2026 WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship breakdown: Sewickley Academy vs. Jeannette

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, February 26, 2026 | 12:00 PM

WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship

No. 2 Sewickley Academy vs. No. 1 Jeannette

5 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center

Audio broadcast: Trib HSSN

WPIAL titles: Jeannette 2 (2025, ‘08); Sewickley Academy 5 (2018, ‘17, ‘10, ‘09, ‘04)

Sewickley Academy (24-1)

Coach: Mike Iuzzolino

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

2, Caiden Battles, 5-8, sr., G

3, Amare Spencer, 6-2, sr., G

4, Lucas Grimsley, 6-5, sr., G

23, Mamdou Kane, 6-8, so., F/C

33, Adam Ikamba, 6-8, jr., F/C

How they got here: Sewickley Academy defeated No. 18 Greensburg Central Catholic, 77-17, in the first round; No. 10 Winchester Thurston, 61-33, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 OLSH, 56-30, in the semifinals.

Notable: This is a rematch of last year’s WPIAL semifinal that was won by Jeannette, 45-25, at Fox Chapel. The game featured a highlight dunk by the Jayhawks’ Xavier Odorisio-Farrow that turned the momentum sharply in Jeannette’ favor. Sewickley Academy went on to play in the PIAA championship after defeating Greensburg Central Catholic in the state semifinals. … Sewickley Academy has three blowout wins in the playoffs and is primed to win its first WPIAL title since 2018. … The Panthers are one of the tallest teams in the state with 6-8 Adam Ikamba, 6-7 Mamadou Kane (12.2 ppg), 6-5 Ibrahim Kante and 6-5 Grimsley. … Their only loss is to nationally ranked Roselle Catholic (N.J.), 54-53 in overtime. … Iuzzolino is a former standout who played at Penn State and Saint Francis before a three-year NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks. … Grimsley and Caiden Battles are senior leaders in the backcourt. … Sophomore Drew Steals also is coming along nicely. … Steals and Ikamba had 12 points each, and Grimsley added 11 in a 56-30 win over OLSH in the semis. … Former Pitt guard Trey Woodall is an assistant coach.

Jeannette (22-1)

Coach: Adrian Batts

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

0, Xavier Odorisio-Farrow, 6-2, sr., F

1, Kymon’e Brown, 6-0, sr., F

2, Jayce Powell, 5-11, jr., G

5, Markus McGowan, 6-3, jr., G

24, Noah Sunder, 6-3, sr., F

How they got here: Jeannette beat No. 16 Brentwood, 70-49, in the first round; No. 9 Eden Christian, 52-36, in the quarterfinals; and No. 5 Clairton, 44-29, in the semifinals.

Notable: Jeannette is seeking back-to-back titles after defeating Union in last year’s final. … The Jayhawks snagged the No. 1 seed over the Panthers and have looked the part on both ends of the court in these playoffs. … Brown (13 ppg) is the senior leader at point guard, while junior Jayce Powell (10 ppg) is a “glue” guard and junior Markus McGowan (19 ppg) is a streaky scorer. … Brown and McGowan are career 1,000-point scorers. … Odorisio-Farrow and Noah Sunder, a pair of senior forwards, will be tested by the Panthers’ size. … Brown had 15 points and made 10 of 12 free throws in a 44-29 win over Clairton, a team the Jayhawks beat three times this season. … Jeannette is on a 20-game winning streak. It has not lost to a WPIAL team this season.

Next up: The winner will open the PIAA playoffs March 7 at home against the District 10 third-place team. The loser will host the third-place team from District 6.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Jeannette, Sewickley Academy