ROSS TWP — Seneca Valley's bid to earn its first section victory of the season crumbled beneath the weight of poor shooting and a lackluster effort on the boards.

The result was a 61-43 boys basketball loss at North Hills Friday night, dropping the Raiders to 0-2 in Section 3-AAAA and 3-3 overall.

The height of frustration for Seneca coach Victor Giannotta came during the first half when his team shot just 24 percent (6-of-25) from the floor, including just three points in the second quarter, after which the Raiders trailed 29-15.

“If our energy level in the second half was prevalent throughout the entire game, we would have put ourselves in a position to win tonight,” said Giannotta.

SV did display a spark in the final two quarters, most notably a 10-0 run early in the fourth period that brought the Raiders to within 44-36. Chris Hart scored the first eight points of the spurt, which began with a pair of 3-pointers, and Marcus Might added a bucket with 5:31 left in the game. The Raiders were aided by three straight North Hills turnovers.

“They (Raiders) missed a lot of open looks tonight, but in the fourth quarter, we got sloppy and they hit some shots,” said Indians' coach Buzz Gabos.

Free throws pulled the Indians (3-3, 2-1) out of their funk. Junior guard Nick Smith made 7-of-8 attempts in a span of 90 seconds to hand control of the game back to North Hills at 53-38. Smith finished with a game-high 25 points.

“The thing that helped us was we were almost in the double-bonus when the fourth quarter began,” Gabos said. “When that happens and you have the lead that we had, you can just play keep-away as long as you are hitting your free throws. We were able to stabilize things from there.”

“When you have as much experience as North Hills has and a guard as good as him (Smith), a 12 or 13-point lead might as well be 25 points,” Giannotta said.

Jack Cook led Seneca with 12 points and Hart added 10. Andrew Paulauskas (20) and Ishmael Waldron (12) also scored in double digits for North Hills.

SV was out-rebounded 47-31, though Giannotta was encouraged by better play in the second half.

“To come on the road against a good team and not quit, it's a good learning experience for us,” he said.

The Raiders will try again for a section win when they host Shaler on Tuesday.

SENECA VALLEY 43

Jamir Carter 2 0-0 4, Nate Trzeciak 1 0-0 2, Payton Skalos 1 1-2 3, Matt Trotta 1 0-0 3, Jack Cook 3 4-6 12, Justin Koken 2 0-1 5, Chris Hart 4 0-0 10, Marcus Might 2 0-0 4. Totals: 16 5-9 43.

NORTH HILLS 61

Jon Stuckert 1 0-2 2, Nick Smith 5 12-17 25, Luke Chutko 1 0-0 2, Andrew Paulauskas 10 0-0 20, Ishmael Waldron 4 4-12 12. Totals: 21 16-31 61.

Seneca Valley 12 3 9 19 — 43

North Hills18 11 11 21 — 61

3-point goals: Seneca Valley 6 (Hart 2, Cook 2, Trotta, Koken); North Hills 3 (Smith 3).

Tuesday: Shaler at Seneca Valley