By Dan Irwin
New Castle News
 
Matt McKinney blunted Wilmington’s comeback hopes.

Then John Sansone buried them.

McKinney’s 3-point buzzer-beater just before halftime halted a Greyhounds rally, and Sansone’s 13-point third quarter made sure it stayed dormant as Neshannock rolled to a 65-46 nonleague win last night at Westminster College.

Tied 8-8 late in the opening stanza, the Lancers (6-5) launched an 18-1 run that gave them a commanding 26-9 advantage with three minutes left in the first half. Wilmington, though, wasn’t caving yet. The ’Hounds (3-8) responded with nine unanswered points of their own, pulling to within 26-19 on Matt Bowen’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining.

But the single-digit deficit wouldn’t make it to the locker room. McKinney buried a trey with one second left to restore a 10-point advantage.

“That’s what we talked about at halftime,” Neshannock coach John Corey said. “We were up 26-9 and they go on a run, and we end the half 29-19, so I wasn’t very happy about that.

“But Matt McKinney hit a big three there at the end of the first half to put us up double digits again. We just had a two or three-minute mental lapse there where we just weren’t focused enough on defense.”

Wilmington coach Mike Jeckavitch conceded that McKinney’s bucket was a balloon buster.

“We made a 9-0 run before that three at the end of the half , and we were down to single digits, seven points,” he said, “then that kind of took a little bit of wind out of our sails.

“In the second half, we turned the ball over again, couldn’t make shots. We have a couple of guys under the weather, and I need other guys to step up, and they just didn’t step up.”

Meanwhile, the Lancers opened the second half with a 17-9 run, fueled by 13 markers from Sansone. He finished the night with 18 points, followed by Ernie Burkes with 14 and Tyler Haswell with 12.

“At one point, Ernie came up to me and said, ‘Holy cow, ‘Soni just came out of nowhere,’ ” Corey said. “He’s capable of having those moments. When John’s able to get to the rim and finish like he was there, he’s pretty hard to guard.”

He’ll get no argument from Jeckavitch about that.

“He’s a mismatch nightmare,” the Wilmington coach said of Sansone. “He’s strong, he’s physical, he can handle the ball, he can shoot, he can attack. He just kind of does it all. He did a real good job tonight, and we really just didn’t stop him.”

Eventually, Neshannock extended its lead to a 50-32 by the end of the third quarter, and continued to roll throughout the fourth.

Ryan Sager came off the bench to pace the Greyhounds with a 15-point night.