Epic Victory
MOON TWP — Another epic.
A huge rebound by Mason Montag set up an improbable game-tying 3-point play late in regulation and Devin Carney and Ethan Morton combined for 67 points Wednesday night, leading Butler to an 83-78 overtime win over Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals at Robert Morris University's UPNC Events Center.
The Golden Tornado (19-4) won their 14th straight game and will face Mt. Lebanon in a rematch of last year's 6A final on Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center.
“You just can't measure the heart of these kids to fight back the way they do,” Butler coach Matt Clement said.
The Tornado trailed by five with 25 seconds left in the first overtime of their double-OT quarterfinal win over Peters Township Saturday. This time, they trailed USC (20-4) by five with 40 seconds left in regulation.
Morton sank two free throws to cut the deficit to 76-73 with 36 seconds left. Ethan Dahlem missed the front end of a one-and-one with 33 seconds left for the Panthers.
Carney's shot missed, but Montag outfought two defenders for the rebound, slipped a pass to Morton, and Morton laid it in while being fouled with 26 seconds to go.
Morton drained the free throw, USC missed a last-second shot at the other end and the teams headed to overtime.
“Biggest rebound of our season,” Morton said of Montag's board. “Without it, we lose. He has been making big plays like that. That's a guy who doesn't want his senior year to end that way.”
USC held the ball for the first two minutes of overtime, slowing down what had been an extremely fast-paced game. Morton eventually stole the ball. He hit a layup with 1:22 left in OT and Carney drained a runner with 57 seconds left for an 82-78 lead.
Carney and Morton both hit free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.
“We are comfortable getting up and down the floor,” Carney said. “Ethan and I can get to the basket. I was surprised at the pace of this game, how it kept up for that long.”
So was Clement.
“Ethan and Devin made so many plays in the first half. I didn't know if they could keep it up. Both missed some shots in the second half, but didn't go away.”
Carney led Butler with 35 points. Morton added 33 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists.
David Pantelis led USC with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He had five assists as well, but fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Landon Rauch, who scored 14 points, fouled out late in the fourth as well.
“They were the two guys guarding Ethan,” Clement said. “They did a good job, but ran out of fouls. With those two out, we were able to do our thing in overtime.”Luke Gensler had 16 points and six rebounds, Andrew Casey 15 points and six boards, Dahlem 7 assists and four steals in the Panther's loss.“Don't have much to say right now,” USC coach Danny Holzer said. “That was a great high school basketball game, probably a lot of fun to watch.”“Both teams played hard and played clean, just getting after each other,” Clement said. “That is a great team over there with great players and great coaches.”The score was tied seven times and the lead changed hands on 12 occasions. The biggest lead held by either team was nine (26-17) by Butler early in the second quarter.“I love how we find ways to hang in,” Morton said. “This is memorable.”“I'm just happy for the community of Butler,” Clement said.UPPER ST. CLAIR 78Ethan Dalhem 3-6 0-1 6, David Pantelis 9-18 1-2 22, Landon Rauch 6-9 0-1 14, Luke Gensler 6-17 0-0 16, Andrew Casey 7-16 0-1 15, Josh Russell 0-4 0-0 0, Jack Kingseed 1-7 2-2 4, Jack Moore 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 32-77 4-9 78.BUTLER 83Raines Gratzmiller 1-2 0-0 2, Devin Carney 12-25 10-13 35, Mattix Clement 2-9 0-1 6, Charlie Kreinbucher 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Montag 1-1 0-0 2, Ethan Morton 10-16 11-13 32, Madden Clement 2-3 0-0 6. Totals: 28-56 22-26 83.Upper St. Clair 15 23 20 18 2 — 78Butler18 21 19 18 7 — 833-point goals: Pantelis 3, Rauch 2, Gensler, Casey; Carney, Mat. Clement 2, Morton, Mad. Clement 2Saturday: Butler vs. Mt. Lebanon in WPIAL Class 6A championship game, 9 p.m. at Petersen Events Center
