Raiders grab section lead with victory over Rams
JACKSON TWP — It's amazing how smoothly things go when you stick to the game plan.
On Senior Night, Seneca Valley boys basketball coach Vic Giannotta wanted his team to come out and assume control early.
The Raiders raced out to a 24-7 lead after the first quarter to roll to a 72-47 victory over Pine-Richland in a Section 3-AAAA contest Friday.
"I thought the key to the game was to get out early and put them in a hole," said Giannotta. "It gave us confidence.
"We had good shots and our shot selection was good. For the seniors, it was an emotional night and our defensive pressure was strong,"Giannotta added.
The Raiders (11-6, 7-3), who moved into first place in the section ahead of North Allegheny (6-3), Central Catholic (7-4) and North Hills (5-4), took to a 9-2 lead and led 12-7 before closing out the final 1:53 of the first quarter on a 12-0 run to take the 24-7 advantage.
Dan Rohm began and ended the run with 3-pointers and had three treys in the first period. Matt Vogt chipped in with six points.
"It has you playing uphill from the get-go, and against a good team, you can't do that," said Rams coach Brian Gaetano.
"Defensively, we were passive. When you let a team shoot 78 percent from the floor, that has something to do with your defense. You're not prepared and that's my fault," Gaetano added.
A pair of 3-pointers from Eric Holmes helped the Rams (3-16, 2-8) to pull to 28-15.
The Raiders, however, received a 3-pointer and another basket from C.J. Brown and a trey from Christian Durbin to take a commanding 36-15 lead with 37 seconds left in the half.
Pine-Richland, which suffered its 12th loss in the past 13 games, would get no closer than 18 points the rest of the way.
"When you have the type of season we're having, the shots don't fall in for you, and when you're going like (Seneca Valley) is, they go in," Gaetano noted.
The Raiders used a balanced scoring attack en route to the win. Brown scored a game-high 19 points, while Rohm, Vogt and Evan Mitro chipped in with 12 points apiece.
Holmes led Pine-Richland with 15 points.
PINE-RICHLAND 47Eric Holmes 6 0-0 15, Erik Kordenbrock 3 2-2 9, Ian Hennessy 1 0-0 2, R.J. White 2 1-2 5, Tom Johnson 3 1-2 7, Andy Andrle 0 0-0 0, Collin Ryan 0 0-0 0, Chris Rader 90 0-0 0, Jon Thompson 0 0-0 0, Ed Baranowski 2 1-1 5, Ben Brown 1 0-0 2, Mike Felker 1 0-2 2. Totals: 19 5-9 47.
SENECAVALLEY72Dustin Anewalt 0 0-0 0, Nate Herrmann 3 0-0 7, Dan Rohm 4 0-0 12, Matt Vogt 6 0-0 12, C.J. Brown 8 2-4 19, Marco Corona 1 0-0 2, Eric Davis 1 0-0 2, Evan Mitro 5 1-2 12, Christian Durbin 2 0-0 5, Joe Belechak 0 0-0 0, Alex Maxfield 0 0-0 0, Alan Heery 0 1-2 1, Pat Kulp 0 0-0 0. Totals: 30 4-8 72.
Pine-Richland 7 9 18 13—47Seneca Valley 24 12 19 17—723-point goals: Holmes 3, Kordenbrock; Rohm 4, Mitro, Durbin, Herrmann, Brown
JV: Pine-Richland, 57-45
Saturday: Seneca Valley at Shady Side Academy
