PINE TWP — Staring at a 14-point deficit midway through the second quarter, Seneca Valley coach Victor Giannotta wanted his team to chip away at Pine-Richland's lead.

Instead, it came off in chunks.

The Raiders went on a 12-2 run to close out the first half, then opened the third quarter on a 15-2 spurt to take control in a 59-44 Section 3-AAAA victory, guaranteeing the Raiders a WPIAL boys basketball playoff berth.

“Obviously, being down by 14, we wanted to try and get it down to five or six points by halftime,” Giannotta said.

“I think our kids were a little nervous. If we won, we were in the playoffs. We weren't very crisp,” he added.

The Raiders (13-7, 6-4) led 5-3 midway through the first quarter before the Rams (5-13, 2-8) scored the next 10 points — highlighted by three consecutive baskets by Tim Williams — and 21 of 26 to take a 24-10 lead with 5:07 left in the second quarter.

Williams and senior guard Andy Andrle had 10 points apiece in that start, but the Raiders started their comeback.

The Raiders countered with nine consecutive points — all coming from junior guard Easton Bazzoli — to make it 24-19 with 1:11 to play.

After a pair of free throws by the Rams' C.J. Jackson, Matt Smith sank one free throw, then Austin Bream stole the ball and drove for a layup that beat the buzzer to make it a four-point contest.

“Seneca Valley switched to a 1-3-1 midway through the second quarter,” said Pine-Richland coach Brian Gaetano. “We got some early baskets, but what happened is we got in foul trouble.

“Andy had to come out for a while (he picked up his second foul with 2:55 remaining) and that created some defensive problems. They were able to take advantage of it ... and that turnover at the buzzer, that gave them some momentum at halftime,” Gaetano added.

The Raiders came out continuing where they left off in the first half as Alex Maxfield nailed a 3-pointer. then Bazzoli added a steal and score to give Seneca Valley a 27-26 lead.

Jackson added a basket for the Rams to take back the lead, but two free throws by Chad Albert, a 3-pointer by Bream, a score by R.J. McCauley and a 3-pointer by Smith opened up a 37-28 Raiders advantage with 2:47 left in the third quarter.

Pat Sullivan would connect on a pair of 3-pointers to pull the Rams back into the game.

With the Raiders holding a 44-40 lead with just under five minutes remaining, Maxfield scored a pair of driving layups to open up an eight-point lead.

Shea Sullivan's basket made it 48-42 with 2:37 to play, but a 3-point play by Maxfield with 1;59 to play sealed the win.

Maxfield finished with a team-high 14 points, all coming in the second half.

“I saw the opening,” Maxfield said. “The openings came to me and I just found a way to get through.”

“He's matured so much the last eight, 10 games,” Giannotta said about Maxfield. “He has free reign with some parameters, some restrictions. He's our go-to guy.”

Bream and Bazzoli added 11 points apiece for the Raiders while the Rams received 14 from Andrle, 12 from Williams and 10 from Sullivan.

The Raiders limited Andrle and Williams to just six second-half points combined.

“There's no secret who makes them go,” Giannotta said. “We have all the respect in the world for Andy. We went to a box-and-1, but we needed to make some shots.”

The Raiders will prepare for a Tuesday matchup against North Allegheny (11-6, 6-4) in what could give either team the upper hand for the No. 2 spot out of the section.

“We want to avenge the one-point loss to them earlier in the year,” Maxfieldsaid. “It should be nice. We're home and for the seniors, it should be great.”

SENECA VALLEY 59Matt Smith 1 5-9 8, Easton Bazzoli 5 0-0 11, Chad Albert 1 3-3 5, Alex Maxfield 6 1-3 14, R.J. McCauley 2 4-4 8, Austin Beam 3 3-4 11, Alex Snyder 1 0-0 2.

Totals: 19 16-23 59.

PINE-RICHLAND 44Andy Andrle 4 5-5 14, Tim Williams 5 2-2 12, C.J. Jackson 2 2-2 6, Pat Sullivan 4 0-0 10, Shea Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Adi Dishart 0 0-0 0, Tyler Johnson 0 0-0 0, Nate Roberts 0 0-0 0, Blake Schultz 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 16 9-9 44.

Seneca Valley 7 15 17 20—59Pine-Richland 17 9 8 10—x443-point goals: Seneca Valley 5 (Bream 2, Smith, Bazzoli, Maxfield; Pine-Richland 3 (Sullivan 2, Andrle).

JV: Seneca Valley, 54-51

Tuesday: North Allegheny at Seneca Valley