Tigers pile up the points
JACKSON TWP — It wasn't the pace of play that bothered Seneca Valley basketball coach Kevin Trost, but the scoreboard.
The Raiders tried to keep up with North Allegheny's fast-pace style, but the visiting Tigers proved too much in a 91-68 Section 1 decision at SV's William Paul Gymnasium Tuesday night.
“That's how we've been playing and we believe it gives us the best chance to win,” Trost said, “but what I'm not OK with is giving up 91 points.
“We can't give up as many easy baskets as we did tonight.”
After the Tigers (2-1, 2-0) scored 32 points in the first quarter on a blistering 86 percent (12 of 14) from the field, they cooled off, making just four of their first 16 shots in the second quarter.
The Raiders took advantage, mounting a 16-6 run and when Connor Oros drained a 3-pointer with 3:05 left in the first half, NA's lead was down to 38-36.
“I told the guys when I took over that we have the chance to be one of the highest scoring teams in the WPIAL,” said first-year Tigers coach Dan DeRose, who guided Penn Hills to a WPIAL championship in 2018. “But I prefer our guys shooting a high percentage of (two-pointers). When you play the style that we do, you tend to get tired at times and we started settling for 3-pointers in the second quarter. We didn't have the legs to make them.
“Our players showed me a lot, though, because they didn't cave in.”
Instead, NA got back to its game. Senior forward Greg Habib scored three baskets late in the first half and the Tigers' lead swelled back to 13 points (51-38) by halftime.
The Raiders (2-1, 1-1) never threatened again.
Habib led NA with 24 points and junior Robby Jones added 19.
SV's Cole Brooks led all scorers with 27, including 11 in the first quarter, and teammate Connor Lyczek scored 21.
Brooks drained seven treys.
“We have a lot of guys who can score, but we need a third guy to get into double figures or a couple to move up into that 8- or 9-point range,” said Trost. “We didn't get much work in during the offseason and we're still learning the system. It's trial and error right now.”
The Raiders seem to be learning well on the fly, however. SV is now averaging 77 points per game, including 85 points in a win over Pine-Richland last Friday.
“We won just four games all of last season and we already have two,” said Trost. “The win over Pine-Richland was big for us because we hold their program in high regard.”
NORTH ALLEGHENY 91Greg Habib 11 2-8 24, Jack Christy 1 2-3 4, Kyrell Hutcherson 2 0-0 4, Matt McDonough 4 1-2 9, Robby Jones 7 1-2 19, Ethan Lake 3 0-0 6, Connor Casten 3 1-1 7, Greg Phillips 4 0-0 9, Khalil Dinkins 2 2-3 6, Jared Black 1 1-2 3. Totals: 38 10-21 91.
SENECA VALLEY 68Connor Lyczek 10 1-5 21, Cole Brooks 9 2-2 27, Luke Lawson 2 0-0 5, Ben Hicks 1 0-0 3, Jameson Grieco 1 1-2 3, Brian Olan 2 0-2 4, Aiden Lyczek 1 0-0 2, Connor Oros 1 0-0 3, Caiden Oros 0 0-2 0. Totals: 27 4-13 68.North Allegheny 32 19 14 26 — 91Seneca Valley20 18 14 16 — 683-point goals: North Allegheny 5 (Jones 4, Phillips); Seneca Valley 10 (Brooks 7, Lawson, Hicks, Co. Oros)Wednesday: Seneca Valley at Central Catholic
