ROSS TWP — Seneca Valley withstood North Hills’ onslaught. The Raiders then hit the Indians with their own brand of ambush.

After watching North Hills drain 11 three-pointers in the first two quarters and trailing 48-37 at halftime, SV outscored the hosts 46-21 the rest of the way and posted an 83-69 Section 3-AAAA road boys basketball victory Tuesday night.

Raiders’ coach Victor Giannotta didn’t try to hide his enthusiasm following the contest.

“I think I’m more excited about this than our players,” he said after giving an emotion-fueled postgame speech. “This was a big win.”

The Indians (3-3, 0-2) held a 52-39 lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter. That’s when SV embarked on a 13-0 run to tie the game. Junior guard Dakota Topf scored seven points during the spurt while Zach Snyder and Mike Smith both completed conventional three-point plays.

Though North Hills regained a brief 59-57 edge by the end of the quarter, its outside shooting had cooled off significantly. After making nearly 69 percent (11-of-16) of its 3-point attempts in the first half, the Indians made just one in the third quarter. For the second half, they made just 3-of-13.

“North Hills made a lot of shots early, but our lack of contesting those shots had a lot to do with it,” said Giannotta.

“That’s what Coach focused on at halftime,” said Topf. “He emphasized playing good defense and getting out on the shooters.”

“Seneca never did come out of their zone and it ended up benefitting them,” said North Hills coach Buzz Gabos. “We don’t have much size and against a zone, it’s really tough. The guys who were hitting shots for us in the first half just weren’t making them in the second half, even though we got some looks.”

Seneca (5-1, 2-0) opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run, with point guard Matt Darby contributing a clutch steal and lay-up with 4:15 left.

North Hills received a trifecta from Nick Smith, cutting SV’s lead to 73-66 with 1:14 remaining. But Snyder, Topf and T.J. Holl iced the game with free throws.

Topf’s 25 points led all scorers, while Smith finished with a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds. Snyder contributed 17 points and Darby 16.

“I feel like I am starting to get in the flow of the offense,” said Topf. “We have a lot of guys who can score. This second half was important for us, especially with (North Allegheny) coming up on Friday.”

Giannotta was pleased with the entire team’s approach to the game.

“Every time I looked down the bench, the (reserves) were focused on the game,” he said. “That was great to see.”

North Hills’ superb shooting early on was sparked by junior guard Ryan Burek, who hit six shots from beyond the arc.

“We did a good job of finding the open guy,” said Gabos.

SENECA VALLEY 83

Matt Darby 6 4-6 16, Bryce Schnatterly 1 0-0 2, Mike Smith 5 6-8 16, Josh Bauer 1 0-0 2, T.J. Holl 1 2-4 5, Dakota Topf 6 10-12 25, Zach Snyder 7 3-3 17, Chad Izenas 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 25-33 83.

NORTH HILLS 69

Dylan Mitchell 2 2-4 7, Nick Smith 1 0-0 3, Ryan Burek 6 0-0 18, Nick Sabolovic 1 0-0 3, Danny White 2 0-1 5, Shawndale Jones 6 4-4 20, C.J. Paulauskas 5 3-6 13, Andrew Vojtko 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 9-15 69.

Seneca Valley 21 16 20 26 — 83

North Hills19 29 11 10 — 69

3-point goals: Seneca Valley 4 (Topf 3, Holl); North Hills 14 (Burek 6, Jones 4, Mitchell, Smith, Sabolovic, White).

JV: North Hills 57-39

Friday: North Allegheny at Seneca Valley