Ballistreri helps Butler outlast Dover - Dailyrecord.com

BUTLER â€" Down 35-32 at the end of the third quarter, the Butler boys basketball team held Dover to only five points as the Bulldogs went on to score 21 in the fourth quarter to defeat the Tigers 53-40 on Saturday afternoon in Butler.

Sophomore guard Nick Ballistreri, who finished with 21 points, scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to lead Butler (4-4). The Bulldogs won their first game without captain James Spadaccinni, who is currently out with an ACL injury.

“It’s been a struggle,” Butler coach Jon Simoneau said of playing without Spadaccinni. “Actually, it was February of 2006 the last time the program won a game without James on the court. We knew when he went down getting that giant grill off our back of getting a win without him was going to be hard to do, and we did it. I’m very proud of the guys. They really had to grit it out. That fourth quarter is one of the best fourth quarters I’ve seen in Butler basketball in a long time. They worked really hard for it.”

The Bulldogs were down from the start and had to play catch-up almost the entire game. Dover went up 16-9 at the end of the first quarter, and was up 19-12 with 5 minutes 40 seconds left in the half before Butler started to chip away and make a comeback.

A basket by senior forward Mike McConville pulled Butler to 19-14, but a free throw by senior guard Errick Williams put Dover up 20-14. McConville sank a 3-pointer with 2:20 left to pull the Bulldogs within 20-17, and two free throws by senior guard Nick Costa drew Butler within one, 20-19. Junior guard Joe Lopez scored with 52.1 seconds left for a 22-19 lead, but Ballistreri scored with .2 seconds left in the quarter to send the game to halftime with the Bulldogs trailing by one, 22-21.

“We played pretty well, our defense was really good,” Ballistreri said. “We have to improve on turnovers but all-in-all it was a good game.”

Costa’s basket with 6:55 left in the third put the Bulldogs up 23-22 for their first lead since going up 2-0 to start the game. But Dover went back in front 26-23 by back-to-back baskets by Lopez and senior forward Nick Salterelli. Ballistreri pulled Butler back within one 26-25, and a steal and a layup by McConville with 3:09 left put Butler back in front 27-26.

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The two teams traded baskets until senior forward Terence Berry, who scored a game-high 24 points, hit three consecutive 3-pointers to put the Tigers up 35-32 to end the third quarter.

The fourth quarter is where Butler finally turned the tide. Berry scored the Tigers’ final five points as Butler went on a tear to seal the victory 53-40.

“We ran out of steam (in the fourth quarter),” Dover coach John O’Hara said. “We don’t have a bench, we have only five or six guys that we rely on and they ran out of steam.

“I think we came out, had our game plan on, we played well defensively. I was happy with our defense but the boxing out got us again. At the end we ran out of gas, and the boxing out and they hit their free throws. Hats off to Butler, they played well.”

For the Bulldogs, McConville scored 15 points and Costa chipped in with 10. Williams and Salterelli each scored six for the Tigers (1-7).

Butler 53, Dover 40

Butler 53, Dover 40

Dover (40): Berry 3 0-0 24, Saltarelli 3 0-0 6, Williams 1 4-0 6, Lopez 2 0-0 4. Totals: 9 4-0 40

Butler (53): Ballistreri 5 5-0 21, Costa 1 8-0 10, McConville 2 2-0 15, Del Pan 2 0-0 4, White 1 0-0 2, Fitzpatrick 0 1-0 1. Totals: 11 16-0 53

Dover (1-7)	16	6	13	5	â€"	40
Butler (4-4)	9	12	11	21	â€"	53

3-point goals: (D) Berry 6; (B) McConville 3, Ballistreri 2