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Butler's Ethan Morton erupted for 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, as Class 6A No. 2-ranked Butler stormed back for a victory.
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Boy's basketball highlights: Butler surges in fourth quarter for a victory

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Boy's basketball highlights: Butler surges in fourth quarter for a victory

By the end of the third quarter Friday in a game against Central Catholic, Butler found itself behind and trying to contain a monster game from the Vikings’ Ben Sarson. But the Golden Tornado has a star of its own in Ethan Morton, who turned in a virtuoso fourth-quarter performance that turned a tight game into a runaway win.

Morton erupted for 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, as Class 6A No. 2-ranked Butler stormed back for a 79-67 victory in Section 1. Morton, a Purdue recruit, also had 12 rebounds and 8 assists.

Butler (9-4, 4-0) sealed the win with a 23-9 rally in the final frame. That performance overshadowed a terrific game by Sarson of Central Catholic (7-5, 1-3) who netted a career-best 42 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

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Other boys games

Upper St. Clair 67, Bethel Park 50: Down two starters due to injuries, the Panthers took a step back — behind the 3-point line. Class 6A No. 5 Upper St. Clair (12-1, 4-0) connected on nine shots from behind the arc and pulled way for the Section 2 triumph. Luke Gensler knocked down four 3s in the first half and finished with 23 points. Ryan Meis of Bethel Park (7-6, 2-2) led all scorers with 24.

Canon McMillan 50, Baldwin 48: The Big Macs (4-8, 1-3) held off a late rally to secure their first win of the season in 6A Section 2. Gavin Miller Paced the visitors with 12 points. The Highlanders (5-7, 0-4) outscored Canon-McMillan, 17-10, in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback. Conner Lavelle scored a game-high 17 points for Baldwin.

Mt. Lebanon 72, Peters Township 43: Jake Reinke’s 16 points paced four players in double figures for the 6A No. 3 Blue Devils (10-3, 4-0) in their rout of Section 2 foe Peters Township (7-6, 1-3). Sam Petrarca led the Indians with 17 points.

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Uniontown 97, Elizabeth Forward 61: The 4A No. 4 Red Raiders (9-1, 4-0) came close to hitting the century mark, but settled for their highest point total of the season in a big Section 3 win against Elizabeth Forward (3-7, 1-3). Billy DeShields’ 27-point effort highlighted five players who scored in double figures for Uniontown.

Westinghouse 58, Perry 54: In the City League, Rafeik Sirmons put in 19 points to guide the Bulldogs (3-6, 0-3). The Commodores (0-11, 0-3) got 17 points from Justin Roldan.

Obama Academy 48, Brashear 36: The Eagles (6-4, 3-0), ranked second in the City League, raced to a 18-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Tariq Francis led the way with 21 points. The third-ranked Bulls (3-5, 2-1) got 14 points from Cheron Collington.

Highlands 80, Mt. Pleasant 59: A second-half burst propelled the Rams, ranked fifth in 5A, to a 80-59 Section 1 victory. Both Johnny Crise and Wahkeem Roman had double-doubles of 12 points and 12 rebounds for Highlands (11-2, 3-1). Mt. Pleasant (6-6, 2-2) put up a fight in the first half behind 25 points from Jake Johnson, who finished with 33. The game was tied, 38-38, at halftime.

Aquinas Academy 80, Propel Montour 49: Vinnie Cugini, the third-leading scorer in the WPIAL at 30.9 points per game, kept up the pace against Propel Montour (0-10, 0-5) with 29 points for the Crusaders (4-7, 2-4). After losing its first 66 section games, Aquinas Academy has won two in a row in 1A Section 3.

Clairton 84, Leechburg 78: Trailing by 10 points in the first quarter, the Bears (7-3, 5-1) turned it around with a 22-11 second-quarter run and held off the Blue Devils in 1A Section 3. Brendan Parsons knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 24 points for Clairton. Kenlein Ogletree added 23 points. For Leechburg (8-4, 3-3), Connor McDermott did most of his damage from behind the arc. He connected on six 3s and scored 23.

Jefferson-Morgan 65, Avella 63: With 3 seconds remaining, Tahj Jacobs’ layup fell through the net and lifted the Rockets (4-9, 2-3) to a 1A Section 2 victory against Avella (1-4, 4-9). Jacobs finished with a game-high 22 points.

Sto-Rox 60, Riverview 58: Jamil Williams’ game-winner in overtime gave the Vikings (6-6, 5-1) a hard-fought win in 2A Section 1. Williams was on fire the entire game, sinking 10 of 11 shots to finish with 20 points. A.J. Nelson added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Riverview (6-7, 2-4) got 18 points from Gideon Deasy.

Vincentian 82, Eden Christian 62: In a battle of academies, it was the 1A No. 1 Royals who came out on top in Section 1. Priest Ryan’s 20 points topped five players in double figures for Vincentian (8-3, 6-0). Thomas Medure poured in 22 for Eden (9-3, 4-2).

Allderdice 77, Carrick 41: City League No. 1 Allderdice (9-2, 3-0) got 23 points from Tony Henderson as the Dragons raced to a 23-10 lead in the first quarter against Carrick (2-9, 0-3) and then cruised to victory.

New Castle 54, Central Valley 52: New Castle (7-4, 3-2), ranked third in 4A, edged the Warriors (6-5, 2-3) behind a 23-point performance by Mike Wells.

Shaler 76, Franklin Regional 69: Mekhi Reynolds of 5A No. 2 Shaler (9-3, 6-0) was too much for Section 3 foe Franklin Regional (4-9, 2-4), as he led the Titans with 31 points, including five 3-pointers.

Stars of the night

■ The leading scorer in the WPIAL outdid himself. Cam Polak of Steel Valley began Friday atop the district with an average of 32.1 points per game. He upped that average by pouring in 43 points for the Ironmen (7-4, 4-2) in their 81-62 win against Burrell (1-10, 1-4) in 3A Section 3.

■ Demitri Fritch’s triple-double powered 2A No. 2 Springdale (12-1, 6-0) to a 72-59 victory at Summit Academy (3-7, 1-5). Fritch put together a line of 19 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

First Published: January 11, 2020, 5:00 a.m.

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Butler's Ethan Morton erupted for 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, as Class 6A No. 2-ranked Butler stormed back for a victory.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
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