Brown leads Jeannette boys to win against Serra Catholic

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, December 15, 2023 | 10:42 PM

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Kymone Brown didn’t score in the first quarter Friday night, so coach Adrian Batts pulled the Jeannette sophomore guard aside.

“I wasn’t playing how I can play,” Brown said. “Coach had a talk with me. Everything he said made sense. He said, ‘Go get yours.’ ”

Brown got his, and the Jayhawks got a win in the Section 3-2A basketball opener.

He poured in 19 of his career-high 27 points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to lead Jeannette to a 57-54 victory over visiting Serra Catholic.

Brown helped pull Jeannette out of a tough free-throw shooting night, particularly down the stretch.

“He’s capable,” Batts said. “He has to trust in himself when he has the ball. He is a skilled kid and can probably play at any level he wants if he adds some weight and keeps working.

“We got him to where he needed to be mentally, and that was big.”

Jeannette (5-2, 1-0) and Serra Catholic (3-3, 0-1) have a knack for playing tight games, and this one fell in line.

“Last year we were up 20, and they won by three,” Batts said. “It’s become a rivalry. There aren’t many blowouts. They have three really good guards. (Isiah) Petty is as good as any guard in 2A.

“We stuck with our game plan. This feels really good.”

Serra Catholic, which had won 3 of 4, led by two after the first quarter and six at halftime (28-22) before pushing the advantage to 10 (38-28) with just more than three minutes left in the third.

But that is when Brown took over.

He finished a three-point play, scored on a rebound, hit a short jumper and slashed in for a layup to close the gap to 41-39 heading to the fourth.

“I felt the energy and the atmosphere,” Brown said. “I heard, ‘Kymone, go.’ ”

And he sure went.

Brown buried a corner 3 to open the fourth and capture Jeannette its first lead since 8-6, to give him 12 straight points.

“It wasn’t that I was feeling it, it was everybody around me helping me out,” Brown said. “They got me the ball.”

Senior guard Isaiah Mallich then banked in his third 3 of the night to make it 45-44 in Jeannette’s favor, and Brown scored seven of the Jayhawks’ next eight during a back-and-forth, two-minute stretch that saw five lead changes.

Mallich scored 10.

Brown’s 3 with 5 minutes, 2 seconds left gave Jeannette the lead for good (50-48), although Serra — thanks to some off-target foul shooting by the Jayhawks — made for a tense final couple of minutes.

Jeannette was 5 for 12 from the foul line in the fourth (6 or 15 on the night). Being in the new five-foul bonus with 1:45 left almost didn’t matter.

Brown, who was 3 for 3 at the line, scored on a drive to make it 55-52 and Mallich came up with a steal near midcourt at the 55-second mark.

But Jeannette made only 3 of 8 free throws the rest of the way. During that time, senior guard Petty tipped in a miss for Serra to cut it to 56-54 with 23 seconds.

“Free throws have been a problem,” Batts said. “We missed 15 against Seton LaSalle and lost by six. I told our guys layups and free throws would be key tonight.”

Petty, who returned after missing the last two games, had 14 points. Senior Pete Burke led the Eagles with 18.

The Eagles missed two late 3s, and the Jayhawks escaped.

Sophomore Xavier Ororisio-Farrow added eight points for Jeannette, and junior Owen Dumbroski had eight for the Eagles.

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

Tags: Jeannette, Serra Catholic