BUTLER TWP — Seneca Valley treated the game like a must-win — and played like it.

The Raiders sank 29 of 52 shots from the field — including 13 treys — in holding off Butler, 77-74, for a critical Section 1-6A boys basketball victory Tuesday night on the road. The win snapped a six-game losing streak and keeps SV (7-12, 3-7) alive for a WPIAL playoff berth.

“We needed to get a ‘W’ pretty bad,” Raider senior Jameson Grieco admitted. “We knew coming up here would be a tough one. But must-win? Yeah, definitely a must-win.”

“Realistically, this was a playoff game for us,” SV coach Kevin Trost said.

Neither team ever had a double-digit lead. The score was tied six times in the second half and the lead changed hands three times over the final two quarters.

The Raiders took the lead for good at 67-65 when Connor Oros sank a layup with 3:36 remaining. Grieco stuck back an offensive rebound, then hit two free throws with 1:43 left to give the visitors a 73-65 advantage.

But Butler (9-8, 3-7) wasn’t done yet.

An offensive rebound and put-back by Raine Gratzmiller was followed by a Hayden Thompson steal. Thompson fed the ball to Gratzmiller for a trey and the Golden Tornado were within 73-70 with 41.3 seconds lerft. Two Caiden Oros free throws were answered by a Thompson trey and Butler trailed 75-73 with 17.9 ticks on the clock.

With his team trailing 76-73 with 1.5 seconds to go, Gratzmiller was fouled while attempting a trey. He sank the first free throw, missed the second, then quickly flipped his third shot off the rim, crashed the boards and laid his own rebound in. But the official waved the play off.

“They ruled Raine left (the foul line) before the ball hit the rim,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “I didn’t see the play, so I can’t comment on it.”

A free throw by Grieco accounted for the final three-point margin.

Seneca Valley overcame a 9-0 deficit in the game’s first two minutes and a nine-point deficit late in the first half in securing eventual victory.

“We have up 20 points in transition tonight. That’s way too many,” Clement said. “That was the difference in the game. Give them credit because they made the shots. We were a little flat-footed on defense. We didn’t come out and contest enough.

“But they hit ‘em. Their two best shooting games of the year are against us.”

The Raiders’ 77 points marked a season-high. The previous high was 70, which SV tallied against Butler in a home game Jan. 14.

“We know how good they are offensively,” Grieco said. “Coach told us to be patient and just keep on swinging. They play a lot of zone defensively, so we had to take advantage of our open looks.”

Grieco led the Raiders with 25 points, including six treys. Luke Lawson had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Andrew Roy had 15 points, Connor Oros 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

“I thought we did a good job of sharing the ball,” Trost said. “Butler gave us a few different looks defensively and our kids responded well. We were patient with the ball and our big men did a nice job of kicking it back out.”

Devin Carney paced Butler with 21 points. Colin Patterson drained a career-high six treys for 18 points while Gratzmiller had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Thompson came off the bench late for some closing minute heroics in a losing cause.

“We needed a spark off the bench and Hayden gave it to us,” Clement said. “Colin had the game of his life. Those two guys deserve to leave this locker room tonight feeling better than they do.”

With two section games left, Butler, Seneca Valley and North Allegheny are battling for the section’s final two playoff spots. The Tornado travel to Pine-Richland Friday before hosting North Allegheny next week. The Raiders host unbeaten North Hills Friday, then close section play with Pine-Richland.

“We’ve got the top two teams in the section left,” Trost said. “But in this section, anything can happen.”

“We know what we have to do now,” said Clement, whose team lost for the sixth time in seven games. “We have to win.”

SENECA VALLEY 77

Aiden Lyczek 1-3 0-0 2, Connor Oros 4-7 0-0 10, Luke Lawson 7-11 0-0 17, Jameson Grieco 8-17 3-5 25, Caiden Oros 2-5 3-4 8, Andrew Roy 7-10 0-0 15. Totals: 29-52 6-10 77.

BUTLER 74

Braylon Littlejohn 1-3 2-2 4, Raine Gratzmiller 6-12 1-3 15, Devin Carney 8-14 3-3 21, Madden Clement 3-7 0-0 7, Ryan Porch 0-1 0-0 0, Colin Patterson 6-12 0-0 18, Charlie Kreinbucher 3-4 0-0 6, Lance Slater 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Thompson 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 28-57 6-7 74.

Seneca Valley 18 19 20 20 — 77

Butler 19 21 12 22 — 74

3-point goals: Seneca Valley 13 (Co.Oros 2, Lawson 3, Grieco 6, Ca.Oros, Roy), Butler 12 (Gratzmiller 2, Carney 2, Clement, Patterson 6, Thompson)

JV: Butler, 49-41 (B: Ayden Davis 11, Ryan McLister 8, Coleton Welter 8; SV: Kai West 13, Tyler Pippen 11)

Friday: North Hills at Seneca Valley, Butler at Pine-Richland