CENTER TWP, Beaver County — Finding a recipe for winning without leading scorer Ethan Morton isn't a problem the Butler boys basketball program want to worry about long term.

The Golden Tornado discovered a good idea of what it can't afford to do Friday night against Lincoln Park in the opener of the 28th RBA Holiday C.J Betters Classic at the Golden Dome.

The Golden Tornado were undone by poor outside shooting and turnovers in a 72-59 loss to the defending WPIAL Class 3A champion Leopards.

Butler shot 23 percent (6-of-26) from beyond the arc. Morton was out of for the second consecutive contest with an ankle sprain.

“We haven't been able to get everyone clicking from three,” Tornado coach Matt Clement said. “Hopefully, in this exhibition time we get out misses out of the way so when the section games start we are shooting a little bit better. Maybe their defense a little bit, but with this crew we are having trouble running offense.”

Butler (5-3) showed flashes of being able to hassle the Leopards. After falling behind 6-0 and missing its first five shots, the Tornado rallied to take an 18-16 lead by the end of the first quarter.

A layup from Devin Carney, who led Butler with 19 points, gave Butler its largest lead, 22-16, early in the second quarter.

Mason Montag (15 points) and Charles Kreinbucher (12) also finished in double figures for the Tornado.

“We've been more aggressive on rebounds and scoring,” said Montag, who shot 4-of-6 from the 3-point line. “A lot of people are looking to score now who weren't before. With Ethan out, he got a lot of our rebounds and we are trying to be more physical.”

Lincoln Park (7-1) clamped down late in the first half. The Leopards closed the second quarter on a 7-2 run and took a 39-33 lead into halftime.

Lincoln Park leaned on its defense to turn the game around.

“I feel like they were slacking at first,” Montag said. “After a couple people started making shots, they started playing rougher defense and made shots tougher for everybody.”

The Leopards playing physical isn't something coach Mike Bariski shies away from. In Lincoln Park's section, that is par for the course. Closing out on shooters is part of the equation.

“We work on that a lot,” Bariski said. “Today's basketball is 3-pointers. (Mattix Clement), (Carney) and (Montag) are great shooters. We were prepared for the dribble drive and to close out on shooters. But great shooters find a place to hide and make shots.”

Lincoln Park rallied behind its balanced attack.

Tanner Mathos led the Leopards with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Andre Wilder (14 points), Isaiah Smith (13) and Johnnie Bryant (11) were also in double figures.

Butler was able to cut the Leopards' lead to 62-56 halfway through the fourth quarter followed by two free throws from Kreinbucher. The Golden Tornado were unable to get enough stops to get back into the game.

Clement is happy with the progress being made. While Butler didn't win without Morton, the Golden Tornado weren't intimidated in certain situations without him either.

“There are people in positions they aren't normally in,” Clement said. “The biggest positive out of these last two games is that we've handled the press of both teams. … If I thought something was going to beat us it was going to be the press. That's great for Raine, Devin and Mattix.”

BUTLER 60

Devin Carney 7 3-5 19, Raine Gratzmiller 1 1-2 3, Mattix Clement 3 3-4 9, Charlie Kreinbucher 2 7-8 11, Mason Montag 6 1-2 15, David Leslie 0 0-0 0, Austin Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Zach Slomers 0 1-2 1, Dom McCowan 0 0-0 0, Madden Clement 0 0-0 0, Logan Koegler 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 14-21 60.

LINCOLN PARK 74

Johnnie Bryant 3 4-5 11, Dakari Bradford 2 0-0 5, Isaiah Smith 3 4-6 13, Andre Wilder 4 2-4 14, Tanner Mathos 7 6-8 2-, L.A. Pratt 1 0-0 2, Montae Reddix 2 0-0 4, Sean Tanner 0 0-0 0, Elias Bishop 1 3-4 5, Jake Ryan 0 0-0 0, Sterling Moreland 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 19-27 74.

Butler 18 15 16 11 — 60

Lincoln Park16 23 21 14 — 74

3-point goals: Butler 6 (Montag 4, Carney 2); Lincoln Park 6 (Smith 3, Bradford, Bryant, Wilder)

Saturday: Butler vs. Beaver Falls