WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball preview: Butler vs. Mt. Lebanon

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, March 2, 2019 | 1:30 AM

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Class 6A boys

Mt. Lebanon (21-3) vs. Butler (20-4)

9 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center

Starting lineups

No. 3 Mt. Lebanon (21-3)

Coach: Joe David

No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.

4 Hayden Mitchell, G, 6-2, Sr.

10 Blaine Gartley, G, 5-9, Jr.

20 Mike Palmer, G, 5-10, Sr.

22 Sean Loughran, G, 6-4, Sr.

33 Jake Hoffman, G, 6-3, Jr.

No. 5 Butler (20-4)

Coach: Matt Clement

No. Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.

2 Devin Carney, G, 6-0, Fr.

5 Mattix Clement, G, 6-0, So.

20 Luke Patten, G, 6-4, Jr.

25 Ethan Morton, G, 6-6, Jr.

33 Isaiah Scribner, C, 6-2, Sr.

Title-game history: Butler has four WPIAL titles. The last won in 1991 when coach Matt Clement was a player. The Tornado’s three others it owns are more than 100-years old in 1912, ’14 and ’15. Butler was WPIAL runner-up in 2017 to Pine-Richland. Mt. Lebanon has three WPIAL titles (1961, 2006, ’10).

Notable: Butler lost at Mt. Lebanon, 87-60, on Dec. 12. Hoffman scored a game-high 27 points in that win for the Blue Devils. Morton was held to 12 points as Carney led Butler with 14. Morton, a major D1 recruit, finished as the second-leading scorer in the WPIAL regular season behind only Woodland Hills’ Keandre Bowles. Butler’s Luke Patten was injured in the team’s semifinal win. His availablity for the finals was unknown. Butler averages 73.3 points per game, second among WPIAL Class 6A teams. Mt. Lebanon ranks fourth at 67.5.

Predicted winner: Mt. Lebanon

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, Mt. lebanon