CRANBERRY TWP — David Ritchie was having a nightmarish day at the free throw line.

Seneca Valley coach Victor Giannotta didn't care.

“He's an 88 percent free throw shooter,” Giannotta said. “I'll take him at the line every time. He's the guy we want there.”

The senior guard had missed eight of nine foul shots in the game when he stepped to the line with 1:05 to play Saturday afternoon, his team clinging to a 55-52 lead over Altoona in the Don Graham Classic at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School.

Ritchie calmly drained both shots and the Raiders (8-2) went on to post a 59-54 boys basketball victory. The win was their fourth in a row.

“Just one of those days,” Ritchie said of his free throws. “I had missed so many of them. It was about time I knocked down a couple.”

Seneca Valley never trailed Saturday — but things got a bit dicey.

The Raiders exploded to a 24-4 lead in the game's first nine minutes, jumping out to a huge early advantage for the second time in as many days. But unlike Friday night's romp over Shaler, this lopsided lead didn't stick.

“I think we just got fatigued,” Giannotta said. “You don't want to make excuses, but that was a big road section win last night and to come back out and play the next afternoon ... We looked a little tired.”

SV was outscored 20-9 in the second period, but took a nine-point lead into the fourth.

Two free throws by Chris Hart capped a 10-0 run that gave the Raiders a 55-39 lead with 4:38 to play. But the Mountain Lions (3-4) answered with a 14-0 run of their own to trim the gap to 55-52, setting up Ritchie's needed free throws.

SV missed the front end of three one-and-one's during the Altoona surge. The Raiders sank just 10 of 22 free throws on the day.

“I'm not too concerned,” Giannotta said. “We were missing foul shots. That's something that can be corrected.”

Altoona coach Doug West is hoping his team's poor starts are something that can be corrected soon. The Mountain Lions return to Butler County Tuesday night to take on Butler.

“First quarter or third quarter, we're routinely getting off to slow starts,” West said. “Our defensive intensity isn't there when that happens. We don't come out and guard.

“Seneca Valley is a good team. Good teams are gonna hit shots if you don't come out and contest them.”

Hart paced the Raiders with 17 points, six assists and two steals. Ritchie had 15 points. Dalton Peffer had 12 rebounds, Marcus Might nine points and six rebounds. Might scored all nine of his points in the first quarter.

“They came with some pressure defensively and that bothered us. We didn't respond to it well at first,” Hart said of Altoona's late run. “We had to settle down and break their press.

“We're a pretty confident team right now. We feel like we can beat any team we play.”

The Raiders host Pine-Richland Tuesday night.

Hart was named his team's Graham Classic MVP for the game.

“He's definitely our leader on the floor,” Giannotta said. “The other kids look to him and he leads by example.”

Nate Cherry came off the bench to scored 19 points for Altoona, sinking three treys. He scored 10 points in the fourth period to fuel the Mountain Lions' rally.

Jayvion Queen added 15 points and nine rebounds, Tyler Petucci nine boards for Altoona.

“Nate Cherry scored 27 for us off the bench the other night,” West said. “He's been providing that spark for us.

“We may need to move that spark into the starting lineup.”

SENECA VALLEY 59

Jake Bunofsky 1-6 1-2 3, Josh Ruppert 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Hart 7-12 2-2 17, Trey Berringer 0-0 0-2 0, Marcus Might 3-3 2-3 9, David Ritchie 4-11 3-12 15, Zac Zajacs 4-5 0-0 9, Dalton Peffer 2-7 2-4 6. Totals: 21-45 10-22 59.

ALTOONA 54

K.J. Futrell 1-3 0-0 2, Braeden Burchfield 0-4 1-2 1, Kurt VonColln 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Petucci 1-4 2-3 4, Jayvion Queen 5-9 5-7 15, Max Crownover 1-8 2-2 4, Nate Cherry 8-12 0-0 19, Connor Zerbee 2-5 0-0 5, Tyler Barry 1-3 0-0 2, P.J. Charles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-50 10-14 54.

Seneca Valley 22 9 14 14 —59

Altoona4 20 12 18 — 54

3-point goals: Hart, Might, Ritchie 4, Zajacs; Cherry 3, Zerbee

JV: CW North Catholic 47, Seneca Valley 39 (SV: Mason Bush 10, CWNC: Jackson Paschall 13, Jacob Tomer 10)

Tuesday: Pine-Richland at Seneca Valley