Westmoreland County high school basketball playoff preview capsule for March 13, 2024

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | 10:42 AM

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PIAA basketball playoffs

Boys

Class 2A

Second round

Jeannette (18-9) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (24-3)

7 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin

District seeds: Jeannette 7-6; GCC 7-2

Winner plays: Winner of 7-3 Fort Cherry (21-6)/7-7 Serra Catholic (18-9) Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Jace Powell, Jeannette; Liam Gallagher, GCC

Layup lines: Jeannette made the most of its first PIAA playoff trip since 2018, cruising past District 10 champion Iroquois, 58-32. Jeannette had a 6-4 lead early, then went on a 20-0 run. The Jayhawks led 17-7 after the first quarter and 39-11 at the half. Isaiah Mallich scored 14 points to lead the way, and Kymone Brown and Markus McGowan had 11 each. In ‘18, the Jayhawks reached the quarterfinals and lost to Sewickley Academy. … In two section matchups this season, GCC beat Jeannette, 73-46 and 73-51. … GCC rebounded from a loss in the WPIAL championship game with a 57-42 victory against Windber, the District 5 runner-up. Tyree Turner scored 25 points and Franco Alvarez added 14 for the Centurions, who pulled away in the second half. GCC changed up its starting lineup slightly, going with Turner, Alvarez, Gallagher, Sean Walker and Braden Riley. Turner has more than 1,400 career points. GCC and Jeannette met in the 2012 PIAA second round at Hempfield. GCC, led by Ben Klimchock, won 85-65. Current Jayhawks assistant Julian Batts was a freshman that season.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Jeannette