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Butler finds ‘desperation mode,’ boosts playoffs hopes by defeating Pine-Richland

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Saturday, February 5, 2022 | 12:14 AM

One team in Butler’s brutal section may be left home when the playoffs start, which has the Golden Tornado convinced it can’t lose another game.

In fact, senior Raine Gratzmiller described the players’ mindset as “desperation mode.” But their situation got a little less dire Friday night when they celebrated an 82-80 victory at No. 5 Pine-Richland, a team that had already beaten Butler twice this season.

In Gratzmiller’s mind, the playoffs had already started.

“That’s exactly how coach was telling us to treat it,” he said. “I was telling everyone: ‘This is a playoff game.’ I don’t care if it’s regular season or just a normal section game, it’s a playoff game, because we’re fighting for our lives.”

Butler (10-8, 4-7) had four scorers in double figures led by Devin Carney with 27 points. Braylon Littlejohn scored 21, Gratzmiller had 19 and Madden Clement added 11. Butler sprinted to a 26-8 first-quarter lead and later held strong in the fourth as that lead shrunk to one point.

The result was another heartbreaking loss for Pine-Richland (10-9, 5-5), which has lost five games by four points or less. Andy Swartout scored 16 points, Andrew Alexander had 15, Luke Shanahan had 14 and Nate Zavasky added 10.

Pine-Richland had a chance to tie at the foul line with four seconds left, but Alexander missed the front of a one-and-one. A long 3-pointer at the buzzer by Swartout also missed.

“Every single game we’ve played has been like this,” Pine-Richland coach Bob Petcash said. “In the North Hills game, we’re down two with 14 seconds left. North Allegheny came down to the last six seconds. Every game is just a battle.”

That parity created a logjam in the section standings.

Top-ranked North Hills (17-0, 9-0) ran away with the Section 1-6A title. But Pine-Richland (5-5), North Allegheny (4-6), Butler (4-7) and Seneca Valley (3-7) have beaten up on one another.

Only the top four teams are guaranteed playoff spots, meaning one team would be left home. Butler’s postseason hopes took a hit Tuesday when the team lost at home to Seneca Valley, 77-74, but beating Pine-Richland was a big bounce-back win.

“After the last game, I was so afraid to look at (the tiebreaker scenarios),” Butler coach Matt Clement said, “because I didn’t want it to be a situation where we had no chance to get in.”

Butler now controls its destiny.

Win Tuesday at home against North Allegheny, and Clement’s team would be guaranteed a playoff spot. Butler has already defeated NA twice this year, 84-78 and 86-79.

Butler could back into the playoffs with a loss, but Clement doesn’t want to take that chance.

“The basketball in this section is too good,” he said. “I don’t feel like we’re in. We feel like we’ve got to go win on Tuesday night.”

It’s possible all five section teams make the playoffs.

If there’s an unbreakable three-way tie for third place, all three teams would qualify. Right now, North Allegheny holds a tiebreaker over Seneca Valley, Butler holds a tiebreaker over North Allegheny, and Seneca Valley holds a tiebreaker over Butler.

Pine-Richland already clinched a playoff spot by holding tiebreakers over both Butler and Seneca Valley.

Butler started Friday’s game playing like a desperate team. Gratzmiller scored eight points in the first quarter, Littlejohn had seven and the Tornado quickly built a double-digit lead.

They finished the first quarter with a 16-0 run. Key was Butler’s transition offense. Carney, Gratzmiller and Littlejohn all scored layups in transition in the final 90 seconds.

“We’ve been struggling with our transition offense, even in practice against some of our JV guys,” Gratzmiller said. “That was a big focal point of what we wanted to get to this game. I thought we rebounded really well and pushed the ball.”

Pine-Richland’s shooters started cold on a day when snow canceled in-person classes. The Rams made only two shots in the first quarter and didn’t make a 3-pointer until the second, despite typically being a good perimeter shooting team.

Butler led 26-8 after one quarter.

“When you come out with a great crowd like this and a great student section, I don’t know how you come not ready to play,” Petcash said, “but we fought back. I never count us out.”

Pine-Richland’s scorers found their shot in the second quarter and started cutting into Butler’s lead. The Rams finished the first half on a 10-0 run including a buzzer-beating runner by Shanahan.

Butler’s lead was 36-31 at half.

Pine-Richland cut the lead further in the third. The Rams twice narrowed the gap to four points, once on a 3-pointer by Zavasky and later on a turn-around jumper by Swartout.

But each time, Butler held onto the lead.

After a quiet first half, Carney took over in the second by scoring around the rim. The Butler senior had 23 of his game-high 27 points after halftime, including 12 in the third quarter as the Tornado stretched its lead again. Butler led 60-47 after three.

Carney didn’t make any 3s in Friday’s game. Instead, he made eight 2-pointers and went 11 for 12 from the foul line.

“Teams are putting a lot of pressure on him outside,” Clement said. “He’s such a good 3-point shooter that we don’t mind him taking those shots, but he got downhill early and got them in foul trouble. … He got to the rim, and that won the game.”

Pine-Richland had one more rally with six 3-pointers in the final quarter. A 3 by Zavasky cut Butler’s lead to 67-61 with four minutes left, and the gap shrunk to 74-71 when Alexander hit a 3 with 90 seconds remaining. Another 3-pointer, this time by Pine’s Josh Gimble with 12 seconds to play, cut Butler’s lead to 81-80.

Gratzmiller made one of two free throws, pushing Butler’s lead back to two points.

With four seconds left, Pine-Richland had a one-and-one chance to tie, but Alexander’s first free throw missed. He’d just made a pair of free throws 13 seconds earlier, but this one didn’t fall.

“This is massive for us,” Gratzmiller said of the win. “It took a team of guys in desperation mode.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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