ROSS TWP — Victor Giannotta wanted a better defensive effort this time around.

And he got it.

The Seneca Valley boys basketball coach watched his team limit North Hills to just 16 combined points in the second and third quarters as his Raiders picked up a 58-47 section road win Friday night.

In the teams' first meeting Jan. 3, the Raiders survived despite allowing 68 points.

“We didn't press or trap because North Hills is good at breaking it,” Giannotta said of his team's latest effort. “But we did a very good job in our halfcourt defense. We also rebounded well.”

After limiting the Indians (7-10, 2-7) to just seven points in the third quarter, the Raiders held a 41-29 lead with eight minutes to play.

A 5-0 run midway through the final period, including a conventional 3-point play from senior center Steve Hearty, pulled the Indians to within 46-38 with 3:36 remaining on the clock.

But North Hills wasn't able to pull any closer, thanks in large part to free throws. The Raiders scored nine of their 17 points in the period from the charity stripe.

Seneca Valley also made all four of its field goal attempts in the final stanza.

“We made enough basketball plays down the stretch to keep them at bay,” Giannotta said.

“We got the looks tonight,” said Indians' coach Buzz Gabos. “We got the ball inside as we like to do. (Hearty) had 22 points, but missed several layups and we did not shoot well from the perimeter (2-of-15).

“With three or four minutes to play, we were right in the game,” he added. “We forced a few turnovers, but then we'd give it right back to them.”

Another statistic that did not go the Indians' way in the second half was rebounds. SV grabbed 13 in that span to North Hills' five.

Alex Maxfield led the Raiders with 14 points while Matt Smith scored 13 and Chad Albert 11. Albert's total included a trio of 3-pointers.

Joel Pepmeyer tallied 12 points in a supporting role for North Hills.

SV's win has the Raiders (12-6, 5-3) tied for second place in the section with North Allegheny.

“Anytime you can get a road win in this section, it's a good feeling,” said Giannotta.

Seneca Valley hosts section leader Shaler on Tuesday.

SENECA VALLEY 58Matt Smith 6 1-2 13, Easton Bazzoli 1 5-9 7, Zach Spangler 1 1-2 3, Chad Albert 4 0-0 11, Alex Maxfield 4 4-4 14, Austin Bream 1 0-0 2, Alex Snyder 4 0-0 8, Matt Darby 0 0-0 0, Dan Cashdollar 0 0-0 0, T.J. Holl 0 0-0 0, Eric Woods 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 21 11-17 58.

NORTH HILLS 47Alex Wright 3 0-0 7, Sam Tovissi 2 1-2 6, Joel Pepmeyer 4 4-7 12, Steve Hearty 8 6-7 22, Danny White 0 0-0 0, Bryce Henny 0 0-0 0, Mike Sieber 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 17 11-16 47.

Seneca Valley 15 13 13 17—58North Hills 13 9 7 18—473-point goals: Seneca Valley 5 (Albert 3, Maxfield 2); North Hills 2 (Wright, Tovissi).

Tuesday: Shaler at Seneca Valley