The Seneca Valley boys basketball team reached its initial goal by winning its first boys section basketball title this season.
On Friday, the Raiders gave no indication that they're satisfied.
Fourth-seeded Seneca Valley topped No. 13 Fox Chapel, 49-38, in a WPIAL Class AAAA first-round game at North Hills.
"It feels great," said Seneca Valley 6-foot-4 senior forward and Maryland quarterback recruit C.J. Brown. "There's been no better feeling in my life. The last couple weeks have been so rewarding, and all the hard work is finally paying off."
Brown slammed a pair of dunks to finish with a game-high 16 points and help Seneca Valley, the Section 3-AAAA chamipion, improve to 15-7.
Brown brought the crowd to its feet twice, including a jam that closed the lid on the third quarter with a 35-26 Seneca Valley advantage. His first dunk produced a 5-4 lead and ignited the crowd.
"I got the ball, and it was just there, so I threw it down," Brown said. "I just had so much adrenaline going. We had packed stands, a full house."
The Raiders won for the seventh time in their past nine games.
Fox Chapel (14-9) scored only 16 points in the first half and 17 in the second against Seneca Valley's shell (man-to-man) defense.
Brown said the key to Seneca Valley's defense was denying the ball to Fox Chapel 6-6 senior David Martin, a Slippery Rock football recruit who finished with eight points.
Senior guard Harrison Smith led Fox Chapel with 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Seneca Valley held senior guard Alex Vargo to nine points. He was coming off a 22-point performance in a 53-48 victory over Plum to give the Foxes the fourth and final playoff berth in Section 2-AAAA.
Guard Daniel Rohm hit four 3-pointers and gave Seneca Valley a 19-16 lead at the end of a first half dominated by the defenses. The teams combined to score only 35 first-half points.
Amid a series of traveling whistles, Fox Chapel went cold shooting in the second quarter, scoring just four points on Smith's 3-pointer and a foul shot by guard Brett Goldstein.
Seniors Vargo, Smith, Kevin Wolfendale, Sam Bass and Colin Hartford played their final game for Fox Chapel.
Fox Chapel 45, Shaler 44 -- The Fox Chapel girls basketball team survived a Shaler rally to record a victory in the first round of the Class AAAA tournament at North Hills.
Shaler led, 35-32, entering the fourth quarter before No. 6 seed Fox Chapel (18-4) took control. Junior forward Jenny Papich scored a team-high 14 points for Fox Chapel.
Foxes senior forward Heidi Goeller added 12 and senior forward Holly Bourquin, 10, including two 3-pointers.
No. 11 Shaler (16-7) tried to rally late in the fourth quarter, but Hilary Sauer's 3-pointer at the buzzer only set the final score.
Senior forward Olivia DiNucci scored a game-high 16 points, including four 3-pointers, for Shaler, and sophomore forward Val McQuade added 12 points.
Fox Chapel will face the winner of today's Kiski Area-Bethel Park game in the quarterfinals next week.
