Raiders much too generous

By DEREK PYDA Eagle Staff Writer

January 16, 2010 Last Updated: January 16, 2010 12:18 PM High School

Alex Karika of Seneca Valley works against North Allegheny's Alex Blumer Friday in the Raiders' 65-37 section loss.

Turnovers tell the tale in SV boys, girls losses to North Allegheny

WEXFORD — Turnovers were the theme of the night.

Unfortunately for the Seneca Valley boys and girls basketball teams, the Raiders were on the wrong end of most of them.

SV's boys let a 14-point halftime lead slip away, committing 14 turnovers in the second half of a 66-64 loss at North Allegheny.

In the girls game, the Raiders' 31 miscues led to a 65-37 defeat to the Tigers.

The boys contest was in doubt until the very end.

North Allegheny's Jack Counahan netted a 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the game that tied the score at 65.

After a Raiders' missed shot, Counahan was fouled while driving to the basket and his two free throws put the Tigers up 66-64 with 5.7 seconds left.

The Raiders' last chance began with Alex Maxfield inbounding to Christian Durbin under the Tigers' basket.

Durbin drove the length of the floor and attempted a layup on the left side of the basket that didn't fall.

It appeared Durbin was fouled on the play, but none was called as the game ended.

Instead, Seneca Valley coach Victor Giannotta focused on his team's missed opportunities.

"We didn't make the plays we needed to make and NA did," he said. "With all of the turnovers we had, we threw this game away."

The Raiders led 40-26 at halftime, but they began to falter in the third period. The committed eight turnovers, including giveaways on three straight possessions, in the quarter.

NA took full advantage, as junior guard Kevin Cope drained three 3-pointers in the quarter, the last of which cut SV's edge to 53-47 with 1:37 left in the period.

"Somebody had to step up in that situation and Kevin did," said North Allegheny coach Dave DeGregorio. "We just had a better effort in the second half. Sometimes, that's what it comes down to."

Joe Belechak scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Raiders"

Anton Constantino led the Tigers (10-3, 3-2) with 16 points.

The loss drops the Raiders to 6-4 overall, 1-4 in Section 3-AAAA, with Butler (5-0) and Central Catholic (5-1) lurking on this week's schedule.

"We're not done yet," said Giannotta. "Don't count us out."

After closing the first quarter with a 5-0 run that cut North Allegheny's lead to 12-10, the Raiders' turnover problems began.Nine miscues in the second period helped the Tigers (7-4, 3-2) outscore SV 18-5.NA's edge was 30-12 before Alyssa Miller's 3-pointer made it a 15-point deficit just before halftime."We've been working on slowing the game down for the girls, working on ball handling and passing," said Raiders coach Rob Lombardo. "What it comes down to is our basketball knowledge has to improve. We have to play with a higher basketball IQ."Many of the turnovers came against NA's trap defense, but were unforced."We're giving the players a homework assignment," Lombardo said. "They can either go to a high school basketball game to do this or watch a college game. Each girl is responsible for watching how the player at her position deals with the trap."Miller led the Raiders (1-10, 1-4) with 14 points and Alex Karika had 10.North Allegheny's Alexis Aiken led all scorers with 22 points.NA coach Sherri McConnell could not be reached for comment.BoysSENECA VALLEY 64Nate Herrmann 4 3-4 14, Joe Belechak 8 2-2 21, Marco Corona 1 1-2 3, Evan Mitro 1 0-2 2, Christian Durbin 4 5-7 14, Alex Maxfield 3 4-4 10, Eric Davis 0 0-0 0, Alan Heery 0 0-0 0, Pete Vicente 0 0-0. Totals: 21 15-20 64.NORTH ALLEGHENY 66Anthony Dallier 4 2-2 11, J.C. Howard 3 0-0 7, Anton Constantino 6 3-4 16, Steve Ferringer 2 2-4 6, Ben Colabrese 0 1-5 1, Ryan Besonson 1 0-0 2, Jack Counahan 4 3-4 14, Kevin Cope 3 0-0 9. Totals: 23 11-19 66.Seneca Valley 15 25 15 9—64North Allegheny 15 11 21 19—663-point goals: Seneca Valley 7 (Herrmann 3, Belechak 3, Durbin); North Allegheny 9 (Counahan 3, Cope 3, Howard, Dallier, Constantino).Saturday: Fox Chapel at Seneca ValleyGirlsSENECA VALLEY 37Beth Talarico 1 0-0 2, Gabby Allen 1 1-3 3, Alyssa Miller 4 4-5 14, Kara Moyer 0 3-4 3, Angie Lalonde 1 0-0 2, Alex Karika 4 2-2 10, Brooke Clifford 1 0-0 2, Dani Fitzgerald 0 1-2 1, Julia Vandrak 0 0-1 0, Karlei Fronzaglio 0 0-0 0, Brianna Sieminski 0 0-0 0, Amanda Geiger 0 0-0 0, Mary Kate Fullerton 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 11-17 37.NORTH ALLEGHENY 65Alexis Aiken 8 4-5 22, Kelly Brennan 2 0-0 4, Chandler Caufield 6 0-0 14, Paige Hufnagel 3 2-3 8, Leah Haas 2 0-0 4, Emily Bergman 2 0-0 5, Alex Blumer 4 0-0 8, Lauren Scheurer 0 0-1 0, Alysia Libby 0 0-0 0, Brenna Burry 0 0-0 0, Leslie Barksdale 0 0-0 0, Angela Sipes 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 6-9 65.Seneca Valley 10 5 8 14—37North Allegheny 12 18 16 19—653-point goals: Seneca Valley 2 (Miller 2); North Allegheny 5 (Aiken 2, Caufield 2, Bergman).Monday: Butler at Seneca Valley

Seneca Valley's Alex Maxfield, front, and teammate Joe Belechak try to snare a rebound in front of North Allegheny's Anthony Dallier, left, as the Tigers edged the Raiders 66-64 Friday.