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Kenny Fey

Seneca High School's Michael Earle goes up for two of his game-high 29 points in the Bobcats' 59-47 victory over Walhalla on Tuesday night in Seneca.

SENECA — The game may have ultimately shifted to the Seneca High School boys’ basketball team in the final moments on Tuesday night against Walhalla, but it wasn’t because of any great change by the Bobcats.

Instead, the Bobcats continued to use their overwhelming defense to stifle Walhalla and were able to make the most of their opportunities on the offensive end to help preserve a 59-47 victory in their final game before the start of region play, which will get under way on Friday night on the road at Pickens.

It had been a tough night shooting for Seneca (8-4) for much of the game, but the Bobcats were able to lean on their defense all night, and head coach Tef Vitaris said things finally began to open up offensively over the final three minutes.

“We started penetrating and getting in the lane,” Vitaris said. “We had been getting easy shots all night, but they just started to fall.”

Seneca rode its defense all night, as the Bobcats had plenty of success, perhaps best illustrated by forcing Walhalla into five straight turnovers to end the third quarter to take a 43-37 lead into final stanza.

The Bobcats’ lead was stretched to eight points on two occasions early in the fourth quarter, with the last coming off a basket from Michael Earle, who led all scorers with 29 points, to give the Bobcats a 49-41 edge.

But Walhalla (10-3) scrapped its way back into contention when Isaac Williamson fell on a loose ball near his own baseline and called a timeout with 3:41 left to play.

Following the inbound play, Isaac Williamson then found Nate Williamson inside for a bucket to cut the Walhalla deficit to six points at 49-43.

The Razorbacks then brought some defensive pressure of their own, as they forced a 10-second violation on Seneca on the next possession to get the ball back with 3:23 to play.

But after Walhalla lost the ensuing possession after a loose ball call, Seneca went on a 10-2 run, taking advantage of a steal from Jamal Smith and capitalizing following a pair of Walhalla misfires.

Earle scored six points for Seneca during the run, while James Hunter accounted for the other four points, as the Bobcats finally found the bottom of net to complement their stout defensive play.

“It wasn’t a whole heck of a lot different in those minutes than from what I saw in the whole game,” Walhalla head coach Hal Dunlap said. “We weren’t handling the ball, they got some easy shots, and they made a few more of them and we didn’t answer.”

Both teams will now get ready to open region play on Friday night, as both are expected to be among the frontrunners in their respective regions.

Vitaris will be looking for the defense to step up again on Friday night against Pickens to start region play at 7:30 p.m. The Bobcats will then travel to face rival Daniel next Tuesday night.

The Razorbacks will also take the floor at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night at Liberty to open their region slate.

Seneca 59, Walhalla 47

WHS 17 10 10 10 — 47

SHS 15 16 12 16 — 59

Walhalla (47) — I. Williamson 11, Thompson 9, Arnold 8, Coker 7, N. Williamson 5, Gantt 4, Wolff 3.

Seneca (59) — M. Earle 29, J. Hunter 14, Smith 6, A. Hunter 4, Stephens 4, Blassingame 2.