Raiders Basketball Team Loses OT Battle to Shaler

While the outcome was the same, boys varsity basketball team put up fight in their second loss of the season to the no. 1-ranked Shaler Titans on Tuesday.

The Titans defeated the Raiders 62-60 in overtime in a game played out on Seneca Valley's home turf.

The Titans also had a decisive 72-48 win over the Raiders in January.

Victory wasn't so easy this time around.

Good defense and good passing by Seneca Valley coupled with solid shooting from the Raiders' offensive players led to a 15-15 tie at the end of the first quarter. With Titans standout Geno Thorpe getting into some foul trouble early on in the game, the Raiders were down by two at the end of the first half.  

The Titans ramped up their offense in the third quarter as seven different players scored 15 points.

Senior Alex Maxfield and junior R. J. McCauley led the way for the Raiders in the third quarter, scoring with 10 and eight points respectively. Turnovers and a technical foul with three minutes left in the quarter slowed the Titan's momentum. Maxfield took full advantage of the Titans technical foul, sinking all three free shots caused by the penalty.  

The quarter ended with the Raiders up 44-43.

In the fourth quarter, the lead bounced back and forth between the two teams. With 5:37 remaining in the game, Seneca Valley was ahead 51-47, its biggest lead of the game.

With little more than a minute left to go, the Titans, now leading 55-54, jumped ahead again when Thorpe scored, making it a 2-point game. The Raiders tied up the score at 56 points, sending the game into OT.

Titans forward J. P Holtz and Thorpe each put two points on the scoreboard and forward Brian Bittner contributed a lay-up during the overtime battle.   

Seneca Valley's Maxfield added two baskets of his own, but it wasn't enough to pull the Raiders ahead.

Final score: Seneca Valley 60—Shaler 62 (OT)

Additional images may be viewed at jimmeb.smugmug.com/Sports