Jeannette earns revenge with Section 1-2A victory over Leechburg
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Tuesday, January 30, 2018 | 10:22 PM
A loss to Leechburg earlier this month stayed with Jeannette like a bad headache, a bout of heartburn, some nagging back pain.
The team couldn't shake the after-effects of what happened that day and it festered.
In no uncertain terms, however, all the symptoms went away Tuesday night with the best possible remedy: revenge.
No. 3 Jeannette had to hold off the Blue Devils to do it, but they managed to avoid getting swept with a 52-46 victory in a Section 1-2A game that did not want to end.
“Ever since we lost, we wanted Leechburg,” said Jeannette senior guard Robert Kennedy, who led the Jayhawks with 18 points, eight in the fourth quarter. “We weren't overlooking anybody, we just wanted to see them again. We feel like they stole that one from us.”
Jeannette (12-2, 7-1) — the No. 9-ranked team in the state — made just one field goal in the fourth quarter and shot 16 of 27 from the foul line in the final frame — 19 of 34 for the game.
Leechburg senior guard Christian Hack led all scorers with 19 points, scoring 11 of his team's 16 points in the first half. He made five 3-pointers for the Blue Devils (11-5, 6-4), who saw a four-game winning streak end.
Once again, the Blue Devils put the brakes on Jeannette's offense with their zone defense.
“They try to slow you down; they're scrappy,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “They'll run and run it until they get what they want. They make you play that way. We had to do a better job on ball pressure. We had to stay disciplined. The whole key, though, is that if we make our free throws, it's a 15-point win.”
Senior Tre Cunningham added 14 points and junior A.J. Sharp had 12 for Jeannette.
Jeannette played without junior guard Anthony Johnson, who has a sprained ankle. He was on the bench wearing a walking boot.
Batts said he hopes to have Johnson back Friday night at Serra Catholic.
Leechburg went to its familiar zone early, and Jeannette played with patience as it waited for opportunities to run.
And the Jayhawks played with energy. They had their moments in transition, when the game sped up.
Cunningham nearly posterized a defender early as he rose up but just missed the jam.
And Robert Kennedy swatted a shot into stands late in the first quarter.
“We feel like we're way more athletic than anybody on the court,” Kennedy said. “We try to run a lot. (Leechburg) doesn't give that advantage, but we outmuscled them. They had five offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter and we were missing foul shots so it kind of played to their hand. But we finally started to settle in and came out with the W.”
Leechburg's game plan worked, but the Blue Devils couldn't get the lead in the second half. They were just 6 of 12 from the foul line.
“We wanted to stall them with our offense and run through it,” Leechburg coach Corey Smith said. “That's what we did. But we didn't hit our foul shots either. We have to get back to work.
“We missed some key shots; it was a rough environment. That's a credit to their student section and their fans. I don't think our guys could hear me sometimes, so we had a bunch of turnovers.”
Cunningham scored seven in the second quarter as Jeannette took a 23-16 lead into the break.
A 9-0 run by the Jayhawks gave them a 14-4 lead early in the second quarter.
Hack kept the Blue Devils close early, connecting on three first-half 3-pointers and 11 points before halftime.
Only one other player scored in the first half for Leechburg, Dylan Cook with five points.
Jeannette went up by 11 in the third on a putback by Jackson Pruitt, and Cunningham's two free throws gave Jeannette a 38-25 lead early in the fourth.
But Leechburg would not go away. Jake Blumer scored 10 in the fourth as the Blue Devils chiseled the deficit down to six with 2:10 to go.
Kennedy's and-1 play — the Jayhawks' only basket of the fourth — pushed the lead back to 10 (47-37), but two free throws by Hack made it 49-43.
Hack connected on a tough, off-balance 3 from the elbow with 7.7 seconds left to make it 51-46, but the Blue Devils ran out of time.
Blumer finished with 11 but the rest of the team, sans Hack, combined for 16 points.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.
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