Top-seeded Jeannette didn’t necessarily want to play halfcourt basketball with No. 5 Clairton, but the game leaned that way for the better part of 32 minutes.
It was an adjustment for both teams.
Despite a boatload of athleticism all over the court, neither managed much in transition and the pace of the game didn’t quite match an electric atmosphere at sold-out Norwin.
Instead of fast breaks and layups, Jeannette settled for back-cuts, jump shots, rebounds and help defense to grind out a 44-29 win in the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball semifinals Monday night.
Football foes looked like they were going to up a football score as they jostled for position. Clairton held back Jeannette for a 38-33 win in the WPIAL Class A football quarterfinals. This playoff rematch on the hardwood produced three more points.
“It’s a get-back for football,” Jeannette’s Noah Sunder said.
No matter how it looked, Jeannette (22-1) will get to go for a repeat after its 20th straight win.
“We knew we could beat them off the dribble,” said Jeannette point guard Kymon’e Brown, who scored a game-high 15 points, including 10 of 12 free throws. “They have a lot of athletes. We beat them with skill.”
Patience paid off for the Jayhawks, who are headed back to the finals to defend their WPIAL title. They will face No. 2 Sewickley Academy (24-1) at 5 p.m. Friday at Petersen Events Center.
Jeannette held Clairton (18-4), which lost to the Jayhawks three times this season, to one field goal in the fourth.
“We couldn’t get any transition, so we needed our leaders to step up and get everyone involved,” Brown said. “Once that happened, (Clairton) had no chance.”
Jeannette made 14 of 20 free throws, including 10 of 14 in the fourth. Brown was 6 for 6 in the final quarter.
Jayce Powell added 11 points in the win.
“We had to rebound and get second-chance opportunities,” Powell said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game.”
Jeannette outscored Clairton, 16-5, in the fourth quarter.
The Bears were playing in their first semifinal since 2012-13. They scored 42 and 50 points in a pair of losses to the Jayhawks in section play but labored to get half that in the third matchup.
“When it comes to letting guards be guards, we had the advantage,” Brown said. “Because we have the best guards in the WPIAL.”
Clairton had a bad shooting night as it managed just three field goals and 10 points in the second half.
Jeannette had only three field goals in the fourth, but it made good at the foul line.
Jeannette held Sewickley Academy to 25 points (45-25) in last year’s semifinals. The defense forced Clairton to shoot from the perimeter.
“I thought we held it too much at times. We needed to be in more attack mode,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “Possessions in the playoffs are so vital. I thought we did a fantastic job helping out on defense.
“You always hear how it’s hard to beat a team three times (in a season). Who said that? It’s one game, the next game. The other two didn’t matter.”
After outscoring the Bears, 8-5, in a chest-to-chest third, Jeannette finally gained some separation.
After Brandon Murphy picked up his third foul and Donte Wright his fourth, Powell scored on a drive and Sunder followed out of a timeout to stretch the lead to 35-26.
“Big drive for Noah there,” Batts said. “That is the best game he’s played against Clairton.”
Sunder also took a charge late in the third, then made a layup off a feed from Brown for a 28-22 lead.
Clairton went up 10-8 after the first quarter on a late 3-pointer by Mike Ruffin.
Playing in close quarters on both ends, Jeannette inched ahead for a 20-19 halftime advantage.
Brown scored seven of the Jayhawks’ 12 points in the quarter, including a 3 to give them a 17-13 lead.
Jae Walker connected on a 3 from the wing for the Bears to tie it 19-19 with 2:15 to play in the second quarter.
Ruffin led Clairton with 11 points and Murphy, a budding Division I football prospect, had 10.
Taris Wooding, a 1,000-point scorer for his career, was held to one point.