It was a game that the Neshannock High boys basketball team would like to have back.

The Lancers played perhaps their worst game of the year in a 61-49 WPIAL Section 2-AA loss at Aliquippa last night.

The game was a battle to remain in first place in the section. The Quips came into the game tied for the lead in the league standings with Beaver Falls and Neshannock at 3-0. Beaver Falls rolled past New Brighton, 73-48, last night and now shares first place with Aliquippa.

The Lancers are now 8-2 overall, while Aliquippa is 6-3 overall.

Although Neshannock jumped out to a 12-5 lead and maintained a 12-7 margin at the end of the first quarter, Lancers coach John Corey said he saw trouble coming.

“We flat-out missed 4-5 bunnies in the first quarter that could have really given us some breathing room,” he said. “We just blew too many good opportunities. Then in the second quarter, it was a lot of the same. Aliquippa outscored us 22-12 in the second quarter and I would guess that 16 of their points came off offensive rebounds.”

Neshannock pulled to within four points in the third quarter and trailed just 45-39 at the end of the period, but couldn’t close the gap.

The Lancers came into the game shooting about 51 percent from the field for the season. Last night, they were 2 of 15 from 3-point range (13 percent) and 20 of 62 overall (32 percent).

“It was a nice little butt-whooping,” Corey said. “We didn’t shoot well at all and got beat up on rebounds, but a lot of that had to do with who we played.

“I definitely look forward to playing them again down the road, but there is a lot to do first.”

The Lancers will get that shot Jan. 28 when they host the Quips. They travel to New Brighton on Tuesday and have a homecourt showdown with Beaver Falls on Friday.

Matt McKinney paced Neshannock with 18 points. Charles Humphries had 16 markers for Aliquippa and Jassir Jordan added 14.

(Email: kcubbal@ncnewsonline.com).