Story has a new twist
PINE TWP — Vic Giannotta couldn't believe what he was seeing — nor did he want to.
The Seneca Valley boys basketball coach watched his team's 3-point lead disintegrate when Pine-Richland freshman guard Eddie Baranowski drained a 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime of Friday's section matchup.
A clutch shot, for sure, but it was eerily similar to the events that took place Dec. 7.
That night, Baranowski's buzzer beater at the end of regulation led to a double-overtime win for the Rams.
But this time it was the Raiders who made the plays down the stretch for a 54-48 victory.
"What did Yogi Berra say, 'It's deja vu all over again,'" said Giannotta. "When that kid drained that 3-pointer, it was like, here we go again. But you can't convey that to the team."
Baranowski's 3-pointer tied the score at 45.
In the second overtime, C.J. Brown scored seven of his team's nine points and the Rams missed their first five field goal attempts.
Brown led all scorers with 18 points, though he had only seven points after four quarters.
The Rams (10-6, 3-4) were led by senior point guard Brett Matson's 14 points.
"In the first game, Matson was the best player in overtime," said Giannotta. "Tonight, it was C.J."
The Rams would have gone scoreless in the second overtime if it wasn't for Eric Holmes' 3-pointer just before the final buzzer.
"The plays are right there in front of you and you just have to make them," said Rams coach Dave Krakoff. "SV just made more of them tonight than we did."The Raiders had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation.With the score tied at 41, the Raiders got the ball to Matt Vogt in the paint, but the junior's shot fell off the rim as the clock expired.Nate Herrmann had a strong second half for the Raiders, scoring all 11 of his points after intermission.In contrast, the Raiders' play in the first half was erratic and sloppy. SV scored only six points in the first quarter and trailed 24-14 at halftime."I think we played tentative in the first half," said Giannotta. "Pine-Richland was playing a good man-to-man defense. We wanted to go up-tempo, but we just couldn't score."A big key for the Raiders came when they found themselves down 30-18 with five minutes left in the third period.The game could have turned into a Rams rout at that point. Instead, SV went on a 10-2 run and trailed 32-28 entering the fourth period.The Rams, who had only seven combined turnovers in the first two quarters, gave the ball away six times in the third and seven more times in the fourth quarter."In the first half, they didn't trap very much," said Krakoff. "Coach Giannotta does a good job of throwing different things at you."The Raiders' win, coupled with North Allegheny's defeat of Shaler, has SV (11-5, 4-3) in sole possession of second place in Section 3."The way the section is all bunched up in the middle, this is a huge win," said Giannotta.The Raiders will host North Allegheny (15-1, 7-0) Tuesday.<B>SENECA VALLEY 54</B>John Fitzpatrick 5 1-2 12, Sean Gress 0 2-2 2, Ryan Turner 0 1-2 1, C.J. Brown 3 12-18 18, Nate Herrmann 4 2-3 11, Matt Vogt 2 0-1 4, Dustin Anewalt 2 0-2 4, Christian Durbin 1 0-0 2, Dan Rohm 0 0-0 0. <B>Totals:</B> 17 18-30 54.<B>PINE-RICHLAND 48</B>Eric Holmes 3 1-3 10, Tommy Johnson 4 1-2 10, Brett Matson 4 6-6 14, Kevin Wissinger 4 0-0 8, Ian Hennessy 1 0-0 2, Eddie Baranowski 1 0-2 3, Mike Felker 0 1-2 1.<B> Totals: </B>17 9-15 48.<B>Seneca Valley 6 8 14 13 4 9—54Pine-Richland 11 13 8 9 4 3—483-point goals:</B> Seneca Valley 2 (Fitzpatrick, Herrmann); Pine-Richland 5 (Holmes 3, Johnson, Baranowski).<B>JV:</B> Seneca Valley 49-24 (SV-Dustin Anewalt and Matt Vogt — 12 points)<B>Saturday:</B> Shady Side Academy at Seneca Valley
