Finding A Way
CANONSBURG — with an emphatic dunk with 15 seconds left, Ethan Morton let out a roar.
It was a release of sorts for the Butler junior point guard and a punctuation mark on a Butler boys basketball win that was anything but emphatic.
“It was a little bit of everything,” Morton said, smiling. “Relief, mostly.”
Relief because the Golden Tornado nearly became first-round WPIAL 6A playoff upset victims before gutting out a 57-48 victory Tuesday over Connellsville at Canon-McMillan High School.
Morton and the entire Butler team struggled for the majority of the game as Connellsville (8-15) showed it wasn't going to bow out of the postseason quietly.
The Falcons led 17-14 after the first quarter with Jalen Rogers scoring 12 of his game-high 29 points in the opening eight minutes. The Falcons trailed by six at the half, but whittled away at the Butler lead and actually took a 41-40 lead with a little more than five minutes left in the fourth.
Morton sat helplessly on the bench in foul trouble as Connellsville made its run.
It was an uncomfortable feeling for Morton.
“More for me,” quipped Butler coach Matt Clement.
But then Morton hit a big 3-pointer to give Butler a two-point lead. The Golden Tornado never relinquished the advantage again.
Instead Morton elevated his game, scoring 10 of his team-leading 18 points in the final five minutes.
After he hit his go-ahead 3-pointer, Morton showed more emotion than he usually does on the court.
“I wanted to jump-start us,” Morton said. “It's whatever it takes when you get to the playoffs. It's a totally different game and you're putting it all on the line.”
Clement had a feeling his team was in for a difficult night. He knew Connellsville coach Andrew Hedrick well from Hedrick's days at Blackhawk and knew his 2-3 zone was a tricky one to play against.
“I knew it wasn't going to be a pretty game unless we came out and just played awesome to start the game,” Clement said. “The zone they play ... is unpredictable. You can't simulate that zone in practice. You can simulate a 2-3 zone, but that's not what you're going to see.”
The zone befuddled Butler (18-4) and Morton for three-plus quarters.
Mattix Clement kept the Golden Tornado afloat with five 3-pointers — every one a dagger — and also did the gritty things that don't show up in a box score.
“I never mention his name, well, ever, but I thought Mattix's energy and his game tonight was great,” Matt Clement said. “The rebound he got late, the loose balls he got, the pressure on their guards really helped us.”
Morton also gave a shout out to his teammates for picking him up, namely Luke Patten and Mason Montag, who were playing with illnesses.
Neither had practiced in nearly a week.
Patten had 10 points.
“It was a total team effort,” Morton said. “We have to play better, but to survive — it's whatever it takes at this point.“Just to get a taste of that first one is something I've been craving for awhile, no matter how it happened.”Butler outscored Connellsville 17-7 over the final five-plus minutes to give the Tornado a little momentum going into the second round against Upper St. Clair Saturday at a site and time to be determined.“It was a hard-fought game,” Matt Clement said. “Did we play our best? No. But a playoff win with a lot of dudes who haven't had a lot of playoff experience is a win.”CONNELLSVILLE 48Blake Lancaster 1-1 0-0 2, Tanner Orndorff 0-2 0-0 0, Jalen Rogers 13-17 3-4 29, Josh Maher 4-6 3-4 11, Dylan Bubarth 2-11 1-2 6, Sam Solsson 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Lubich 0-0 0-0 0, Kade Musgrove 0-0 0-0 0, Jaron Small 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 20-40 7-10 48.BUTLER 57Devin CArney 3-11 0-0 7, Mattox Cl;ement 5-9 0-0 15, Luke Patten 3-6 4-4 10, Ethan Morton 5-9 7-8 18, Isaiah Scribner 1-1 1-1 3, Mason Montag 1-4 0-2 2, Charlie Kreinbucher 1-1 0-0 2, Colby Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-41 12-15 57.Connellsville 17 6 14 11 — 48Butler14 15 11 17 — 573-point goals: Bubarth; Carney, Clement 5, MortonSaturday: Butler vs. Upper St. Clair, site and time TBA
