JACKSON TWP — Momentum in basketball, on a given night and from game to game, can be difficult to maintain.

Seneca Valley's boys struggled to do so for the majority of this season as the Raiders did not manage three straight wins in the first 15 games.

Now SV seems to have hit its stride and with the WPIAL playoffs beginning next week, it has come at the perfect time.

Outside shooting and a stingy defense Wednesday night sparked an 83-65 home victory over Butler, the fourth straight win for the Raiders (10-9, 6-5).

“We're playing our best basketball of the season, for sure,” said SV coach Kevin Trost. “This win also clinches third place in the section and that's important for us.

“Getting to our tenth win, it feels good after we won just four games last year.”

The victory snapped Butler's five-game winning streak.

The Raiders grabbed the lead (21-19) early in the second quarter thanks to a trey from Connor Oros and never gave it up. The team's defense of Butler junior guard Devin Carney was a big reason for that.

Carney attempted just two shots in the first half — five in the game — and finished with 10 points.

“They did a good job on Devin and that was the difference in the game,” said Butler coach Matt Clement. “Give credit to Kevin. He had a good strategy and they played it well.

“Devin still made good passes to set other guys up, but Seneca was just more efficient tonight.”

Carney scored a combined 72 points in two earlier games against the Raiders this season. The teams split those meetings, but Trost knew a win in the third game hinged on his team's ability to contain him as much as possible.

“We let him catch the ball too easily in those games ... and he's so good, if given the opportunity, he's going to score,” said Trost. “We wanted to trap him tonight, get the ball out of his hands and then face-guard him.”

Caiden and Connor Oros and Beaux Lizewski were tasked with guarding Carney and Matt Clement lauded their effort. He also complimented SV senior Connor Lyczek, who scored 20 points, on a strong defensive effort.

Butler (10-8, 5-7) had other players step up.

Senior Mattix Clement paced Butler with 19 points and sophomore Madden Clement, added 17.

Madden's off-balance trey from the right wing — one of 13 treys in the game for Butler — cut SV's lead to 65-59 at the third-quarter buzzer.

But the Tornado's rally fizzled with just six points scored in the final period.

The Raiders also drained 13 treys in the game, seven in the second half to help them maintain the lead.

“Cole (Brooks) is averaging 24 or 25 points per game for them and we held him to 12,” said Clement, “but those 3s just gave them a lead we couldn't surmount.”

Luke Lawson scored 15 points for the Raiders, Andrew Roy 12 and Caiden Oros 11.

“That's the biggest difference between now and earlier this season,” said Trost. “Cole and Connor have been there all season for us, but now we're getting a lot of contributions from our secondary guys.”

“We don't have time to dwell on tonight,” Matt Clement said. “Now it's one loss and you're done.”

BUTLER 65Devin Carney 3 1-2 10, Mattix Clement 6 4-4 19, Colin Patterson 2 0-0 4, Charlie Kreinbucher 1 0-0 2, Raine Gratzmiller 1 1-2 3, Madden Clement 6 0-0 17, David Leslie 3 0-0 8, Kaleb Proudfoot 1 0-0 2, Logan Koegler 0 0-0 0, Brayden Koegler 0 0-0 0, Jordan Stutz 0 0-0 0, CJ Singleton 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 6-8 65.

SENECA VALLEY 82Connor Lyczek 9 2-5 20, Cole Brooks 4 2-2 12, Luke Lawson 6 0-0 15, Ben Hicks 1 2-2 5, Andrew Roy 5 0-2 12, Caiden Oros 4 0-0 11, Connor Oros 3 0-0 8, Beaux Lizewski 0 0-0 0, Brian Olan 0 0-0 0, Jameson Grieco 0 0-0 0. Totals: 32 6-11 83.Butler 13 17 29 6 — 65Seneca Valley16 24 25 18 — 833-point goals: Butler 13 (Mad. Clement 5, Carney 3, Mat. Clement 3, Leslie 2); Seneca Valley 13 (Lawson 3, Ca. Oros 3, Co. Oros 2, Roy 2, Brooks 2, Hicks).JV: Seneca Valley 63-50 (B-Singleton 12 points; SV-Grieco 22)Friday: Seneca Valley at New CastleTuesday: Norwin at Butler; Seneca Valley at Mt. Lebanon, WPIAL 6A playoffs