Jeannette boys basketball team wants to add another, more special title to its resume

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, June 27, 2025 | 10:56 PM

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Winning a WPIAL championship last winter meant a lot to the Jeannette boys basketball team.

But a different title — should the host Jayhawks win it Saturday — would carry a different meaning. Special meaning.

“We want to do it for his parents,” Jeannette rising junior guard Markus McGowan said, referring to Steve and Tracy Cunningham, whose late son, Tre Cunningham, is the man of honor again at this weekend’s boys basketball tournament in his name.

“It would mean a lot more to us,” said Jayhawks’ rising junior guard Jayce Powell. “Tre was a great guy. We’d love to win it for him, for our community.”

The defending WPIAL Class 2A champions improved to 2-0 heading into Saturday’s single-elimination tournament featuring nine teams.

Day 2 of the fifth Annual Tre Cunningham Memorial Tournament on Friday saw Jeannette hold back Belle Vernon, 52-44, as McGowan hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points in a battle of WPIAL champions.

Belle Vernon is the two-time defending champion of the tournament. The Leopards defeated Jeannette in last year’s title game.

The Jayhawks are yearning to win their first Cunningham championship chain.

“We’re playing for something bigger than us,” Jeannette rising senior point guard Kymon’e Brown said. “You want to give your all for the community and Tre. Guys like Tre and Poogie (Robert Kennedy) had that swagger. They made you strive to be better.”

Hempfield, Indiana and Norwin also won games Friday.

Jeannette will play Norwin (1-1) in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday on Jeannette High School’s Lou Seiler Court.

Belle Vernon (1-1), the returning WPIAL Class 4A champion, was led by Jude Minniti’s 11 points. The Leopards, now under the direction of first-year coach Ricky Tyburski, will play Hempfield (2-0) at 10 a.m.

Geibel (0-2) and Ringgold (0-2) will play at 9 a.m. with the winner playing Imani Christian (2-0).

Also on Jeannette’s side of the bracket, Indiana (1-1) will play Greensburg Salem (1-1) at 11 a.m.

The semifinals are at 2 and 3 p.m., with the championship set for 4:30.

“We come to win,” McGowan said. “In Jeannette, you can’t just win one (title). They always want more.”

Cunningham’s memory continued to fill the gym as friends and family shared stories of the three-sport standout who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2020. He was 20.

Cunningham, a former TribLive Westmoreland Athlete of the Year and baseball and football player of the year, won WPIAL championships in baseball and football and a state title in football.

People remember his sly sense of humor, his smile, being his company.

“He was such a well-liked kid. I don’t think anybody ever had a beef with him,” said Jeannette assistant coach Swade Redman, Cunningham’s cousin. “We were as close as you could get. I remember we’d call each other on Christmas mornings: What did you get? We slept over each other’s houses. I remember he’d always be lying in my bed eating a bowl of cereal. He had a way of brightening someone’s day and making them feel better.

“He was my best friend. To this day, I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

Jeannette assistant coaches Ken Errett and Julian Batts led Jeannette in their first two games. Head coach Adrian Batts joined the team briefly Friday.

A late first-half run allowed the Jayhawks to gain some separation from the Leopards.

McGowan’s 3, with 3 minutes, 16 seconds left in the second 20-minute half, was a key shot late.

“The kids stepped up defensively,” Errett said. “They wanted to get out and run. They were more aggressive. Last night, they had trouble finishing at the rim.”

Belle Vernon is moving on without a number of key players but will return more experienced players than people think.

“It has not been a huge adjustment,” said Tyburski, who was veteran coach Joe Salvino’s assistant at Belle Vernon and Monessen. “We’ve been great with numbers at our open gyms. I know the kids, so that part is nice.”

The now-retired Salvino was on hand Friday to watch the Leopards.

“We might coach a little differently,” Tyburski said. “We will be a defense-first team. I will look to push the ball more.”

An MVP will be awarded Saturday, and the winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Jeannette