NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Tuesday night showcased the second installment of the renewed rivalry between New Castle and Butler. The first matchup, back on Jan. 6 and the first since 2014, went in favor of the New Castle Hurricanes. The second time around, not much changed as the Hurricanes won handily by the score of 64-49.
In the initial meeting, Hurricanes’ 1,000-point scorer Isaiah Boice broke his foot and missed the next seven games. Senior Jonathon Anderson took on an added rule and led the Hurricanes’ offense in Boice’s absence.
In the first quarter and to the surprise of many, Boice checked into a game for the first time since the injury. After a fast start for Butler’s Braylon Littlejohn and a turnover-infested first quarter, the Golden Tornadoes led 11-10.
“It feels fine now. I don’t think [Butler] thought that I was going to play today until they walked in,” said Boice to PSN after the game.
Despite slow games for both Anderson and Boice, seniors DaJaun Young and Nick Wallace helped awaken the offense in the second quarter as they outscored the Golden Tornadoes themselves 11-8.
New Castle entered halftime with a lead of 28-19.
The Hurricanes would open the third quarter on an 8-0 run. The Golden Tornado answered back with two small runs of their own but trailed by 9 points entering the final frame.
To begin the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes went on another large scoring run that opened the lead up to as many as 18 points.
The Hurricanes went on to win by the score of 64-49 despite a strong performance from Butler’s Littlejohn, who finished with a game-high 32 points.
Young finished with a team-high 22 points for the Hurricanes, hitting 10 of his 17 field goal attempts. He also grabbed 12 rebounds, including three on the offensive glass, in the double-double performance. Wallace also had a strong performance as he finished with 18 points, including four three pointers. Wallace dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds as well.
“It feels great. We always love to have our energy and once we play like that, we know we are going to come out with a big win,” said Young after the game. “We love to compete and when we come together I feel [as if] we are unstoppable.”
With this win, the Hurricanes are in a strong position to win the district’s 10th-overall section title and the first in Class-6A.
“We have to keep our energy. We have to stick together. It’s not a one-man game, it’s a whole team [effort.] I feel like down the road, we can make it a long way,” said Young.
After losing in last year’s Class-5A PIAA title game, the Hurricanes moved up a classification and graduated two starters. Couple that with losing Boice for nearly a month this season and the Hurricanes have shown their championship-level depth once again.
“They kept their heads up and kept fighting. They didn’t let [the fact that I was not playing] determine whether they win or lose,” said Boice.
On Friday, the Hurricanes will travel to Pittsburgh Central Catholic for another section game. PCC won the first matchup 56-45 on Jan. 10, 2023.
Great rivalry btw those two towns
“Dominate win over Butler”. Ok