Jonathan Anderson leads No. 1 New Castle past No. 2 Butler in renewed rivalry

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, January 7, 2023 | 12:22 AM

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New Castle’s Jonathan Anderson already knew all about his school’s old rivalry with Butler, even though the senior hadn’t faced the Tornado in his playing days.

“I’ve been hearing about it all week in school,” he said. “They’ve been saying we haven’t seen Butler and New Castle play in so long. We knew there were going to be a lot of people here.”

That proved true, but Anderson disappointed the Butler crowd by making four 3-pointers in the first half and scoring a game-high 26 points as No. 1 New Castle defeated No. 2 Butler, 71-60, Friday night in a Section 1-6A matchup with a somewhat misleading final score.

The Red Hurricanes had led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter and were ahead by 18 when both teams pulled their starters with less than 2 minutes left.

The game was the first between the teams since 2014.

“We knew it was going to be a hostile environment,” Anderson said. “But we know if we keep our composure and play our game, it doesn’t really matter. We can come out with a win.”

New Castle (10-0, 2-0) spoiled much of the suspense by forcing five turnovers in the first 4 minutes and jumping to a quick 10-point lead. The Red Hurricanes shot 54% in the first half (15 for 28), a success rate Butler (9 for 22) didn’t match.

The lead was 19 by halftime.

“I’m disappointed it was a good crowd tonight and we didn’t make it a better game,” Butler coach Matt Clement said.

New Castle had three scorers in double figures. Along with Anderson, Nick Wallace had 17 points, and Da’Jaun Young added 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Braylon Littlejohn led Butler (9-2, 1-1) with 25 points and scored 19 after halftime as the Tornado tried to rally. Donovan Carney added 11 points.

Butler finished 3 for 22 from 3-point range.

As a fourth-year varsity player, Anderson has become a mainstay in the New Castle program. He’s followed after his brother, Shawn, who starred for the Red Hurricanes a decade ago.

The 5-foot-11 point guard grew from being a role-playing freshman to a reliable junior last season, before emerging this winter as a team leader. He scored 18 points in the first half Friday as the Red Hurricanes raced to leads of 21-11 after one quarter and 38-19 at half.

“Give Jonathan Anderson credit,” Clement said. “He took over the game from the jump ball and won the game. He was the best player on the court and it wasn’t even close.”

Anderson shot 7 for 12 in the first half, and made his first four attempts from beyond the arc.

“He’s a senior now and it’s his team,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “He’s done a really good job and he’s playing good basketball. He believes in his game and he knows what he can do.”

Anderson was a starter a year ago when New Castle finished as both the WPIAL and PIAA runner-up in Class 5A, but the team had other scorers ahead of him. He’s now the team’s second-leading scorer at 18.4 points per game, trailing only Isaiah Boice (18.8 ppg).

“I knew coming into this year, we were losing Mike Wells, we were losing Mike Graham, we were losing storied players,” Anderson said. “To help us put up points, I knew I had to get in the gym and work all summer.”

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.

Tags: Butler, New Castle