JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley's opening victory in Section 3-AAAA play came in dominating fashion.

The Raiders' boys basketball team manhandled visiting Shaler in a 64-33 decision Friday at SV's William Paul Gymnasium.

The effort included an advantage in every major category, including turnovers where the Raiders committed 18 to the Titans' 34.

Seneca Valley gladly capitalized on Shaler's sloppiness as four Raiders scored at least eight points, led by junior Zach Snyder's 20 points. He scored 13 in the first half.

Mike Smith (10), T.J. Holl (8) and Dakota Topf (8) all turned in decent efforts on the offensive end.

“Our half-court defense was fine,” said first-year Shaler coach Brian Bibey. “Where we had trouble was in transition.”

“I was pleased with the way we spread the ball around,” said SV coach Victor Giannotta. “We had balanced scoring.

“I know people are going to think I'm crazy for saying this because we only gave up 33 points, but we need to get better in our half-court defense.”

The Raiders rarely found themselves in that situation early on as the Titans (1-3) turned the ball over 19 times in the first half. Many of the miscues came before Shaler had advanced the ball past mid-court. SV led 12-2 after one quarter and 31-19 at halftime.

Due to their inability to hang onto the ball, the Titans got off just 13 shots from the field in the first half, making six of them.

“We didn't have problems with turnovers in our first (three) games,” said Bibey. “They (Raiders) sped us up tonight. To be successful, we have to play at our tempo and we weren't able to do that tonight.”

Seneca's offense was sluggish in the third quarter, scoring just two points in the first four minutes, at which point the Raiders still held a double-digit lead at 33-19.

Shaler was unable to get a player in double figures in points. Austin Critchlow, who spent much of the game on the bench, led his team with eight points.

“Our goal is to compete on every play, every possession,” said Bibey. “That did not happen tonight.”

The victory was Giannotta's 300th career win, which includes his time at Sewickley Academy and Peters Township.

“All that says is that I've been coaching a long time,” he said.

Seneca (3-1) hosts Perry Traditional Academy on Monday.

SHALER 33

Nick Fugh 1 0-0 2, Gavin Cannon 0 1-2 1, Rob Reinheimer 3 1-3 7, E.J. Posa 2 1-1 5, Zach Weaver 1 0-0 2, Austin Critchlow 4 0-0 8, Micah Denmon 1 0-0 2, Jacob Mathias 3 0-1 6, Tanner Reinheimer 0 0-2 0, Devin Spagnolo 0 0-1 0, Brendan Deasy 0 0-0 0, Kevin Mincher 0 0-0 0, Zach Romac 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 3-10 33.

SENECA VALLEY 64

Matt Darby 1 2-2 4, Bryce Schnatterly 1 1-2 4, Mike Smith 3 4-6 10, Josh Bauer 1 4-4 6, T.J. Holl 3 2-3 8, Dakota Topf 2 3-4 8, Zach Snyder 9 2-4 20, Sam Barbe 0 2-2 2, Matt Dramble 0 2-2 2, Chad Izenas 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 22-29 64.

Shaler 2 12 9 10 — 33

Seneca Valley12 19 11 22 — 64

3-point goals: Seneca Valley 2 (Schnatterly, Topf).

JV: Shaler 46-40

Monday: Perry at Seneca Valley