North boys pull away from SV, 70-58
JACKSON TWP — The pattern repeated itself several times at Seneca Valley High School’s William Paul Gymnasium on Wednesday.
North Catholic would build a double-digit edge, only to have the Raiders roar back and threaten to take the lead.
“In the end, we just dug ourselves too big of a hole,” said SV coach Kevin Trost after the Trojans earned a 70-58 victory. “But we told our guys that this game could’ve gotten out of hand. Our pushback was impressive and something we can build on.”
SV’s last gasp came late in the fourth. A trey from Tyler Pepin and basket from Kai West cut the Raider deficit to 64-56 with two minutes left.
But North’s Jason Siket sank a basket of his own, followed by a Raider turnover and another bucket from Max Hurray to end SV’s hopes.
Hurray averaged well over 20 points per game last season and is North’s unquestioned leader. But in a third quarter that saw the Trojans (2-1) outscore SV 23-12, the team relied on others for all of its offense.
Six different players scored a combined nine field goals, including five treys in the period. Wills Kontul, Jude Rottmann and Jason Fredericks led the charge.
“Max is such a gravitating player. You have to account for him,” said North coach Jim Rocco. “He did a good job of relocating and the other guys stepped up.”
The Raiders (1-2) had trailed North by 11 points early in the second period, but Pepin and sophomore forward Owen Congdon scored all of SV’s points in a 14-4 run to close the first half.
“Owen has been working hard,” said Trost of Congdon, who scored 17 points in the game. “He’s finding his game and played really well for us.”
The game was played at a very fast pace, with North committing 22 turnovers and 27 for the Raiders.
“We have high standards and want to play at a certain level,” said Rocco. “A lot of the turnovers were unforced. Like in tennis when you hit the ball into the net for no reason. But at the other end, our defense was bothersome for them (Raiders). If you don’t face it often, it can really bother you. We face it every day in practice.”
Hurray paced all scorers with 25 points. Rottmann and Fredericks both added 10 for North.
Pepin netted 21 for the Raiders and West had 13, all in the second half.
NORTH CATHOLIC 70
Eli Stofko 1 0-0 3, Wills Kontul 2 0-0 6, Nick Larson 3 0-0 8, Jason Siket 3 1-2 8, Jude Rottmann 4 0-0 10, Max Hurray 8 6-6 25, Json Fredericks 5 0-0 10, Owen Maddalon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 7-8 70.
SENECA VALLEY 58
Tyler Pepin 9 1-2 21, Kai West 5 3-4 13, Eshesa Okponobi 0 2-2 2, Owen Congdon 5 7-11 17, Andrew Omasits 1 0-1 3, Jaxon Househoulder 0 2-2 2. Totals: 20 15-22 58.
North Catholic 21 12 23 14 — 70
Seneca Valley 18 14 12 14 — 58
3-point goals: North Catholic 11 (Hurray 3, Kontul 2, Rottmann 2, Fredericks 2, Stofko, Siket); SV 3 (Pepin 2, Omasits).
