SV boys lose to NA
JACKSON TWP — North Allegheny put an end to Seneca Valley’s playoff hopes with a dominating 73-52 win at William Paul Gymnasium on Tuesday.
The Tigers were led by their frontcourt of Ty Iwanonkiw and Joey Dopirak who combined for 43 points.
Nothing came easy for Seneca Valley offensively against the Tigers. Drawing fouls and knocking down free throws was the only source of offense the Raiders had for much of the game – going a perfect 11-11 from the stripe. Kai West (11 points) and Tyler Pepin (14) both scored in double figures for Seneca Valley.
Seneca Valley head coach Kevin Trost thinks the Tigers – who have won four straight games – will be a tough out in the playoffs.
“They had a lot of injuries early and for the last three weeks they’ve had everybody together and they’re playing really well,” Trost said. “They’re senior oriented… they have a lot of the tools that you need to win in the playoffs.”
The Raiders cut the lead to single digits several times in the third quarter, but the Tigers always had an answer offensively. North Allegheny made Seneca Valley pay in transition and created open shots within their halfcourt offense thanks to an effective low post passing game.
“The two bigs did well, we did a better job getting the ball to the high post and then entering it into the low post… and I thought that gave us some opportunities in the post,” North Allegheny head coach Dave DeGregorio said.
North Allegheny will host Central Catholic for the Class 6A Section 1 title on Friday night.
“They’re super athletic,” DeGregorio said on the upcoming matchup. “We have to do a good job on offense not getting sped up because they like to speed you up and get you out of your stuff.”
Despite losing the final home game of the season, Trost is proud of the resolve that his group showed down the stretch of the season.
“There’s a lot of character with our group and they fight and battle,” Trost said. “I do think that our seniors – Jake Manson, Esheza [Okponobi] and Kai – are good leaders for our team with the way they play and verbally too. No matter what the score is, whether we win a couple, lose a couple, they keep working every day.”
Trost thinks that the returners on next year’s team can learn a lot from the Raiders senior leaders.
“I’m hopeful that they pick up some of their mental toughness and they way that they battle through adversity,” Trost said. “They don’t pout and they just keep going — and I hope that our young kids pick that up.”
NORTH ALLEGHENY 73
Ty Iwanonkiw 9 4-4 23, Joey Dopirak 9 2-4 20, Carter Melzer 5 0-1 12, Anthony Sciote 3 0-0 7, Joseph Marquis 2 0-0 5, Paul Rubish 2 0-0 4, Blake Craft 1 0-0 2. Totals: 31 6-9 73.
SENECA VALLEY 52
Tyler Pepin 5 3-3 14, Kai West 2 6-6 11, Esheza Okponobi 3 0-0 8, Andrew Omasits 3 2-2 8, Ryan Priester 2 0-0 4, Jaxon Householder 2 0-0 4, Nico Santapau 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 11-11 52.
North Allegheny 14 19 17 23 — 73
Seneca Valley 10 12 15 15 — 52
3-point field goals: North Allegheny 5 (Melzer 2, Marquis, Iwanonkiw, Sciote); Seneca Valley 6 (Okponobi 2, Pepin, Omasits, Santapau, West)
Friday: Seneca Valley at New Castle
