Rain mixing with and changing to snow overnight. Low 32F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 90%..

Rain mixing with and changing to snow overnight. Low 32F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 90%.

Landon Smith delivered in the clutch for the Laurel High boys basketball team Tuesday night.

Smith took a pass from Laban Barker and buried a field goal at the buzzer to lift the Spartans to a 44-42 WPIAL Section 1-2A road decision over Sewickley Academy.

“It’s not exactly how we drew it up. We improvised,” Laurel coach Ken Locke said. “Laban found Landon and he knocked it down.

“It was a good play by Laban and a good shot by Landon. Any section win on the road is crucial. You want to hold ground at home and steal as many as you can on the road.”

The Spartans (2-1 section, 5-6 overall) fouled the Panthers (0-3, 2-8) with 36.9 seconds remaining and the hosts split a pair for a 42-39 advantage. Smith drained a 3-pointer to tie the game with 22.3 seconds left.

Sewickley Academy turned the ball over on a Laban Barker steal with 16.9 seconds to go. Laurel called a timeout to set up Smith’s game-winner at the buzzer.

Smith scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter for Laurel.

The Spartans led 7-5 after one period before trailing 23-22 at the half. The Panthers pushed the buffer to 35-29 going the fourth quarter. Sewickley Academy led by as much as nine points in the third quarter.

“I think we struggled early,” Locke said. “We had some shots go in and out. We kept battling, we kept fighting.

“Once we got a couple to go down, our guys were able to come on. Credit to the defensive side for us.”

Luca Santini netted 13 points for Laurel and Barker chipped in with 12. Greg Preisser posted nine for the Spartans.

Laurel hosts Aliquippa at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Wildcats poured in 11 3-pointers in a Section 1-2A road win over the Rams.

“We want to keep it rolling,” Shenango coach Bob McQuiston said. “Going down to South Side, they always play well down there; they’re going to play hard on their court.

“We shot it well again. I’m pleased with how we shot it tonight. I thought we got after it pretty good. That’s one you want to get down there. It’s nice to win on the road.”

Braden Zeigler led a balanced Wildcats (3-0, 8-2) attack with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Brody McQuiston was next with 21 markers and 10 boards.

Zach Herb followed with 11 points and six assists for the winners and Joe Campoli collected 10 points.

Shenango is back in action at 7:30 p.m. Friday when it hosts Sewickley Academy.

The Scotties rolled to a Section 1-1A road victory over the Golden Beavers.

Union (2-0, 10-0) raced to a 22-11 lead after the first quarter and increased it to 45-19 at the half. The Scotties made 10 3-pointers.

“It’s a section game on the road. Shoot good, look good,” Union coach Mark Stanley said. “When you make that many 3s, it makes it easy.”

Lucas Stanley led all scorers with 22 points for the Scotties and Cameron Taylor tallied 12. Matt Stanley was next with 11 markers.

Kaden Fisher pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the winners and Conner Eckert followed with six.

Union is back in action at 7:30 p.m. Friday at home against Rochester.

Bobby Fadden led three Warriors scores in double figures with 17 points in a Section 1-3A home victory over the Panthers.

Deven Sudziak scored 16 points for Mohawk (3-1, 11-1) and Jay Wrona was next with 14.

Bryan Bartell bucketed seven markers for Riverside (1-2, 3-9).

The Lancers started strong and cruised to a Section 1-3A home win over the Lions.

Neshannock (5-0, 8-3) built a 24-5 lead after one quarter and pushed it to 46-22 at the break.

David Kwiat netted 18 points for the Lancers and Jack Glies garnered 15. Luciano DeLillo delivered 13 tallies. Glies added four steals.

The Lady Wolverines couldn’t hold a fourth-quarter lead and dropped a nonsection road verdict to the Lady Warriors.

Ellwood City Lincoln (5-6) fell behind 9-6 after one stanza before taking a 19-17 advantage at the half. The Lady Wolverines increased the buffer to 29-25 after three quarters.

Ava Lucarelli led Ellwood City with 17 points and Kayla Jones contributed 13.

Laurel excels at MAC meet

The Spartans took third place out of 16 teams at at the Midwestern Athletic Conference meet.

Grant MacKay and Coltin Hill both won first place in their respective weight classes. MacKay went 4-0 and Hill was 3-0.

MacKay is a three-time MAC champ.

Chase Tinstman finished second place, going 3-1. Ryan DiMuccio and Braxton Carr both finished third with 3-1 marks.

Charles Krepp finished fifth with a 4-1 record.

Laurel’s junior high squad finished second out of 16 teams at the MAC meet. Jimmy Stivers, Logan Ketzel, Dom Willis and Jack Miles were first-place winners.

The Laurel junior high team won first place at Slippery Rock. Jimmy Stivers and Josh Sherman were first-place finishers for the Spartans.

Ron Poniewasz Jr. is the sports editor at the New Castle News. Email him at rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com.

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