Class 5A Penn Hills too much for Class 2A Jeannette

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, January 5, 2019 | 9:51 PM

Adrian Batts doesn’t shy away from filling Jeannette’s nonconference schedule with large-school opponents.

It provides the Jayhawks an opportunity to improve.

But battling those types of foes can result in getting clipped on occasion.

Penn Hills, which is ranked fourth in Class 5A, had the goods to beat up the Jayhawks on Saturday at the Indians’ Jamfest event. After trading baskets early, Penn Hills rode an 11-0 run to end the first quarter to a 90-46 win.

Jeannette dropped to 1-4 this season against Class 5A opponents, its lone win coming against West Mifflin. The Jayhawks previous three defeats to 5A schools came by a combined margin of 37 points.

“I could have played some lesser opponent, but what does that do for us?,” Batts said. “We are one of the top teams in double-A. This game gets us ready for OLSH and Sewickley (Academy) and Serra Catholic.”

Both teams went back-and-forth early on with a layup from Jeannette’s Marcus Barnes tyring the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.

Pressure from Penn Hills’ defense made sure that didn’t last. The Indians (8-2) forced 29 turnovers.

“I think it’s the same every night,” Penn Hills coach Dan DeRose said. “The plan is to wear the opponent down. When they get tired, they get sloppy.”

Penn Hills was especially effective in the first quarter. The Indians shot 85.7 percent (12 of 14) and closed with that 11-0 run to surge ahead 28-11.

“I’m a guy that believes in high percentages,” DeRose said. “We’re shooting 56 percent on the year from the field. I don’t want to say I’m overly surprised because we shoot so many layups. They are high-percentage shots.”

Tyree Spencer was the benefactor. Once Spencer got opportunities, he didn’t disappoint, scoring a career-high 32 points on 11-of-12 shooting.

Wes Kropp (16 points) and Marshall McArthur (11) also finished in double figures for Penn Hills.

Jeannette (7-4) struggled to keep up partly because it was in foul trouble. Barnes, who scored a team-high 15 points, picked up two fouls in the first 70 seconds.

Barnes, who fouled out, was also tagged with a technical for dunking during halftime warm-ups.

“That didn’t help at all,” Batts said about Barnes’ early fouls. “We were going to have play perfect to compete. I just wish we had played with more fire, competed and made some shots.”

Jeannette never snapped out of its early funk, shooting 36.4 percent (16 of 44). The Jayhawks trailed 47-22 at the half. Zack Crutchman scored 10 points to finish in double figures for Jeannette.

Batts would have liked to see his players handle the pressure better.

“It definitely hurt us,” Batts said. “They are athletic, but they play extremely hard. We just didn’t come to compete. I don’t know what it was.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Jeannette, Penn Hills