PITTSBURGH — Seneca Valley took momentum into halftime.

In the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Raiders took complete control of the game.

Christian Durbin's layup in the closing seconds of the first half gave SV a 28-19 edge before his team went on a 12-0 run in the first 3:45 of the third period for a 40-19 lead.

The Raiders (9-5, 5-2) held off a fourth-quarter rally by Central Catholic and came away with a 65-59 boys basketball victory in SV's first trip to the Vikings' Alumni Gymnasium.

The teams entered the night tied for the Section 3-AAAA lead with records of 4-2.

"At halftime, we talked about knowing what we're doing defensively and the fact that we had to make a run," said Raiders coach Vic Giannotta. "We knew coming down here to this gym, with all of the tradition, we needed to have an eight- to 10-point lead with three minutes left."

As it turned out, Giannotta was right.

Trailing 45-26 entering the final quarter, Central Catholic went on an 11-4 run to open the period.

The Vikings hit 10 3-pointers and six came in the final eight minutes, as the team scored 33 points in the period.

But SV managed a 6-0 run in a span of 57 seconds midway through the quarter to push its lead back to 55-37.

The spurt included two free throws from Durbin and baskets by Dustin Anewalt and Matt Vogt.

The Vikings (8-5, 4-3) didn't close the gap to fewer than 10 points until the final minute.

"Seneca Valley took it to us the whole game, to be honest with you," said Central Catholic coach Chuck Crummie. "The first time we played them (a 71-63 Vikings win Dec. 12), we played with enthusiasm. I didn't see that tonight until four minutes left in the game."

Durbin led all scorers with 21 points, while the Raiders received a career-high 18 points from Vogt and 10 points from C.J. Brown.

"I just try to play within the flow of the game," said Vogt, a senior center who added six rebounds. "When I get in a good position, I look to either kick it out or take the shot."

The Raiders made all eight of their free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter, six by Durbin and a pair by Vogt.

SV dominated the boards, grabbing 33 rebounds to the Vikings' 19.

"This was a huge win," said Vogt. "We control our fate in the section. It was great to come in here in front of their crowd and win."

SENECAVALLEY65C.J. Brown 4 1-1 10, Matt Vogt 8 2-2 18, Dustin Anewalt 2 0-0 4, Evan Mitro 3 0-0 6, Joe Belechak 1 0-0 3, Christian Durbin 6 7-9 21, Dan Rohm 1 0-0 3, Nate Herrmann 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 10-12 65.

CENTRALCATHOLIC 59Brian Radjakovich 1 0-0 3, Tim Lackner 1 0-0 3, Liam Halferty 2 2-3 8, Ben Mickens 0 2-2 2, Anthony Horne 1 0-0 2, Dylan Layton 4 0-0 9, Lucas Mickens 5 1-2 14, Evan Tsudis 5 2-2 14, Will Burgess 1 0-0 2, Daniel Schnelbach 1 0-0 2, Lincoln Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 7-9 59.

Seneca Valley 13 15 17 20—65Central Catholic 9 10 7 33—593-point goals: Seneca Valley 5 (Durbin 2, Brown, Belechak); Central Catholic 10 (L. Mickens 3, Halferty 2, Tsudis 2, Radjakovich, Lackner, Layton).

JV: Central Catholic 50-46

Thursday: North Hills at Seneca Valley