Seneca Valley Player Shatters Backboard in Basketball Classic

The 6-foot-5 senior guard at Seneca Valley literally brings the game to a halt.

A Seneca Valley basketball player has something in common with basketball greats like Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan. On Saturday night, Easton Bazzoli threw down a dunk during an all-star game that crumbled the backboard to pieces, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. "Everybody said it's pretty awesome," Bazzoli told the Post-Gazette. "I thought it was pretty cool. It's not something a lot of people have done." The dunk happened during the Roundball Classic at Geneva College. With about a minute left in the Class AAAA vs. AAA game, the P-G reports that Bazzoli took a pass from New Castle's Antonio Rudolph and dunked the ball. The backboard shattered, the rim came down and the fourth and final game had to be stopped, or as the …

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Whiz Kid

Whiz Kids: Watch St. Gregory's Bella Marra Sink a Half-court Shot

The Cranberry teen helped the Lady Wolves pull off a victory in the playoffs with her buzzer beater.

The season might have ended for girls varsity basketball players at St. Gregory Catholic School in Zelienople, but the team still is celebrating Bella Marra’s amazing half-court shot in a recent victory over Glenshaw's St. Mary of the Assumption. During the quarterfinals of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh's Class A playoffs, the 14-year-old sunk the three-pointer just as the buzzer rang to end the game March 2. Thanks to the Cranberry teen’s skilled shot, the Lady Wolves won the game, 34-33. “We are very proud,” said Debi Allen, secretary at St. Gregory. The varsity team’s season wrapped up Thursday after a 43-34 loss to Whitehall's St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin in the semifinals. The game was played at Oakland Catholic High…

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Cranberry Lions, Rowan Elementary Partner for Hoop Shoot Classic

The event to benefit the VIP Sports Camp is Saturday.

Just in time for March Madness, Rowan Elementary School's physical education instructors are partnering with the Cranberry Township Area Lion’s Club for the first Hoop Shoot Classic. The fun contest will feature a foul-shot competition and a hot-shot contest for children in first through sixth grades. Admission to the event is free, although donations will be accepted. The money will benefit the VIP Sports Camp, which provides sports and recreation opportunities for children and teenagers who are visually impaired or blind. The hoops classic will be from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center’s gym. There will be first-, second- and third-place certificates and awards for each age group. -- Photos submitted by …

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New Scoreboard on the Way for Seneca Valley High School

Several groups donate money to replace the outdated gymnasium scoreboard.

Just in time for the winter sports season, the Seneca Valley Senior High School gymnasium is getting an updated scoreboard. The scoreboard tentatively is set to arrive Nov. 20. Venture Engineering donated $7,500 for the $19,430 replacement project. The price tag includes the installation of the scoreboard in the gym. The district's boys and girls basketball booster organizations each donated $3,000 for the project. The remaining $6,000 came from the district's facility improvement fund. Greg Caprara, district athletic director, said activity fees, and not tax dollars, fund the account. “The facility fund is used to provide improvements based on fees paid by those who use the athletic facilities of the district,” he said. “The employment of…

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Where to Watch the Big Basketball Showdown

Big TVs, drink specials and half-price appetizers are lined up locally for the Final Four games this weekend.

The craziness of March Madness is in the air as college basketball tournament play heads into the Final Four this weekend. Even though Pitt had a dismal showing this year and your brackets were probably shot a while ago, plenty of entertainment remains for basketball fans as the tournament comes down to the wire. Whether you cheer for one of the unlikely underdogs or a higher ranked team, local watering holes have specials lined up for you as you watch the games on one of their many, many TVs. Saturday's first game, Virginia Commonwealth University versus Butler, is scheduled for a 6:09 p.m. tipoff; the Kentucky versus Connecticut game is set to start at 8:49 p.m. Both games will be broadcast by CBS. The national championship is scheduled …

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Whiz Kid

Whiz Kid: Aly Eagle

Now playing for Penn State Behrend, the basketball standout from Seneca Valley led her conference in three-point shots and helped get her team to the playoffs.

Name: Aly Eagle Year: Sophomore School: Penn State Behrend Whiz Kid Accomplishments: This eagle takes flight on the courts. A player on the Penn State Behrend women’s basketball team, Eagle scored 22 of her career-high 27 points to spark her team’s comeback and eventual victory over Marywood University in the first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday Whiz Kid Key to Awesomeness: A 2009 graduate of Seneca Valley, Eagle, 20, is leading her conference in three-point shots. Rick Eagle, the attendance officer for the Seneca Valley School District, said his daughter has made 61 shots and scored 300 points this year. Her career total is 430 points. “She is having quite the year,” Rick Eagle said. At 5’7, Eagle…

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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

Seneca Valley senior guard Christian Durbin 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. 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. …

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Seneca Valley Girls Lose to Shaler, Gain Experience

The girls basketball teams takes on Pine-Richland next.

It’s not often that a winning coach of a highly-ranked WPIAL Quad-A girls basketball team like Shaler’s Eric Mozzetti compliments a losing opponent in the process of rebuilding its program. That speaks to how far Seneca Valley has traveled, while ramping up its defensive and offensive attacks in recent months. “Shaler’s coach told me our girls have improved drastically, and that he can’t speak highly enough of how much we’ve improved and how our young girls are stepping up,” Seneca Valley coach Rob Lombardo said. “That’s what it’s all about,” he said. The Section 3-AAAA game had all the signs of a blowout when Seneca Valley fell behind 20-7 in the first quarter, in a 58-35 loss at Shaler Monday night.. Afterall, Seneca Valley committed 13 …

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Seneca Valley Boys Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

The boys basketball team had a win over North Hills Friday night.

The Seneca Valley boys basketball team improved its playoff chances with a 53-44 Section 3-AAAA victory over visiting North Hills Friday night. Junior guard Alex Mayfield scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Raiders. Seneca Valley moved to 3-5 in section play and 8-8 overall. “Obviously, we want to remain in the playoff hunt, and we did what we had to do to accomplish that,” Seneca Valley coach Victor Giannotta said. Shaler (9-0) has clinched a playoff spot in Section 3-AAAA and North Allegheny (6-2) appears poised to do so soon. With four section games remaining, Seneca Valley moved to within striking distance of Butler (5-4), Central Catholic (4-5) and Pine-Richland (3-5). Seneca Valley still has head-to-head matchups coming up with …

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SV Girls Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

The girls basketballs team was victorious over North Hills High School on Thursday.

Junior forward Alex Karika blocked three shots, scored 19 points, and pulled down 14 rebounds to keep Seneca Valley’s Section 3-AAAA playoff hopes alive with a 44-39 victory over visiting North Hills Thursday night. Seneca Valley faces an uphill battle to earn a playoff spot, but remained in the postseason picture with a 2-5 section record and 6-9 overall mark. “It was a great win for the program,” Seneca Valley coach Rob Lombardo said. “It was the type of win we needed to keep us in the playoff hunt.” While Shaler (8-1, 15-2) and Oakland Catholic (7-1, 10-6) have broken away from the pack, Seneca Valley still has five games remaining and the opportunity to challenge North Allegheny (5-3, 14-3) and North Hills (4-5, 9-8) for a playoff …

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