JACKSON TWP — It seemed that it was Seneca Valley's night.

With one quarter to play, the Raiders had the lead, the momentum and a raucous home crowd in their corner.

But the North Hills boys basketball team was determined to crash the party.

Trailing 40-36 at the start of the fourth period, the Indians traded the lead with SV several times before pulling away for a 53-49 final Friday night.

The home side of the gym was filled to near capacity and the cheers seemed unrelenting when the action favored the Raiders.

"It was a great atmosphere," said Raiders coach Victor Giannotta. "We played well tonight. Everything was there but the win."

With the score tied at 45, North Hills' Josh Trocchio hit two free throws with 2:53 left to put the Indians ahead at 47-45.

Moments later, SV's Dave Monteleone stepped to the free throw line with his team trailing 49-47, but both of his attempts failed to fall with 28.2 seconds remaining. Seneca Valley's Kevin Mayberry rebounded the second miss, but stepped out of bounds, giving the ball to North Hills.

"They hit a few more shots late in the game than we did," said Giannotta. "That was the only difference."

The Indians (5-15, 3-7) received a game-high 23 points from senior C.J. Wink, nine of them coming in the fourth quarter.

"Talk about senior leadership … he put this team on his back," said Indians coach Joe Falletta.

After falling behind 26-13 midway through the second quarter, Seneca Valley hit its stride.

The Raiders went on a 12-7 run to trail 33-25 at the break, and that momentum carried over into the third period.

Seneca Valley's Pat Heery drained a 3-pointer with 4:21 remaining in the quarter to tie the game at 33.

Gabe Grinder added two 3-pointers and SV forced seven turnovers, outscoring the Indians 15-3 in the quarter.

"We forced the tempo on them, and that allowed us to get some turnovers," said Giannotta.

But it was the Raiders who met with more frustration in the final eight minutes.

Late in the contest, SV turned the ball over on consecutive possessions with a chance to take the lead both times. And the Raiders made just one of five free throw attempts in the period.

North Hills' win put an end to the team's five-game losing streak, all of them coming by double digits.

"We've got a young team and I was concerned about our psyche heading into the fourth quarter," said Falletta. "But I was so proud of the way the team played down the stretch in this kind of environment."

Monteleone led the Raiders (6-13, 1-9) with 18 points and Grinder added 10.

"There's no quit in this team," said Giannotta. "We've got some potential playoff teams coming up on our schedule. And I'm pretty sure they won't be overlooking us."

Notes:

Drew Falletta scored 14 points in a supporting role for the Indians. … Seneca Valley committed 14 turnovers in the game, while North Hills had 22. … SV failed to avenge a 71-61 loss to North Hills from Dec. 22.

NORTH HILLS 53Kyle Henny 1 0-0 2, Josh Trocchio 1 3-4 6, Andy Monahan 1 2-2 4, Dante Anglin 1 2-2 4, Drew Falletta 5 3-4 14, C.J. Wink 10 2-3 23, Cody Patton 0 0-0 0, Joe O'Malley 0 0-0 0, Matt Timko 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 12-15 53.

SENECA VALLEY 49Gabe Grinder 3 2-2 10, Kevin Mayberry 4 0-2 8, Pat Heery 2 0-2 5, John Fitzpatrick 2 2-2 6, Shawn Eagle 1 0-0 2, Dave Monteleone 6 6-11 18, John Bryant 0 0-1 0, Kevin Rohm 0 0-0 0, C.J. Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 10-20 49.

3-point goals: Trocchio, Falletta, Wink; Grinder 2, Heery.

JV: Seneca Valley 43-41

Tuesday: Seneca Valley @ North Allegheny