His two leading scorers were on the bench with four fouls and his team trailed Butler by five points in the fourth quarter. Norwin coach Lynn Washowich hoped his team could stay close until Mike Shanahan and Tyler Urban returned to the game.

Then the kid who wasn't supposed to play this year came off the bench and did a lot more than help keep Norwin close. He helped push the Knights into the lead.

Chris Matheny, a senior forward who had a tumor removed from his side in September, scored eight fourth-quarter points last night, including two 3-pointers, and helped push Norwin past Butler, 64-56, in a WPIAL Class AAAA first-round playoff game at North Allegheny.

"I was thinking that if we could just keep it at five or six points with [Urban and Shanahan] out, we'd have a chance," Washowich said.

Five months ago, doctors didn't give Matheny much of a chance to play this season after the operation for a benign tumor. Besides the tumor, muscles were removed from his stomach, and Matheny was told he likely wouldn't recover in time to play. He was crushed. He was a starter as a junior.

"I healed a lot faster than they thought," Matheny said.

In one night, he became one of those feel-good high school stories. He was averaging only three points a game this season. Then he became a pain in Butler's side. Matheny finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

"What that kid did tonight was incredible," Washowich said.

Matheny couldn't stop smiling afterward. "This is the greatest feeling in the world -- just to be here playing."

Matheny is 6 feet 3, 245 pounds. He doesn't look the part of a 3-point shooter. With an Abraham Lincoln-type beard and a wide body, he looks like he would fit best posting up.

"We knew he was a good player and we knew he could make shots," said Butler coach Joe Lewandowski. "What hurt us was he made some tough shots."

The win gives Norwin a 19-6 record and moves the Knights into the quarterfinals. Butler, making its first playoff appearance since 2000, finished 13-9. The Golden Tornado put up a valiant effort, considering second-leading scorer (Christos Klutinoty) was out with a knee injury. Mike Pratkanis, a bulky 6-7 senior, was impressive, scoring 21 points, including five 3-pointers.

Guard Jeff Slater added 16 points.

Shanahan, a senior guard-forward and a Pitt football recruit, led Norwin with 17 points. Urban, a senior center and a West Virginia football recruit, added 14. But everyone was talking about Matheny afterward.

"Everybody on our team knows what he can do offensively because he did it all last year," Shanahan said. "He was like Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns. He's had some adversity this year and he overcame it. It was nice to see what he did tonight."

Butler opened a 45-40 lead with 5:54 remaining on a basket by Slater. But Butler made only one basket in the next five minutes. Norwin outscored Butler, 24-11, in the final 5:54.

"This is one of the first times the entire year where a team went toe-to-toe with us and banged inside with us," Washowich said. "I think you have to give our kids a ton of credit for what they did in the fourth quarter."

Matheny's 3-pointer tied the score, 45-45, with 4:26 left. He hit another basket with 3:23 remaining to give Norwin a 48-45 lead.

After Butler's Nick Rossmiller made two free throws to slice the margin to one, Shanahan banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Shanahan, who returned to the game with 4:11 remaining, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and was 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.