Raiders stand tall
JACKSON TWP — How much of a lead is enough? Seneca Valley boys basketball coach Vic Giannotta was starting to wonder.
Against Fox Chapel on Tuesday, the Raiders built a 22-point lead early in the third quarter, only to see the Foxes trim the deficit to six early in the fourth.
But a crucial basket by Gabe Grinder and a pair of free throws by C.J. Brown in a 28-second span helped the Raiders pull out a 59-52 nonsection victory.
"That's uncharted territory for us, playing with a 22-point lead," said Giannotta. "We got a little hesitant on offense. They hit a couple of 3s, a couple of fast-break baskets.
"It got down to six, but I knew if we took care of the basketball, we would be all right,"he added.
The Raiders (9-6) opened the second half with an 8-0 run on baskets by Shawn Eagle and Brown, plus a four-point play by Pat Heery, to take a seemingly comfortable 40-18 lead with 6:24 remaining in the third quarter.
That's when the Foxes (12-5) started their comeback, scoring 16 of the next 20 points over a 4:42 span to whittle the deficit to 44-34 with 28 seconds left in the frame.
A pair of treys by Seth Eisner and six points by John Hasting helped to fuel the run.
"Our kids decided to play a little harder, play with urgency, in the second half," said Foxes coach Ben O'Connor. "Seneca Valley is fighting for a playoff spot and I told our kids they will come ready to play."
With 3.5 seconds left in the third, Heery was fouled at the top of the key and sank all three free-throw attempts to give the Raiders some breathing room with a 13-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Again, the Foxes mounted a charge, getting a pair of free throws from Hasting and a 3-pointer and two more free throws from Eisner to make it 47-41 with 6:14 remaining.
"It was really no secret," said O'Connor. "Our young kids went in (early in the third quarter) and played with no fear. They got us going, then we put our experienced players in and they started to score."
Brown missed a pair of free throws twice, the latter with 3:35 left, but when Grinder scored with 2:18 left, then Brown followed with two free throws with 1:50 left, the Raiders took a 53-43 lead to ice the game.
The Raiders used a balanced scoring attack, getting 13 points from Heery and 11 from Kevin Mayberry as six players tallied six or more points.
The Foxes received 14 points each from Hasting and Eisner, with all coming in the second half, while Ahmed Abu-Elmagd added 13 points.
FOX CHAPEL 52John Hasting 5 3-5 14, Seth Eisner 4 2-2 14, Ahmed Abu-Elmagd 6 1-1 13, Mike Carlino 0 0-0 0, Tiph Harner 1 2-2 5, Harrison Smith 1 0-0 2, Terry Hartford 1 0-0 2, Alex Vargo 1 0-0 2, Colin Hartford 0 0-0 0, Kevin Wolfendale 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 19 8-10 52.
SENECA VALLEY 59Gabe Grinder 4 0-0 9, Kevin Mayberry 5 1-2 11, Pat Heery 3 6-6 13, C.J. Brown 3 2-6 8, Shawn Eagle 3 0-0 6, Kevin Rohm 1 0-0 2, John Fitzpatrick 4 0-1 8, Jarrett Shotts 1 0-2 2.
Totals: 24 9-17 59.
Fox Chapel 7 11 16 18—52Seneca Valley 15 17 15 12—593-point goals: Eisner 4, Hasting, Harner; Grinder, Heery
Friday: Pine-Richland at Seneca Valley
