JACKSON TWP — A season of heartbreak continued for Seneca Valley's boys basketball team.

North Allegheny's Curtis Aiken sank a shot from the baseline as time expired, handing the Tigers a critical 36-34 victory at William Paul Gymnasium Friday night.

It was the second time this season that the Raiders (6-7, 1-4) have been beaten at the buzzer. They fell to North Hills, 60-58, on Jan. 3. They also sustained a 55-52 overtime loss to Central Catholic in December.

SV committed four of its 13 turnovers in the final period and made just one of its final four field goal attempts.

“We played hard, but we have to learn that every possession is important, not just the last 20 seconds,” said Raiders' coach Victor Giannotta.

Moments before he knocked down the winning bucket, Aiken saved an errant pass from going out of bounds as the Tigers looked for the last shot from their half-court set.

Aiken, just inches from being out of bounds and guarded closely by SV's defense, passed the ball to teammate Isaac Barnes with four seconds left. The center got the ball back to Aiken, who began a drive along the baseline before pulling up a couple of feet inside the 3-point line.

“I work on that shot all the time, stepping back into the corner,” said Aiken, a junior guard. “I felt pretty confident when it left my hand, but still prayed for it to go in.”

His late basket gave Aiken a game-high 19 points. He knocked down four treys earlier in the game.

“He's the one we wanted to take the last shot,” said NA coach Keith Noftz. “He's good at hitting (3-pointers), but can also drive and pull up.”

The Raiders held a 29-22 edge as the fourth period began, but the Tigers tallied a 12-3 run to pull ahead 34-32 with just over a minute left.

Mark Smathers tied the game moments later, but points were hard to come by late in the game for the Raiders.

“We scored just five points in the fourth quarter,” said Giannotta. “We just didn't hit shots.”

The Tigers (7-4, 3-2) were averaging 68.3 points per game entering Friday. Several factors held them down against the Raiders.

Senior center Griffin Sestili missed the game because of a football recruiting trip. The Tigers shot just 33 percent (13-of-39) from the field, but Noftz credits the Raiders for his team's inefficiency.

“We knew we would have our hands full tonight,” he said. “The way we played, they make you play that way. Seneca Valley plays everybody tough and we are very lucky to get out of here with a win.”

The Tigers edged SV on the boards 29-28, but struggled in the third period when the Raiders corralled 10 rebounds to just three for NA.

Trailing 20-18 early in the period, the Raiders brought down five straight offensive rebounds during back-to-back possessions. That effort led to a pair of baskets from Chris Hart and the Raiders pulled ahead 22-20.

“They got into some foul trouble and had a smaller lineup on the floor,” said Giannotta. “We were able to take advantage of it.”

Hart led the Raiders with 11 points. Marcus Might totaled 14 rebounds.

NORTH ALLEGHENY 36

Zach Johnson 2 0-2 4, Curtis Aiken 6 3-4 19, Ray Sandherr 2 0-0 4, Jon Van Kirk 0 2-4 2, Devin Bluemling 1 0-0 2, Isaac Barnes 2 0-0 5, Luke Carter 0 0-0 0, Andrew Ward 0 0-0 0, Anthony Hattrup 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 5-10 36.

SENECA VALLEY 34

Nate Trzeciak 1 1-4 3, Payton Skalos 1 1-2 3, Patrick Uher 1 0-0 3, Marcus Might 3 0-0 6, Mark Smathers 1 2-4 4, Chris Hart 4 2-4 11, Justin Koken 1 1-2 4. Totals: 12 7-16 34.

North Allegheny 5 10 7 14 — 36

Seneca Valley5 9 15 5 — 34

3-point goals: North Allegheny 5 (Aiken 4, Barnes); Seneca Valley 3 (Hart, Uher, Koken).

Tuesday: Seneca Valley at Butler