Zach Pollaro practices bank shots from spots all around North Hills’ gym, so bouncing in a 3-pointer off the glass might feel almost routine at times.
But this one surely didn’t.
Trailing by two points with 2.9 seconds left, Pollaro banked in a buzzer-beating 3 from the left wing as North Hills knocked off second-ranked Seneca Valley, 44-43, in overtime Friday night to claim a key Section 1-6A victory.
“I’d like to say that I knew (it was going in),” Pollaro said with a smile. “But I just had to get it up quick. It worked out.”
The night started with Pollaro receiving a commemorative basketball to celebrate his 1,000th career point, and it ended with him making maybe his biggest shot yet.
“He made a falling-out-of-bounds, 24-footer off the glass,” Seneca Valley coach Kevin Trost said. “What can you do except say he’s a good player and it was unfortunate?”
North Hills’ Zach Pollaro banks in a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to beat Seneca Valley, 44-43 #HSSN#WPIALpic.twitter.com/zz5iEsknlT
— Chris Harlan (@CHarlan_Trib) January 25, 2025
A 6-foot-3 senior, Pollaro scored a game-high 21 points and accounted for nearly half of his team’s offense. He scored eight of North Hills’ 10 points in overtime.
“He has to be really, really good every night or else we’re not going to win,” North Hills coach Buzz Gabos said. “That doesn’t mean he necessarily has to get 25. The word I probably use most often is ‘efficient.’”
Owen Congdon led Seneca Valley with 11 points, including a basket after an offensive rebound with 35 seconds left in overtime, and later made one of two free throws at the 14-second mark to lead 43-41.
Jaxon Householder and Ryan Priester added 10 points apiece for Seneca Valley (11-7, 8-2), which had started the night alone atop the standings. The Raiders entered Friday on a 10-game winning streak, but that run included five tight section wins by six points or fewer.
On many nights, that sums up this section. Every team now has at least two section losses.
“I want to say there’s only been two blowouts,” Trost said. “Every game is like eight points, six points. We’ve played four or five last-possession games at this point already.”
Seneca Valley now shares first place in the section with Fox Chapel (8-2), both a game ahead of New Castle (7-3). Friday’s win lifts North Hills (6-11, 5-5) into fourth place.
This was a rematch from Dec. 20 when Seneca Valley defeated North Hills, 63-55, on Dec. 20.
“Most games in the section have been 10 points or less,” Gabos said. “It just tells you how prepared guys are. Every team comes in prepared. We’re seeing that. Teams are throwing everything at you, and you’re trying to throw everything at them.”
North Hills successfully threw a zone defense at Seneca Valley, which had trouble at times finding a path into the paint. The Raiders attempted 22 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and made six.
They shot 36% from the field overall.
“They did a good job, and we needed to do a better job of trying to look inside and get position in there,” Trost said. “We definitely needed to go inside more, especially with the way we were shooting the basketball.”
The zone defense also forced Seneca Valley into some long possessions, which contributed to the low-scoring pace. The Raiders led 9-6 after one quarter, trailed 19-18 at halftime and led 27-25 after three.
In the fourth, North Hills took a 34-30 lead on a driving layup by sophomore Nathan Schanbacher and a transition basket by Pollaro with 4:40 left in regulation. But the Indians didn’t score again until overtime.
Schanbacher, typically a top scorer for North Hills, was held to four points.
Seneca Valley’s Priester made a 3-pointer with 2:25 left to pull within one point. With 1:06 left, Congdon was fouled and converted one of two free throws for a 34-34 tie.
North Hills held for the final shot but a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer by Schanbacher missed.
In overtime, there were six lead changes and two ties. Pollaro made two free throws with 1:14 left to lead 41-40, and Seneca Valley reclaimed the lead with a basket by Congdon with 35 seconds left.
Congdon’s foul shot with 14.5 seconds left put Seneca Valley ahead by two.
North Hills didn’t get the offensive look it wanted at first, so Gabos called timeout with 2.9 seconds left. With one last chance, Logan Ilnicki caught the inbounds pass near the foul line and found Pollaro on the left wing for the winning shot.
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“All the credit goes to him,” Pollaro said. “It’s so easy to make a bad pass. He made a perfect pass.”