After winning the Toni Ross Spirit Foundation Tournament title, North Allegheny returned to section play taking the short trip to Pine-Richland High School to take on the Rams. The game took not just one, but two extra periods to decide a winner and the Tigers fell in a heartbreaker by a score of 44-40.

The first quarter was a battle as Pine-Richland led 11-9. Roslia Varotta had seven of the nine points in the opening frame. The NA defense really showed up in the second quarter outscoring the Rams 10-2, and North Allegheny led 19-13 going into the locker rooms. The Tigers kept the scoring going in the third quarter getting two three-pointers from Vange Balouris and expanded the lead to 30-21 heading into the fourth quarter. With their backs against the wall, Pine-Richland answered outscoring NA 15-6 in the final frame, and we were headed to overtime tied 36-36.

One overtime was not enough as both teams were tied 40-40 after four minutes. North Allegheny couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket in the second overtime and ultimately fell, 44-40.

Balouris finished with 15 points while Varlotta added 14.

North Allegheny falls to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in section play. Pine-Richland improves to 3-5 overall and 2-0 in the section. The Tigers return to action on Monday, December 29 when they host West Allegheny at 4:30 p.m. as a part of the NA/Wright Automotive Holiday Tournament. This game will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.