One play after another, Markus McGowan welcomed Jeannette back to the basketball court.
First, he turned a couple of steals into layups. Then, he made a smooth fadeaway jumper from just off the low block.
By the time he delivered consecutive assists to Noah Sunder and Noah Clary — the second on a no-look pass — it was clear the Jeannette guard was in a groove.
“When I got up this morning I said, ‘this is going to be a good day,’ ” McGowan said.
In its first game since a temperamental loss to Sewickley Academy in the WPIAL Class 2A championship, Jeannette followed McGowan’s lead to a breezy, 72-34 victory over visiting Northern Cambria on Saturday afternoon in the PIAA first round.
The WPIAL runners-up let it rip offensively with their second-highest scoring output at home this season. It was a far cry from the 38 they produced against Sewickley Academy (52-38).
“You don’t like losing, ever,” said McGowan, who scored 26 points and made four 3-pointers, three during a fourth quarter that was more of formality with a running clock. “Getting back out, coming off that loss, this gets our guys more motivated to play.”
Jeannette (23-2) advances to play Jefferson-Morgan (24-3), the sixth-place team from the WPIAL, in Wednesday’s second round. The time and site for the game have not been announced.
Jefferson-Morgan beat Redbank Valley, 50-26, in the opening round.
Northern Cambria (17-9) was making its third straight state playoff appearance but was ousted by the Jayhawks for the second year in a row.
McGowan scored 13 in each half.
“Markus was playing with confidence,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “It was good to see our guys playing so hard. It was a championship effort.”
The Jayhawks, who had a 20-game winning streak snapped in the WPIAL final when they tried for a title repeat, had nine players score Saturday, including senior Kymon’e Brown and junior Jayce Powell with 11 apiece and senior Xavier Odorisio-Farrow with 10.
“It was great to see guys coming in off the bench and getting involved,” McGowan said.
Up 10 after the first quarter following McGowan’s nine-point opening frame, the Jayhawks took a 19-point lead into halftime (34-15).
Jeannette beat Northern Cambria in last year’s second round 70-54.
“They threw a matchup zone at us. We saw it last year,” Batts said. “We found some openings. It was a matter of settling down. It’s tough when you’re off a week, and you’re coming off such an emotional loss.”
Odorisio-Farrow and Sunder each put back missed shots to stretch the lead to 30-10 late in the first half.
McGowan’s no-look to Clary ended with a layup to make it 34-12.
The Jayhawks scored the first eight points of the third as part of a 12-2 run to go up 46-17.
Clary scored off a steal, and sophomore Darnell Berry Jr. added a basket to make it a 30-point game.
McGowan and Brown had breakaway layups and considered dunking, and Odorisio-Farrow did finish with a jam in a 22-point fourth.
Jeannette announcer Tim Carney acknowledged the Jeannette seniors when they checked out of the game in the fourth quarter of their final home game on Lou Seiler Court.
“It’s kind of sad,” Powell said. “Those guys mean a lot to us. It makes me think about next year. I can’t believe I am going to be a senior.”
Brown, the team’s leader and point guard and a fourth-year starter, has been a part of 82 wins for the Jayhawks.
Sophomore Dylan Bodek led the Colts with 12 points.