The Neshannock High boys basketball team completed a sweep last night.

Ernie Burkes led three Lancers in double figures with 18 points in a 58-55 WPIAL Section 2-AA road win over Beaver Falls.

Neshannock (9-4 section, 16-5 overall) won both games against the Tigers (11-2, 16-5), who are ranked No. 3 in the WPIAL in Class AA by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and No. 6 in the state by the Patriot-News of Harrisburg.

Beaver Falls is the two-time defending WPIAL champion and defending PIAA champion. Last year, the Tigers won both meetings against the Lancers — 81-46 and 84-45.

The win also secures third place outright in the league for the Lancers.

“That’s two huge wins for our program,” Neshannock coach John Corey said. “It’s two games that we were just out there on the floor battling against them.

“We really battled and our will to win was very consistent in both games.”

Burkes drained a pair of foul shots with six seconds to go for a five-point lead. Beaver Falls cashed in a layup at the buzzer for the final margin.

The Lancers outrebounded the Tigers, 35-24.

“We controlled the boards,” Corey said. “They have two or three very good post players. They’re bigger than us. I can’t speak highly enough of the effort we gave on the boards.

“Playing as well as we did for 32 minutes was big.”

Neshannock held a 33-18 advantage at halftime and 42-30 after three quarters.

Burkes handed out four assists to go with his points. Matt McKinney was next with 15 markers for the winners and Ty Haswell chipped in with 10 points and eight boards. Jimmy Medure registered 12 rebounds and four assists.

The Lancers sealed the win by going 19 of 25 from the foul line, including 11 of 14 in the fourth frame.

Donovan Jeter notched a game-best 19 points for Beaver Falls.