BUTLER TWP - Blake Anderson's first home varsity basketball game will serve as a lasting memory.

The junior guard sank all six of his free throw attempts in the final 39 seconds, enabling the Butler boys to secure a come-from-behind 48-44 win over Altoona Tuesday night.

Butler (2-1) trailed by 10 points at halftime, by 12 early in the third quarter and never led until Noah Hartung completed a three-point play with 4:49 left in the game.

"This is a great win for this team," Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. "There's nothing like having confidence and you get confidence by winning games like this."

The Tornado managed just two field goals and five points in the first quarter. They trailed 27-17 at halftime as Altoona (2-1) sank 10 of 18 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers.

"We knew they could shoot the basketball, but we didn't know they'd shoot it that well," Lewandowski said. "We like to stop penetration, but our halftime adjustment was to take a big man out of there and start staying with our man along the perimeter."

The adjustment worked.

The Mountain Lions managed just one 3-pointer and 17 points in the second half. They hit five of 21 shots from the floor.

"They put an extra guard on the floor and that was an effective move by them," Altoona coach Kraig Hetz said. "We're not very strong inside and we rely on perimeter shooting. That defense gave us trouble."

Normally a guard, Butler's Adam Monday, came off the bench and played inside, despite standing just 5-feet-10.

Monday's affect was felt offensively as well. He hit a layup to pull the Tornado to within 29-23 with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter. Monday sank a free throw with 32 seconds left in the period, then scored a layup off a steal just before quarter's end to pull the Tornado within 31-28.

"This is two straight games now where Adam Monday came off the bench and hit a couple of big shots to get us going," Lewandowski said.

After Noah Hartung's three-point play gave Butler the lead, Altoona's Jesse Betar knotted the game at 37 with two free throws with 1:58 left in the game.

Altoona had consecutive possessions lasting more than a minute each as the Lions looked for a good shot.

"Their defense wasn't giving us much," Hetz said. "We did get off three or four shots by guys I wanted taking them - they just didn't go in."

Nate Hartung gave the Tornado the lead for good by sinking a layup with 1:40 left. The 6-3 senior led Butler with 13 points and six rebounds.

"He's a game-changer," Lewandowski said. "Nate clogs up the lane and he's such a strong finisher with the ball inside that no one can stop him."

Butler's remaining points came from the foul line. Anderson sank a free throw for a 40-37 lead with 1:27 left. He sank two free throws each at the 39, 29 and five-second marks, making it a two-possession game each time.

Jerrod Markle added a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left, giving Butler a 46-42 lead at the time.

The Tornado sank 14 of 16 free throws on the night, 10 of 11 in the fourth quarter. Butler had just three turnovers in the second half.

"For Blake Anderson to do what he did down the stretch in his first varsity game is incredible," Lewandowski said.

Monday had 10 points off the bench for Butler. Noah Hartung contributed five of 23 rebounds.

Brian Forney paced Altoona - a PIAA Western Final team two years ago and coming off a 15-10 campaign - with 11 points. Denwood Howard had nine of the Mountain Lions' 24 rebounds.

ALTOONA 44

Kevin Hamilton 0-0 0-0 0, Jesse Betar 1-4 4-6 7, Adam Kaack 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Forney 4-15 0-0 11, David Thompson 3-10 0-0 7, Matt Dukery 2-3 2-2 6, Denwood Howard 2-2 2-2 6, Matt Fagan 3-5 0-0 7. Totals: 15-39 8-10 44

BUTLER 48

Nate Hartung 6-11 11 13, Noah Hartung 2-7 3-3 7, Nick Martini 0-1 0-0 0, Jerrod Markle 1-4 2-2 5, Adam Monday 4-7 1-2 10, Blake Anderson 1-5 7-8 9, Sean Lowry 2-3 0-0 4, Jade Burka 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 16-40 14-16 48

3-point goals:

Betar, Forney 3, Thompson, Fagan; Markle, Monday

JV:

Altoona, 42-35 (A-Matt Dukery 22, B-Cody Fleeger 11)

Thursday:

Butler @ Central Catholic