JACKSON TWP — There are tough losses, and then there's the type of defeat the Seneca Valley boys basketball team endured on Friday.

The Raiders were one second from winning their Section 3-AAAA opener against Pine-Richland when Rams freshman guard Eddie Baranowski drained a 3-pointer that sent the contest into overtime.

SV simply ran out of gas as the Rams took a 69-65, double-overtime decision.

The Raiders were 2-for-7 from the foul line in the deciding overtime.

"It came down to free throws," said Raiders coach Vic Giannotta.

The Raiders lost their top scorer, C.J. Brown, when the junior fouled out with 1:04 remaining in regulation after scoring 10 points.

SV then lost the services of starting point guard Sean Gress, whose fifth personal foul came 13 seconds into the first overtime.

The Rams, however, had their leader on the floor when it mattered most.

Senior guard Brett Matson scored 30 points in the game, including four in the first overtime and five in the second. He did foul out late in the second overtime.

"He's won so many games for us," said Pine-Richland coach Dave Krakoff. "There's nobody better in our section. If we're ahead late in the game and the ball is in his hands, we like our chances."

Nate Herrmann scored all eight of SV's points in the first overtime, which ended when the Raiders managed a defensive rebound and appeared to call a timeout with more than a second left on the clock, but the officials ruled that time had expired.

Matson and teammate R.J. White each tallied baskets to give the Rams (4-0, 1-0) a 62-58 lead with 1:31 left in the second extra period.

That's when SV's free-throw shooting woes gave the ball back to Pine-Richland, which built its lead to 65-58.

A late rally by SV, including five points from Dan Rohm in six seconds and a layup by Christian Durbin, cut SV's deficit to 67-65.

But the Rams' Eric Holmes scored his only three points of the contest at the line in the final seconds to ice the game.

Possibly the most difficult aspect of the loss for Giannotta was how close his team was to winning the game in regulation.

SV's John Fitzpatrick stepped to the line with his team leading 49-47 with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The senior forward hit one of two for a 50-47 lead before the Rams turned to Baranowski for a game-saving trifecta, which he hit from the right wing.

The final buzzer went off a split second after Baranowski released the ball.

"I knew he had gotten the shot off, but I didn't think it was going in," said Giannotta.

The Raiders (4-1, 0-1) aren't playing for moral victories, but there are positives to be taken from their first loss of the season.

"If we can have that kind of effort every night, absolutely we can make the playoffs," said Giannotta. "But we've got to get used to this. It's going to be like this every night."

Notes: Herrmann led SV with 18 points, while Durbin and Brown both scored 10. ... SV missed its first five field goal attempts of the second overtime.

PINE-RICHLAND 69Eric Kordenbrock 0 2-2 2, Tommy Johnson 4 4-8 12, R.J. White 2 2-4 6, Brett Matson 9 12-17 30, Kevin Wissinger 1 3-4 6, Ian Hennessy 0 2-4 2, Eddie Baranowski 3 1-2 8, Eric Holmes 0 3-4 3. Totals: 19 29-45 69.

SENECA VALLEY 65John Fitzpatrick 3 3-6 9, Sean Gress 0 3-4 3, C.J. Brown 3 4-7 10, Nate Herrmann 6 4-8 18, Dan Rohm 2 2-3 8, Matt Vogt 2 2-2 6, Dustin Anewalt 0 1-2 1, Christian Durbin 4 0-3 10, Ryan Turner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 19-35 65.

Pine-Richland 9 6 18 17 8 11—69Seneca Valley 5 20 14 11 8 7—653-point goals: Pine-Richland 2 (Wissinger, Baranowski); Seneca Valley 6 (Herrmann 2, Rohm 2, Durbin 2).

JV: Seneca Valley 45-39

Tuesday: Seneca Valley at North Allegheny