By JIM RUMBLE

It could be a game that Avonworth can look back on as a jump starter for things to come when the Antelopes hosted Aliquippa this past Tuesday.

The 'Lopes, who led from start to finish and had built a 14-point lead by the beginning of the second quarter, weathered a steady comeback by a stubborn Quips team to pick up their first section win of the season 63-57.

"We handled their press okay. We worked on it and we did a lot better than we have over the last couple of nights," said coach Dan Bradley.

The Antelopes got a 34-point performance from Mitch Locher, who scored 11 in the first quarter to get Avonworth off to a good start offensively.

Conor O'Donnell's eight points in the opening quarter, along with a 3-pointer by Shane Sommers and a pair of free throws by Brian Vales, provided the rest of the offense as the 'Lopes were 9-of-12 from the field on their way to a 24-13 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Sommers connected on another 3-pointer to start the second quarter and give Avonworth their largest lead at 27-13.

Aliquippa followed with an 8-2 run to cut their deficit, but Locher scored on an alley-oop to give Avonworth back their double-digit lead at 31-21 with 3:05 left in the quarter.

The Quips then took advantage of a couple of Antelope turnovers in a 6-0 run that was halted by Matt Kujawinski's 3-pointer from the top of the circle to give Avonworth a 34-27 lead with 1:25 left in the half.

Aliquippa converted a free throw and then a score from inside on their next possession, but Avonworth responded with a basket in the lane by Ryan Scherling to give the 'Lopes a 36-30 halftime lead.

A basket by O'Donnell inside and Locher's 3-pointer from downtown opened the scoring for Avonworth to extend their lead to 41-30, but the Quips weren't going away anytime soon.

They followed with an 11-2 run that included a transition basket by Sommers that had the 'Lopes ahead 43-41 with 1:55 left in the quarter.

The teams traded baskets before Locher made one of two free throws that would give the Antelopes a 46-43 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Locher went baseline and finished with a jam to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, then converted a 3- point play to up the 'Lopes’ lead to 51-44 with 4:29 left to play.

The Quips then converted a put-back, followed by a 3-pointer, to cut Avonworth's lead to 51-49.

Aliquippa's best chance to claim the lead came on their next two possessions.
A free throw was cancelled when a Quips player entered the lane too soon . That was followed by a miss on the front end of a 1-1 on their next possession that allowed the 'Lopes to maintain the lead.

Vales made two from the stripe, but Aliquippa responded with a 3-point jumper to cut the Antelope lead to 53-52 with 2:19 remaining.

The 'Lopes came up big when O'Donnell's score inside on an assist by Vales, followed by another 3-point play by Locher, gave the Antelopes a 57-52 lead with 1:38 left on the clock.

Aliquippa was able to close to within two at 59-57 with 35 seconds remaining, but Locher, who had 13 points in the quarter, went 4-of-4 from the line the rest of the way to seal the 63-57 victory.

After the game, Bradley said, "Our kids played hard. We were able to execute down the stretch and we were able to limit their transition baskets."

Following Locher's 34 points were O'Donnell with 12 and Sommers with 8.

The Antelope win eclipses last year's win total, putting their record at 5-4 overall and 1-1 in section play.