After ejections in past 2 games, Jeannette boys aim for polished effort in PIAA opener

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 | 6:45 PM

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Image might be everything for the Jeannette boys basketball team as it embarks on a potential run in the PIAA playoffs.

After having a player ejected for receiving double-technical fouls in each of its last two playoff games, Jeannette (19-4) is seeking a more composed and polished effort Saturday when it takes on Purchase Line (20-5) in the state Class 2A first round.

Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg.

Jeannette coach Adrian Batts knows his players had heat-of-the-moment lapses but doesn't want people, particularly those wearing black-and-white stripes, to view the team as troublemakers because of it.

Technically speaking, of course.

“We have to hope we haven't built a bad reputation with the officials,” Batts said. “We have good kids. We have competitors playing hard. We can't overreact to things. That starts with me. We have to control all of that because we're going against officials that have never seen us before: how we play, how the kids react. We have to get back to playing Jeannette basketball. Up to those last two games we haven't had any technicals all year. Now we get two ejections in the past two games. That's not us.”

Junior Marcus Barnes was ejected in the WPIAL quarterfinal game against Shenango and missed the semifinal game against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In the OLSH game, a 72-64 loss, junior Anthony Johnson was hit with a pair of verbal technicals and must sit out Saturday.

While Batts strongly disagreed with the calls against Johnson and claimed officials “targeted” the emotional guard, he has tried to put the incident behind him and get the Jayhawks' eyes back on the road.

Jeannette has embraced a next-man-up mentality. Not that it's had a choice. All season, it has combated absences for various reasons; from football and recruiting visits, to injuries and now suspensions.

The scratch on this broken record appears permanent.

But talent and still-jelling chemistry helped the team overcome the adversity. It won a section title and earned a No. 3 seed in the WPIAL playoffs.

And it has not stopped the Jayhawks from reaching the PIAA playoffs for the 14th time in 15 years.

“We kind of went through that all year with football,” senior guard Tre Cunningham said. “Whoever is up next knows they have to come ready to play. It's in our blood that we have to come out and play hard regardless of who is on our team and who is not playing.”

The Jayhawks have not won a state playoff game since 2012, getting bounced in the first round four times in the last five years.

Johnson leads Jeannette in scoring at 21 points per game. He also has been a key playmaker, drawing multiple defenders and dishing off in the lane. He missed six games with an ankle injury and the Jayhawks went 5-1, losing to WPIAL 5A runner-up Franklin Regional.

Batts said the team has been at full strength in just four games.

Cunningham (18 ppg) and Robert Kennedy (12 ppg) are the senior leaders who will try to help fill another void.

Cunningham has been dependable, playing every game. (He literally knocks on a wooden door in a hallway outside the locker room as he is reminded of a feat that is quite ordinary for most teams).

“Our team has come together … this week, we brought our bond back,” Kennedy said. “With Anthony being out, we'll still be OK. He is a vocal leader and a hustler so we have to match his intensity.

“He does so much, rebounding, scoring and passing. I think out of everybody, me and Tre have to step up.”

Cunningham believed Jeannette could pull off the trifecta and win consecutive WPIAL titles in baseball, football and basketball. With the possibility for the third leg erased, a state-title run will have to be the next-best thing.

“We always knew we were talented,” Cunningham said. “Whenever we're playing, we lack the little things sometimes. If we have those little things, our team is unstoppable.”

Barnes returns for the state opener, and reserve Jackson Pruitt will join him after missing the WPIAL semifinal with an illness.

“We're still not at full strength,” Batts said. “To replace Anthony is very hard. He does more than just score. He handles the ball for us, he rebounds. If our other guys come in and do their jobs, I think we have a very good chance.”

Purchase Line is the District 6 runner-up. The Red Dragons play in the Heritage Conference and finished second behind Ligonier Valley.

Purchase Line averages 66.8 points and has four players averaging in double figures, a product of sharing the basketball. The team records 16.7 assists a game.

Jeannette hopes its athleticism and defensive pressure can fluster the Red Dragons.

“We can go out and play one-on-one with anybody,” Kennedy said. “We'll be the most competitive team you ever saw.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Jeannette