The Lancers were able to dig out of an early hole for the second straight game in a Section 2-AA home win over New Brighton.

Neshannock (4-1, 10-1) trailed 14-2 in the first quarter before settling for a 16-15 deficit after one stanza. The Lancers fell behind Aliquippa on Friday, 27-13, midway through the second period before rallying for a 66-57 section win.

“We strung together a nice little stretch there to get the game where we needed it to be,” Neshannock coach John Corey said. “We made a couple of mistakes offensively and defensively. I give my guys a lot of credit, they definitely battled back and they built off the momentum with a solid second quarter.”

Ernie Burkes and Matt McKinney scored 22 points each to lead the Lancers. Matt Seltzer was next with 14 markers and Tyler Haswell tossed in 12 points with a team-high 14 rebounds.

McKinney snared 10 boards and Burkes handed out seven assists.

“We believe we have the tools to be a pretty good basketball team,” Corey said. “It takes us collectively getting it done, though. We can’t be a one-person show.

“When we’re balanced like that, that’s when we’re at our best.”

Kaleb Williams netted 22 points to lead the Lions (3-2, 9-3), who are ranked No. 5 in the WPIAL in Class AA by the Post-Gazette.

Neshannock returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a section battle at first-place Beaver Falls (5-0, 9-2). The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the district in Class AA by the Post-Gazette.

“That’s going to be a huge game for us,” Corey said. “We have a lot of room for improvement. Beaver Falls is a good basketball team.”