No points for style
ROSSTWP — It wasn't pretty, but the Seneca Valley boys basketball team will take it.
The Raiders nearly squandered a 12-point second-half lead, missed key free throws down the stretch and were generally sloppy, but they left North Hills with a 45-38 section win over the Indians.
"Regardless of some of the things — like free throw shooting and untimely turnovers and I don't think we shot the ball too well tonight — we still got the win," said Seneca Valley coach Vic Giannotta.
Raiders senior forward Matt Vogt and his torrid second quarter played a major role in the victory. Vogt scored 11 of his team-high 13-points in the period and helped Seneca Valley take a 10-point lead into halftime.
The lead was 12 early in the second quarter before North Hills began its slow, methodical climb back into the game.
With each missed Raider field goal, with each costly turnover, the Indians slowly narrowed the gap.
By the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the 12-point bulge was whittled down to two.
But North Hills (3-4, 1-2) committed a traveling violation and, on the Raiders' ensuing possession, Nate Herrmann worked himself wide open under the basket for an easy layup to give Seneca Valley a 42-38 lead.
"We were straight man and we had a guy who decided upon himself to trap," said North Hills coach Buzz Gabos. "We have five guys, four guys are playing man-to-man and one guy decides to float. That possession killed us."
North Hills also couldn't use Seneca Valley's free throw shooting woes to kill the Raiders. Seneca Valley was 9-of-21 from the line and missed the front end of three one-and-ones in the fourth quarter.
That mitigated the impact senior Cody Patton had in the fourth quarter for North Hills. He scored 11 points in the final period and finished with a game-high 18 points.
"We expect that from him," Gabos said.
The Raiders expected a tough game at North Hills. Seneca Valley has had little success in the Indians' gym in the past.
"It's been a tough environment for us to play in," Giannotta said.
No matter how it happened, Seneca Valley (3-3, 1-1) will treasure any section victory.
"We found a way to win," Giannotta said. "That's the bottom line."
SENECA VALLEY 45Evan Mitro 3-6 0-1 6, Dustin Anewalt 0-2 0-0 0, Christian Durbin 1-3 2-2 4, Nate Herrmann 4-7 0-0 10, Joe Belechak 0-1 0-0 0, DanRohm 0-4 4-4 4, Matt Vogt 6-12 1-2 13, C.J. Brown 3-8 2-10 8. Totals: 17-43 9-21 45
NORTH HILLS 38Cody Patton 6-14 3-4 18, SeanWhite 1-5 0-0 3, D.J. Scott 3-6 1-1 7, Scott Zubik 1-8 1-2 3, Jeff Witt 2-3 0-0 4, R.J. Miller 1-6 0-2 3. Totals: 14-42 5-9 38
Seneca Valley 8 16 11 10—45North Hills 9 5 12 12—383-point goals: Herrmann 2; Patton 3, White, Miller
JV: North Hills 50-43
Saturday: Seneca Valley vs. Penn Hills at Robert Morris University
