Seneca Valley bows in overtime of WPIAL basketball semifinal

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

February 26, 2009 Last Updated: February 26, 2009 02:28 PM High School

Seneca Valley’s C.J. Brown reacts after the Raidersdropped a 58-52 decision to Peters Township in overtimeof their WPIAL Class AAAA boys basketball semifinal game Wednesday night at North Allegheny.

WEXFORD — An Insta-Classic.

The score was tied five times. The lead changed hands 16 times. Neither team ever had a double-digit lead.

Peters Township sank six free throws in as many tries in the final 48 seconds of overtime Wednesday night, giving the Indians (22-2) a 58-52 triumph over Seneca Valley in a WPIAL Class AAAA boys basketball semifinal at North Allegheny High School.

"Our decision-making in overtime was suspect,"Raiders coach Vic Giannotta said. "But that doesn't take away from how hard we played or how great a game this was."

<table width="300" height="275" border="0" align="right" valign="top" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="/assets/mov/BE65203226.MOV" width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" ></embed></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/" target="_blank">Requires Quicktime Media Player </a> Video by Brandon Gerthoffer<td></tr></table>Seneca Valley missed all six of its field goal attempts in overtime before committing fouls late.The Raiders (16-8) trailed 43-37 with 6:22 left in regulation before going on a 9-0 run to take a 46-43 lead with 3:48 remaining.C.J. Brown sank a short jumper, Christian Durbin hit a layup and Brown stick back an offensive rebound to tie the game at 43. Durbin nailed a free throw and an eight-footer to put the Raiders in front.Durbin, a sophomore point guard, drove to the hoop for another layup and a 48-45 lead with 3:08 to play.Seneca Valley's final lead of the night was 50-49 as Matt Vogt laid in a shot with two minutes left in regulation."I expected this type of game,"Peters Township coach Gary Goga said. "Seneca Valley is a heckuva team. They're a well-coached, aggressive bunch of kids who keep coming at you."Junior guard Phil Horensky sank a 3-pointer to give the Indians a 52-50 lead with 1:33 to play. The Raiders tied it for the final time on two Brown free throws with 1:20 on the clock.From there, Peters Township held for the final shot."I was fine with that,"Giannotta said. "C.J. was playing with four fouls.""I'm comfortable with Nick (Wilcox) and Craig (Wolcott) handling the ball in that type of situation,"Gota said. "We can delay for a lot longer than a minute if we want to."We were trying to set a high screen for Nick, but it wasn't there."Wolcott got off an open shot from the right baseline with four seconds left, but missed. Wilcox grabbed the rebound and tossed up a shot just before the buzzer that wasn't close.

Both teams turned the ball over twice in overtime. Neither sank a field goal. Seneca Valley's Vogt missed a pair of shots from inside the paint — Brown rebounding the first one — before Peters Township regained possession with just under a minute to go."Matt had two good looks. They just didn't go down,"Giannotta said. "Then we foul a kid at midcourt and they beat us with free throws."Wilcox hit both free throws with 48.9 seconds left, then added two more with 28 seconds to play. Both trips to the line were one-and-one situations.Wolcott sank two free throws with four seconds left to account for the final six-point margin.Wilcox, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Indians, along with handling the ball."There's a lot of great players in the WPIAL, but I don't think there's a better all-around player than Nick,"Gota said. "The kid can do everything.""Wilcox was the best player on the floor tonight,"Giannotta acknowledged. "But C.J. was right behind him."Brown had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Raiders. Peters Township opened its biggest lead — 39-30 with 3:21 left in the third quarter — with Brown on the bench with three fouls. He was whistled for his third foul 24 seconds into the quarter while trying to catch a tipped pass."Ididn't see any foul there,"Giannotta said, shaking his head.Vogt had 16 points and 10 boards for the Raiders while Durbin scored 11 points.Horensky came off the bench to score 17 points for Peters Township, knocking down three treys."He was the X factor in this game,"Giannotta said."Phil can give us points,"Goga said. "He hit five 3-pointers against Upper St. Clair in a game this year."While Peters Township will make its first-ever appearance in the WPIALfinals Saturday night, Seneca Valley awaits the state tournament."Only one team can win the WPIAL,"Giannotta said. "The bigger prize is still out there for us."SENECA VALLEY 52Evan Mitro 1-5 1-2 4, Dustin Anewalt 0-0 0-0 0, Christian Durbin 5-12 1-2 11, Nate Herrmann 0-5 0-0 0, Dan Rohm 1-4 0-0 3, Matt Vogt 7-13 2-3 16, C.J. Brown 7-126 4-6 18. Totals: 21-56 8-12 52PETERS TOWNSHIP 58Craig Wolcott 1-9 2-2 4, Phil Horensky 5-10 4-4 17, Nick Wilcox 12-18 6-6 31, Stephen Radke 1-4 1-3 3, Jon Kovac 1-6 0-0 3, Corey Wilcox 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 20-49 13-17 58Seneca Valley 15 12 8 17 0—52Peters Twp. 17 11 13 11 6—583-point goals: Mitro, Rohm; Horensky 3, N.Wilcox, KovacSaturday: WPIAL Class AAAA championship-Peters Township vs. Mt. Lebanon, 9 p.m., Palumbo Center

Seneca Valley’s Evan Mitro tries to steal the ball from Peters Township’s Corey Wilcox during the WPIAL Class AAAA boys basketball semifinals Wednesday night at North Allegheny. The Raiders dropped a 58-52 overtime decision.