratkanis 2 0-0 4, Jeff Slater 4 0-2 9, Logan Renwick 1 0-0 2, Nick Rossmiller 2 0-0 4, Ryan Melder 1 1-1 3, Christos Klutinoty 3 1-2 10, Nick Powers 1 0-0 2, Cody Fleeger 6 2-2 15, Austin Snodgrass 0 0-0 0, Brian Jendesky 0 0-0 0, Ben Bachman 0 0-0 0, Jeff Tompkins 0 0-0 0, David Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Roman Bargo 0 0-0 0, Bob Swartwout 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 4-7 49.Central Catholic 21 12 21 21—75Butler 13 9 17 10—493-point goals: Central Catholic 5 (McKenna 2, Rajakovich, Halferty, McCune); Butler 5 (Klutinoty 3, Fleeger, Slater)Friday: Plum at ButlerOLIVER 34Delvon Murray 1 0-0 2, Evan Schell 2 0-0 6, Tawayne Steele 1 2-5 4, Dion Hollinger 1 1-2 3, DaVaughn Copeland 1 0-0 3, Shawn Ellis 3 0-0 8, Tyrek Morgan 1 0-0 2, Anthony Roberts 2 2-3 6. Totals: 12 5-10 34.SENECA VALLEY 55John Fitzpatrick 2 3-6 7, Sean Gress 1 0-0 2, Ryan Turner 0 3-4 3, C.J. Brown 6 0-0 12, Nate Herrmann 3 5-7 11, Dan Rohm 1 0-0 3, Matt Vogt 2 2-4 6, Dustin Anewalt 3 0-0 6, Evan Mitro 1 1-1 3, Joe Belechak 1 0-0 2, Christian Durbin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 14-22 55.Oliver 10 3 9 12—34Seneca Valley 15 14 19 7—553-point goals: Oliver 5 (Ellis 2, Schell 2, Copeland); Seneca Valley 1 (Rohm).JV: Oliver 82-76 (2OT)Friday: Pine-Richland at Seneca Valley