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Sports

Bittersweet Basketball Season Ends

Senior Christian Durbin ended his SV career with 1,067 points. The boys and the girls teams missed the playoffs, but closed their seasons with twin victories

senior guard closed out his high school career with 1,067 points, but fell just short of his ultimate goal to lead his team to the WPIAL Class AAAA basketball playoffs.

“It’s always bittersweet when you win your last game, but miss the playoffs,” Seneca Valley coach Victor Giannotta said. “We felt the way we were playing (at the end), if we could have gotten into the playoffs, we could have won some games.”

Seneca Valley finished one victory out of the playoffs with a 5-7 mark in the WPIAL’s volatile and highly-competitive Section 3-AAAA. The Raiders boys were 10-11 overall.

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The Raiders were edged out of a playoff berth by Pine-Richland (6-6, 13-6) and Butler (6-6, 12-9) on the final weekend of the season. Shaler (11-1) and North Allegheny (10-2) led the section race for most of the season.

Pine-Richland’s shocking 56-52 upset over previously undefeated Shaler (11-1, 20-1) last Friday ultimately was the blow that knocked the Raiders out of the playoffs.

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Durbin tossed in 22 points and junior guard Alex Maxfield added 13 as the Raiders ended the season on a high note with a 63-59 victory over playoff-bound Butler on Friday.

Giannotta said he’ll take a two-week break from basketball before looking ahead to next season and starting the task of breaking down the videos and the performances of his upcoming players.

Durbin led Seneca Valley with an 18-point average this past season.

While Durbin is graduating, Giannotta has his second-leading scorer returning in Maxfield, who averaged 12.5 points per game. Durbin and Maxfield combined in Seneca Valley’s backcourt to average just over 30 points per game.

Seneca Valley had nine sophomores on its varsity and junior varsity roster. The group of sophomores included Zach Spangler, Easton Bazzzoli, R.J. McCauley, Jordan Brown and Alex Snyder. The juniors on the varsity roster included Matt Smith, Chad Albert, Maxfield and Austin Bream.

In addition to Durbin, senior losses will include Mike Miles, Beau Barclay, Pat Kulp and Justin McCauley.

“We had a boatload of sophomores,” Giannotta said. “They all had some extremely valuable experience this past season in gaining some toughness and learning what it takes to win at the Quad-A level. Giving them a jayvee season and going the first time through the section gives them a realistic understanding of what it takes to be successful in Section 3.”

Girls Finish Strong

The Seneca Valley team finished on a winning note with a 52-29 non-section home victory over Central Valley Monday night.

Senior guard Alyssa Miller ended her Seneca Valley career with team-high 27 points.

The Raiders, who won two games last season, took a step forward and finished with a 7-15 record and a 2-10 overall mark this time around. Seneca Valley finished tied with Butler (2-10, 4-17) for sixth place in the section.

Seneca Valley’s highlights from the season included a 46-45 and a 44-39 triumph

The Raiders averaged 41.7 points per game, but allowed 49 points per game.

Seneca Valley missed the playoffs by three section wins. North Hills and Pine-Richland make it to the postseason with 4-8 section records. Seneca Valley beat both teams in the regular season.

In addition to Miller, forwards Angie Lalone and Brianna Sieminski are the only other seniors leaving Seneca Valley’s current team.

 



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