JACKSON TWP — Separation.

That's what the Seneca Valley boys basketball team was looking for and the Raiders earned it on two fronts Tuesday night.

SV used an 18-point advantage in the second half to defeat visiting Shaler going away, 65-43. The victory, coupled with Butler's loss to North Allegheny, gives the Raiders (13-6, 5-4) a one and a half game lead over the Golden Tornado for the fourth and final playoff spot from Section 3-AAAA.

“We wanted this one bad if we wanted to continue toward our goal of a WPIAL championship,” said senior forward T.J. Holl, who scored seven points in the win.

In the evening's first game, the Raiders' girls dropped a heartbreaking 74-65 overtime decision to the Titans.

Shaler (6-12, 2-8) was able to keep the boys game close in the first half, trailing just 26-22 at intermission. But while the Raiders cut down on their turnovers (four combined in the final two quarters), the Titans gave the ball up 11 times in that span.

Zach Snyder, who managed a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, scored on a baseline drive at the end of the third period for a 49-39 lead. SV sealed the win with a 16-4 fourth-quarter run.

“I was impressed with our defensive performance in the second half, especially beginning midway through the third period,” said SV coach Victor Giannotta. “I thought we did a nice job on No. 23 (Shaler sophomore guard Tanner Reinheimer, who led his team with eight points).”

Chad Izenas added 16 points for the Raiders and Jack Cook had 11.

While the Raiders took a huge step toward a WPIAL playoff berth, their work is not done. Their final three section games are against Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and Butler. The Rams and Tigers have already punched their ticket to the postseason, while the Tornado still have hopes of joining them.

“If we practice hard and play hard, there's no reason why we can't beat all three of those teams,” said Holl.

“It's great,” Giannotta said of his team's home stretch of the regular season. “This is why you play the game. Everybody on our team should be looking forward to it.”

Girls Shaler 74, SV 65 (OT)

Seneca Valley clinched a spot in the postseason, but not in the manner in which coach Rob Lombardo had hoped.

Entering Tuesday's play, the Raiders would be guaranteed a playoff bid with a win over Shaler or a Butler loss to North Allegheny.

While the Raiders (10-7, 5-4) fell to the Titans, NA toppled Butler.

“We're in the playoffs, but what this loss does is it makes it very tough for us to get out of the fourth spot in the section because Shaler swept us.”

Victory seemed to be there for the taking for SV, which held a 57-46 lead with 4:45 to play.

But Shaler (14-4, 6-4) closed regulation on a 15-4 run. With her layup, Christina Dunning had given the Raiders a three-point lead with 43 seconds left, but Shaler pulled even at 61 with Alliya Duritza's 3-pointer with 26 seconds on the clock.

“We have been in that situation (coming back) before, especially early in the season,” said Shaler coach Neal Martin. “We had confidence because of it. We told the girls that it's all about body language and fighting.”

The Raiders had a chance late in regulation when Sarah Jones appeared to be fouled on her missed 3-point attempt. Jones was knocked to the floor, but no call was made.

“Sarah got hammered, no question,” Lombardo said, “but the referees aren't going to make that call. They are going to let the players decide the game. That didn't cost us the game, though. Turnovers cost us the game.”

Despite a 16-point fourth quarter, the Raiders turned the ball over nine times in the period. Their sloppy play continued into overtime with three more costly miscues.

As a result, the Titans dominated the final 90 seconds of the extra period. SV had pulled to within 67-65 with Michaela Lamont's two free throws with 1:35 left. Led by Andi Lydon and Liz Kline, the Titans then went on a 7-0 run to end the game. Lydon scored 19 points, 17 of them coming in the fourth period and overtime. Kline paced Shaler with 24 points. The two players combined to make 18-of-20 free throw attempts.

“We knew if we attacked the basket, Seneca would foul and they did,” said Martin. “And we hit our free throws.”

Erin Danik scored 20 points and had seven rebounds for SV before fouling out with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter. Lamont scored 13 points, Melissa Carter 12 and Dunning 10.

Girls

SHALER 74

Rylee Donovan 2 1-4 5, Liz Kline 6 12-14 24, Gia Thorpe 3 6-6 12, Emily Ondo 2 1-1 5, Andi Lydon 6 6-6 19, Alliya Duritza 3 2-4 9, Maggie Soeder 0 0-0 0, Megan Lydon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 28-35 74.

SENECA VALLEY 65

Michaela Lamont 4 4-4 13, Shaley Bream 1 0-1 2, Christina Dunning 4 2-2 10, Sarah Jones 1 0-1 2, Paige Montrose 2 1-2 6, Melissa Carter 6 0-0 12, Erin Danik 6 6-6 20, Carolyn Palaski 0 0-0 0, Brooke Lyczek 0 0-0 0, Meghan Hess 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 13-16 65.

Shaler 20 12 12 17 13 — 74

Seneca Valley18 12 15 16 4 — 65

3-point goals: Shaler 2 (A. Lydon, Duritza); Seneca Valley 4 (Danik 2, Lamont, Montrose).

Thursday: Seneca Valley at Pine-Richland

Boys

SHALER 43

Rob Reinheimer 2 0-0 4, Tanner Reinheimer 2 4-4 8, Anthony Venezia 3 0-0 6, Brendan Deasy 2 0-1 5, Brennan Keillor 3 0-0 6, Nick Fugh 3 0-0 7, E.J. Posa 3 1-1 7. Totals: 18 5-6 43.

SENECA VALLEY 65

Zach Snyder 9 4-12 22, Jack Cook 5 0-1 11, T.J. Holl 2 3-3 7, Chad Izenas 6 2-3 16, Dakota Topf 3 1-1 8, Chris Hart 0 1-2 1, Andrew Smathers 0 0-2 0, Cody Boozel 0 0-0 0, Josh Balog 0 0-0 0, Matt Drambel 0 0-0 0, Nate Trzeciak 0 0-0 0, Pat Uher 0 0-0 0, Payton Skalos 0 0-0 0, Justin Koken 0 0-0 0, Matt Trotta 0 0-0 0, Jake Holl 0 0-0 0, Evan Schillero 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 11-24 65.

Shaler 12 10 17 4 — 43

Seneca Valley12 14 23 16 — 65

3-point goals: Shaler 2 (Deasy, Fugh); Seneca Valley 4 (Izenas 2, Cook, Topf).

Friday: Seneca Valley at Pine-Richland