The Lancers came together in the second half to knock off the Wolverines in the opener of the Neshannock Christmas Tournament.

Neshannock (6-1) led just 23-22 at the half before outscoring Ellwood City 16-9 in the third period.

“We knew Ellwood would be very physical. They played very well,” Lancers coach John Corey said. “It seemed like we couldn’t get it going.

“I don’t know if it was the Christmas break, but it was very different than the Tuesday game against Riverside.”

Corey was referring to Neshannock’s 71-47 WPIAL Section 1-AA road win over Riverside.

“We were just settling for too many 3s in the first half,” Corey continued. “We shot 22 for the game. That’s too many 3s for us right now.

“At halftime we stressed to attack the basket. Try to get to the foul line and put some pressure on their defense. We’re at our best when we’re attacking the rim and kicking it out to our shooters.”

Ethan Moose tossed in 14 points to lead the Lancers and Frank Fraschetti followed with 12. Moose pulled down 11 rebounds to go with five steals.

Jimmy Medure posted seven points and a team-best 12 boards for the victors.

Rick Roth registered 15 points for the Wolverines (3-6) and Ricie Scott added 12.