Preview: Jeannette Jayhawks vs. Leechburg Blue Devils
The Jeannette Jayhawks will be playing at home against the Leechburg Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Jeannette has three straight wins, Leechburg has eight straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Jeannette stacked a fifth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard last Tuesday. They blew past Riverview, posting a 72-39 win on the road. Given Jeannette's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 242nd, while Riverview is ranked 527th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jeannette's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Isaiah Mallich, who scored 21 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Mallich has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Markus McGowan, who scored 15 points.
Leechburg suffered their biggest defeat since December 2, 2023 on Thursday. They were dealt a 60-30 defeat at the hands of Springdale. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Leechburg in their matchups with Springdale: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite the defeat, Leechburg had strong showings from Jayden Floyd, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and four steals, and Tim Skeel, who scored five points along with five rebounds. Floyd is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played.
Jeannette's win was their ninth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-4. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.7 points per game. As for Leechburg, their loss dropped their record down to 2-12.
Jeannette took their victory against Leechburg in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 55-29. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Floyd, who scored 22 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Jeannette still be able to contain him? There's only one way to find out.
