Jeannette didn’t see Eden Christian as an obstacle. It saw the Warriors as an opportunity.
Although their WPIAL 2A boys basketball quarterfinal opponent was more of the former than the latter for the better part of three quarters Thursday night.
There wasn’t much that came easy for the Jayhawks, who moved on nonetheless.
Top-seeded Jeannette plodded through the first half as No. 9 Eden Christian dictated a slower pace, but it did enough in the second half to push past the Warriors, 52-36, at Fox Chapel.
“They slowed us down,” Jeannette junior guard Jayce Powell said. “They played a weird zone, so we had to adjust to it. We started talking more on defense, and it helped us. We know we have to play better if we want to win it all again.”
Defending champion Jeannette (21-1) advances to the semifinals Monday to play No. 5 Clairton (18-3) at a time and site to be announced.
Powell sparked the offense with a game-high 17 points, and junior Markus McGowan added 15, including three 3-pointers, in the Jayhawks’ 19th straight win.
Eden Christian (15-7), knocked out in the quarters for the sixth time in seven years, managed just two points in the second quarter yet remained close, even closing a 15-point gap to 43-35 with just over five minutes to play.
“The boys played hard,” Eden Christian coach Aaron Smith said. “Jeannette didn’t have its best game, but we didn’t make a lot of shots that we usually make. We had good open looks but didn’t finish.”
It was 13-13 after the first quarter.
“We didn’t shoot well overall,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “We missed a lot of shots early and didn’t finish. But we grinded it out and found a way.”
Jeannette took a 24-15 lead into the half thanks to a 15-2 run, but it did not feel altogether comfortable.
The Jayhawks finally went ahead by double figures midway through the third. McGowan scored in close, and senior Xavier Odorisio-Farrow scored off an inbound play to make it 30-19.
After freshman Michael Sample hit a 3 for the Warriors, McGowan answered with one of his own. Powell followed with a putback off his own miss and bumped in a layup off a steal from senior Kymon’e Brown to make it 39-24 with 1:58 left in the third.
“Jayce is capable of doing things like that,” Batts said. “We figured he’d need to take about 15 shots for us to win. He is very impactful. He got to the rim and finished. He is so valuable for us.”
Sample hit another 3 early in the fourth to get the Warriors within 43-35, but Powell struck again, connecting on a 3 and a layup from under the basket. McGowan also contributed to a 9-0 run as the Jayhawks maintained control.
“The game plan was to defend, rebound and take care of the ball,” Batts said. “We did that. Eden spreads it out and defends. We didn’t take a lot of bad shots. I am happy with our group.”
Sample, senior Samuel D’Ippolito and junior River Bartram each scored nine to lead the Warriors.
Both teams have qualified for the PIAA playoffs.
Eden Christian moves into the play-back tournament to face Neshannock (18-5) in a noon game.