Jeannette too much for Geibel Catholic
JEANNETTE – Fresh off the WPIAL Class AA title football game, Jeannette obviously enjoyed the change of seasons as its basketball team jumped on Geibel Catholic early and cruised to an 81-64 win in the opening round of the Jayhawk Tip-Off Classic. The quarterback (Jordan Thomas) and wide receiver (Ste-Von Daye) led the way with 19 points apiece, while the tight end (Mike Dent) added 15 points. And the Jayhawks had fun doing it, an obvious result of having played different sports together for several years.
“We heard Geibel had a lot of young talent, and they do,” said Jeannette coach Rick Klimchock. “But we came out ready to play. I was really happy with how we played and I was kind of even surprised we came out like we did.”
Jeannette streaked to a 16-4 lead and stretched it to 28-10 before Geibel Catholic rallied behind Rob Ramsey and cut the lead to 31-25 with 2:21 left in the first half. But that was as close as the Gators would come the rest of the way as the Jayhawks put on a show in front of their home crowd.
At one point, Thomas opted against a breakaway lay-up and instead bounced the ball off the backboard. It was dunked by the trailing Daye.
“There’s no doubt about it. They have some athletes,” said Geibel Catholic coach Ken Misiak. “We knew that coming into the game. It was a good experience for the kids to come into a tournament to play a better team like this, and we’ve got to build on it.”
A mix of talent and experience gives Jeannette the look of a championship contender. It’s something Geibel Catholic is building toward, because the Gators are certainly talented. They’re just young.
“We’ve got two sophomores and two juniors in our starting lineup right now and we have another junior who comes off the bench for us. So, yes, we feel that’s what makes a ball club, that nucleus,” Misiak said. “We feel Ramsey gives us leadership out on the floor, and (Kellen) Holmes, he’s just a sophomore, has three years to play and he’s going to be a tough one. He really had a nice second half. He started taking the ball to the boards and that’s his game.”
Holmes, a 6-2 sophomore, led everyone with 23 points. He scored 17 in the second half. Ramsey, a junior, added 19 points. Another sophomore starter, 6-4 Will Bronson, flashed athletic ability but was saddled with foul trouble early and scored only three points.
“We know that we’re young but we expected a little bit more out of them tonight,” Misiak said. “Maybe we were intimidated when they jumped up 16-4. It took us awhile to get back into the ball game.”
Geibel may not have played as well as hoped, but the Gators left a good impression in their opener.
“They’ve got some offensive weaponry,” said Klimchock. “If they keep working they’re going to make a real nice run in their section and maybe in the playoffs.”
“Oh, yeah. We can make some noise here,” said Misiak. “That’s why we have a pretty tough schedule at the beginning of the season.
“Hopefully our kids will react to it and we’ll learn from it.”