Boards costly to SV
FOX CHAPEL — Rebounding is all about ratio for Seneca Valley boys basketball coach Kevin Trost.
And he didn't like those numbers Saturday at Fox Chapel.
The Foxes (10-2) out-rebounded the Raiders 38-17 overall — 26-9 in the first half — in rolling to a 71-55 non-section victory on their home floor.
“We're not a big rebounding team this year,” Trost said. “But we have to stay competitive in that regard.
“When we get outboarded 2 to 1, 3 to 1, we're usually in trouble. That's what happened today. They killed us on the glass.”
Fox Chapel jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the game's first four minutes. Seneca Valley (6-8) was outscored 20-4 in the opening quarter and never got the deficit out of double digits the rest of the way.
The Foxes have won eight straight games.
“Rebounding was going to be important in this one because Seneca Valley's offense is so explosive.” Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar said. “We were limiting them to one shot most of the time. That was a big key today.
“We were also able to score a few buckets in transition.”
Add to those points the fact Fox Chapel stuck back a number of offensive rebounds.
“Too many of those,” Trost said. “That really hurt us.”
Still, the Raiders battled back. After trailing by as many as 19 midway through the third quarter, they pulled within 50-38 by the end of that frame.
Layups by Connor Lyczek and Andrew Roy at the end of the quarter gave SV some momentum entering the final period.
But it was squelched rather quickly.
Fox Chapel junior guard Eli Yofan canned a trey to begin the fourth quarter. James Dockey followed with a three-point play and the Foxes' lead was back to 18. When junior forward Russell Fenton completed a three-point play of his own, Fox Chapel had a 62-43 edge with 5:54 left.
The Raiders were held to a season-low 55 points. Seneca Valley was held below 60 only one other time this season — a 66-58 loss at Central Catholic on Jan. 13.
When you're in-bounding the ball to begin your possessions, it's tough to quicken the pace,” Trost said. “Fox Chapel controlled the boards and the pace of this game.
“They were patient with a lot of their possessions and made them count.”
Yofan, averaging 21 points per game, tallied 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Foxes. Dockey had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Fenton had nine points and nine boards.
Lyczek paced the Raiders with 17 points and three steals. Cole Brooks scored 14 points, hitting four treys. Luke Lawson and Roy had three assists each.
Fox Chapel graduated three starters from a year ago.
“This team is coming together well,” Skrinjar said. “Today was a big step for us.”
SENECA VALLEY 55Connor Lyczek 7-12 3-4 17, Cole Brooks 5-17 0-0 14, Beaux Lizewski 2-3 0-0 5, Jameson Grieco 0-0 0-0 0, Aiden Lyczek 1-1 0-1 2, Caiden Oros 2-3 1-2 5, Connor Oros 1-3 0-0 3, Luke Lawson 1-5 0-0 3, Andrew Roy 2-2 2-2 6. Totals: 21-46 6-8 55.
FOX CHAPEL 71Eli Yofan 12-20 1-1 29, Cameron Griel 1-3 2-2 5, James Dockey 6-9 3-3 15, Kent Baldauf 3-13 0-0 8, Jacob DeMotte 1-5 0-0 3, Russell Fenton 2-4 5-6 9, Alex Blaylock 1-2 0-0 2, James Hanna 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 26-57 11-12 71.Seneca Valley 4 17 17 17 — 55Fox Chapel20 17 13 21 — 713-point goals: Brooks 4, Co.Oros, Lawson, Lizewski; Yofan 4, Griel, Baldauf 2, DeMotteJV: Seneca Valley, 61-48 (SV: Jameson Grieco 31, Andrew Roy 15; FC: Erik Wilson 17, Cameron Griel 10)Tuesday: Knoch at Seneca Valley
