JACKSON TWP - Seneca Valley boys basketball coach Victor Giannotta was happy to see his team play a strong first half against North Hills Tuesday.

Unfortunately, there's always a second half to be played.

The Raiders trailed 28-22 at the break, but the Indians scored 14 of the first 18 points of the third quarter and coasted to a 62-44 Section 3 victory.

"I think our team felt satisfied with the first half," said Giannotta. "We played a really good first half.

"North Hills is a veteran team and they're well-coached. … They were the better team and proved it in the third quarter," he added.

"I give credit to Seneca Valley," said North Hills coach Joe Falletta. "Coach Giannotta had them ready. They seem to be where we were last year. We had only one senior last year."

The Raiders are going with a youth movement, starting one junior in Dave Monteleone and four sophomores in Kevin Rohm, Pat Heery, Don Barclay and Gabe Grinder.

The Raiders (0-8, 0-3) jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, including six points from Barclay, in the first four minutes.

An 8-2 Indians spurt, created by a pair of steals and scores by Evan Sandherr and a couple of baskets by Dexter Bertram, pulled North Hills (6-2, 3-0) to 13-12 with 5:28 before halftime.

Matt Steinbrink hit 2 of 4 free throws to give Seneca Valley a 15-12 lead, but North Hills answered with an 8-0 run to take a 20-15 lead.

Seneca Valley cut the deficit to one point at 22-21 with one minute remaining before halftime, but two 3-pointers by Josh Trocchio helped the Indians close the half with the six-point advantage.

"We like to sub a lot and keep guys fresh," said Falletta. "We're playing hard, but we still need to improve and get better defensively."

In the second half, the Indians' 14-4 run -highlighted by six points from Dexter Bertram - gave the team a 42-26 advantage.

The Raiders countered with scores by Mayberry and Heery, but North Hills' Evan Sandherr and Trocchio drained consecutive 3-pointers for a 48-30 lead.

Seneca Valley had eight players score, as did the Indians, but had six sophomores and four juniors see action, along with seniors Steinbrink and Jason Davis.

"We will keep working and keep improving," said Giannotta. "No one is quitting."

"The coaches in this section are tough," said Falletta. "Seneca Valley has a lot of young guys playing and they have to get experience.

"They're going to be a dangerous team. I'm not looking forward to playing them again when they come down to North Hills (Jan. 21)," he added.

Notes:

Bertram led all scorers with 14 points while teammates Brian Long added 12 and Trocchio 11. The Raiders received eight points each from Monteleone and Barclay.

NORTH HILLS 62

Evan Sandherr 3 2-2 9, Josh Trocchio 3 2-2 11, Caleb Dorman 2 2-2 6, Andy Monahan 0 0-0 0, Dexter Bertram 7 0-0 14, C.J. Wink 1 2-5 4, Brian Long 5 2-4 12, Zach Stotz 1 0-0 2, Ryan Monahan 2 0-0 4, Jim Thomas 0 0-0 0, Andrew heck 0 0-0 0, Mark Timko 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 10-15 62.

SENECA VALLEY 44

Kevin Rohm 1 0-0 3, Pat Heery 2 1-4 5, Gabe Grinder 3 0-2 7, Dave Monteleone 3 2-4 8, Don Barclay 4 0-0 8, Kevin Mayberry 3 0-0 6, Jim Sandherr 0 0-0 0, Dan Stanley 0 0-0 0, Jason Davis 1 1-1 3, Matt Steinbrink 1 2-4 4, Andrew Rieder 0 0-0 0, Shawn Eagle 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 6-15 44.

3-point goals:

Trocchio 3, E. Sandherr; Grinder, Rohm

JV:

Seneca Valley, 44-43

Thursday:

Seneca Valley at North Allegheny