Kymon’e Brown’s ‘flu game’ lifts Jeannette boys past Mercyhurst Prep in PIAA 1st round
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Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 5:30 PM
Jeannette’s Kymon’e Brown scores over Mercyhurst’s Tanner Ashton during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s Jayce Powell fights for a rebound with Mercyhurst’s Trent Garner during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s Stone Markham defends on Mercyhurst’s Alex Manendo during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s Noah Sunder defends on Mercyhurst’s during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s student section reacts to back-to-back 3-pointers by Markus McGowan against Mercyhurst during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s Jayce Powell scores past Mercyhurst’s Chase Peterson during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s Kymon’e Brown is fouled by Mercyhurst’s Ashton Wilbur during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s Jayce Powell fights for a rebound with Mercyhurst’s Trent Garner during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette’s Jayce Powell fights for a rebound with Mercyhurst’s Trent Garner during a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Saturday.
Jeannette point guard Kymon’e Brown missed a morning walkthrough Saturday with flu-like symptoms.
His stomach hurt, and he was sluggish.
While Brown was told to drink a lot of fluids, the junior settled for a steady dose of free throws to help the Jayhawks stay ahead and post a win in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A boys basketball playoffs.
Brown made 11 of 17 foul shots and scored a game-high 20 points as the WPIAL champion Jayhawks held back visiting Mercyhurst Prep, 61-54, before a sellout crowd of nearly 800 on Saturday afternoon at Lou Seiler Court.
“I was feeling pretty bad, but I had to fight through it,” said Brown, who was 6 for 10 from the line in the fourth quarter. “I had to take the task on. It was my flu game.”
Sophomore Markus McGowan added 14 points for Jeannette (24-2), which watched a 15-point lead shrink to six in the final 2 minutes, 12 seconds, a stretch of time when the Jayhawks did not make a field goal. Instead, they made 9 of 16 free throws as the Lakers hacked to stop the clock.
Fresh off its first WPIAL title since 2008, the Jayhawks made sure the home crowd went home happy.
“We needed a game like that,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “We just won a WPIAL title and we have some young guys. Great teams, great players are able to push that to the back of their minds and keep playing. Mercyhurst kept fighting. Those dudes gave us all they had.”
Jeannette advances to play Northern Cambria (14-12) in Wednesday’s second round.
Jeannette made the state quarterfinals last year.
Mercyhurst Prep had a flicker of hope late thanks to the play of experienced seniors.
“No quit,” Lakers coach Sean Baer said of his team. “They didn’t want their season to end. Jeannette is a team capable of winning the state title. Our game plan was to possess the ball and control the tempo so they couldn’t leak out. They got a couple of quick baskets, and all of a sudden it was a double-digit game.”
District 10 bronze medalist Mercyhurst Prep (19-8) was clingy for most of the afternoon and had a 15-10 lead early in the second quarter after a 10-10 opening frame.
But the Jayhawks repelled several rallies, going ahead on a 3-pointer by McGowan and using two more 3s, from McGowan and Brown, to take a 28-21 lead into the half.
Senior guard Chase Peterson hit a 3 for the Lakers just before the break.
Brown held the ball for 20 seconds late in the half, the basketball on his hip, before finally flicking a pass to McGowan for another 3.
“That was a back-breaker,” Baer said.
Said Brown, who felt limited offensively with his illness: “I had to defend and drop it off to my shooters.”
Brown completed a three-point play in the third, and sophomore Jayce Powell scored on a break before McGowan made a leaner in the lane to make it 38-27.
Powell left the game in the second half and did not return after taking a hit above his right eye.
Jeannette led 40-31 after three.
Senior guard Tanner Ashton, a La Roche commit who led Mercyhurst Prep with 18 points, scored 10 in the fourth when an unforeseen comeback began to materialize.
Jeannette built a cushion with pinpoint passing. Junior Xavier Odorisio-Farrow found senior Stone Markham under the basket for a layup, then Brown, falling down, hit McGowan with an assist to give the Jayhawks a 46-34 advantage.
Markham connected on a corner 3 with 2:12 left to make it 51-36, and it looked like that was it for the Lakers.
But showing resolve with their season on the line, they slowly closed the gap.
Senior Alex Manendo, Ashton and Peterson all hit 3s to peck away while Jeannette was busy making free throws.
Jeannette lined up several players like wide receivers on an inbounds play and Markham threw a deep pass to Brown, who was fouled but missed both shots with 24.9 seconds left.
Ashton then made a layup to carve the deficit to 58-52.
The double-bonus kept growing for the Jayhawks.
Odorisio-Farrow made 3 of 4 free throws to push the lead back to nine (61-52) before junior reserve guard Jackson Kaliszewski scored at the buzzer for the Lakers, who wished they had more time.
Jeannette made 14 of 22 free throws, including 10 of 16 in the fourth.
Mercyhurst Prep was 10 for 18, 7 of 12 in the final quarter.
“This was a tough place to play,” Baer said. “We’d love to be the better seed next year. It would be great to have the home court advantage like Jeannette has.”
Manendo finished with 14 points.
Junior Noah Sunder scored nine for Jeannette.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Jeannette
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