Penn Hills senior guard Amon Hawthorne didn’t know how many points he had, but he knew his team was coming back.
That’s all that mattered to him on an epic night.
Hawthorne poured in 30 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter but No. 6 Penn Hills fell to No. 3 Thomas Jefferson, 74-69, in a WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball quarterfinal on Friday night at Norwin.
He finished with eight 3-pointers.
“I was just trying to get us a win,” Hawthorne said. “A WPIAL championship, that was the focus. That’s what we wanted all season. I wasn’t thinking about how many points I had. I wanted to win.”
Penn Hills (17-6) staged a frenzied comeback to nearly knock off Thomas Jefferson (21-2), but the Jaguars hung on and will play No. 10 Hampton (14-7) in the semifinals.
Hawthorne made 17 of 32 shots, including 8 of 17 3-pointers. He also grabbed seven rebounds and played all 32 minutes.
His previous career high was 32 this season against Shaler.
“It’s unreal his ability to score,” Penn Hills coach Chris Giles said.
Junior Justin Fry led the Jaguars with 28 points, while senior Nick Trklja added 22, grabbed 14 rebounds and made 10 of 14 free throws.
Penn Hills moves into the consolation round to play for PIAA seeding.
“We’re going to win the state championship,” Hawthorne said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”
After scoring nine points in the second quarter and eight in the third, Penn Hills scored 37 in the fourth.