WEXFORD — Seneca Valley's boys basketball team has struggled to find consistency in the win column this season.

Through 17 games, the squad still has yet to earn victory in three straight contests.

With the WPIAL playoffs right around the corner, the Raiders got just what the doctor ordered Wednesday at North Allegheny.

Senior guard Cole Brooks' basket gave SV a 71-70 lead with eight seconds left in the game.

The Raiders then successfully defended a shot close to the basket by NA's Khalil Dinkins, with Andrew Roy securing the rebound to preserve the one-point win.

It was the third time the Section 1-6A foes have met this season. The Tigers won the first two, including a 78-77 decision here in late January when SV's spirited rally fell just short.

“We fought and battled hard tonight,” said Raiders' coach Kevin Trost. “We didn't get swept by any team in the section and that was a small goal that we had.

“Like any basketball game, there were good and bad stretches tonight, but we kept swinging and luckily, we made one more play. This win gives us a lot of confidence.”

Much of SV's offense in the first half was centered around outside shooting. The Raiders knocked down seven treys in the first two quarters, including four from Brooks.

The Tigers (12-4, 8-2) did a much better job of guarding the perimeter with a matchup zone in the second half as both of Brooks' attempts were off, but point guard Connor Lyczek picked up the slack with 14 second-half points on seven baskets.

He hit buckets on back-to-back possessions to give SV leads of 67-66 and 69-68 with 1:39 and :52 left, respectively.

“I have confidence in myself, but it means a lot for the team to have confidence in me with big shots like that,” said Lyczek, who scored a team-high 22 points, most of them close to the basket.

“Earlier in the game, they (Tigers) were sagging on defense,” said Lyczek, “but we were able to get good shots inside later on.”

“Connor may not be a true point guard, but I wouldn't trade him for anything,” Trost said. “He's a tough, tough kid.”

The game's top scorer was NA's Greg Habib, who gave the Tigers their last lead of the night at 70-69 with a basket with 26 seconds remaining.

The Raiders (8-9, 5-5) withstood Matt McDonough's first half of 15 points, all on 3-pointers. Dinkins added 15 points in the game.

SV had a strong supporting cast of its own. Luke Lawson joined Brooks in scoring 18 points and also drained four treys.

The former recently hit a trey at the buzzer to give the Raiders a two-point win at North Hills.

“Luke is the glue for us, has a lot of the intangibles a team needs, but he also rebounds, takes charges and his offense has picked up, too,” Trost added.

Making their first varsity starts for SV were guard Beaux Lizewski and Roy, a 6-foot-4 forward.

Aside from his clutch defense on Dinkins in the final seconds, Roy added seven points.

“NA is so paint-oriented with trying to get the ball inside, we needed to add some length to our defense,” said Trost.

North Allegheny coach Dan DeRose could not be reached for comment.

SENECA VALLEY 71Connor Lyczek 11 0-2 22, Cole Brooks 6 2-2 18, Luke Lawson 6 2-2 18, Connor Oros 2 0-0 4, Andrew Roy 3 0-0 7, Ben Hicks 1 0-0 2, Brian Olan 0 0-0 0, Caiden Oros 0 0-0 0, Beauz Lizewski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 4-6 71.

NORTH ALLEGHENY 70Greg Habib 7 9-10 23, Jack Christy 3 0-0 7, Matt McDonough 5 0-0 15, Robby Jones 1 2-2 5, Khalil Dinkins 7 1-2 15, Kolin Dinkins 1 1-2 3, Jared Black 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 13-16 70.Seneca Valley 19 18 22 12 — 71North Allegheny13 25 22 10 — 703-point goals: Seneca Valley 9 (Brooks 4, Lawson 4, Roy); North Allegheny 7 (McDonough 5, Christy, Jones)Friday: Seneca Valley at North Hills