CLARION — There aren’t many 18-year-olds that had a better birthday celebration on Friday night than Ryan Newton.

The senior poured in 22 points and led Elk County Catholic to a 66-40 rout of Jamestown at Clarion University to advance to the second round of the PIAA playoffs.

The Crusaders got off to a hot start on Friday and didn’t trail for the entirety of the game. ECC started the game on an 11-0 run, and closed the quarter up 11-3 after a late Jamestown 3-pointer.

Newton had nine of those 11 points, and wasted no time making an impact on both ends of the court.

“I told the guys after the game that every night that you can play is a good night. Every night you can win is an even better night and every night you can play and win on your birthday is a good night,” ECC head coach Aaron Straub said.

As impressive as Newton’s 17 first-half points were, one of his teammates picked up the scoring in the second half when the Muskies were finally able to limit his scoring.

Alex Breindel had 13 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers, to thwart any Jamestown comeback attempt. The junior had six points as part of a 21-point third quarter for the Crusaders, who led 48-31 after three.

“If we are going to be successful, he’s got to pick up some of the scoring,” Straub said. “Tonight, he looked confidence shooting the ball. He stepped into his shot and he also did a good job on the boards.”

Elk County’s offensive struggles in their 36-30 loss to Johnsonburg last Saturday in the District 9 Class A Title game were a distant memory, as the Crusaders were able to score with ease for the game’s final three quarters.

As well as the Crusaders performed on offense, they didn’t give the Muskies anything on the other end. Jamestown made just three total field goals in the first half, and had over 20 turnovers for the game.

The difference in ECC pulling away, according to Straub, was their speed and the way they were able to keep Jamestown on their heels all night.

“I thought we ran the floor better,” he said. “We worked pretty hard on that this week in practice and I’m glad we got some run outs and easy baskets. We knew that was going to be a very important part of the game.”

The Crusaders had 10 players register at least two points against Jamestown, and that deep bench could pose a challenge to future opponents in the state playoffs.

That next game will come on Tuesday against Bishop Carroll, who defeated Imani Christian 85-76.

Eden Christian 30, Johnsonburg 28

If Johnsonburg was able to hit just one field goal in the game’s final eight minutes, they probably would’ve been able to walk out of Tippin Gym with a victory.

However, in a fourth quarter that saw just two combined points, Eden Christian pulled off a 30-28 victory over the Rams and advanced to the second round of the PIAA playoffs.

The game was tight from the start, and stayed that way, with neither team leading by more than five points for the entire 32 minutes.

However, both defenses really clamped down in the second half, with just 13 points scored. At the end of three quarters, the game was tied at 28.

Neither team was able to score for the first three minutes of that fourth quarter until Eden’s Dylan Kingman hit one of his two free-throw attempts. That single point proved to be the last one either team would score until a meaningless free throw with less than a second remaining.

Johnsonburg had plenty of open looks to re-take the lead in the game’s waning minutes, but missed on a couple of layup attempts and open jumpers.

After the game, Rams head coach Bill Shuey lamented on the fact that his team couldn’t capitalize on some chances in a game up for the taking.

“I think maybe the pressure got to some of the kids,” Shuey said. “They were timid a little bit. They weren’t looking to score. I thought there were a couple of times we were could have taken it to the basket but we passed.”

“Both teams had some looks,” he added. “We missed two open layups at the end. It was a battle.”

After limiting Elk Catholic to just 30 points in last week’s D-9 championship game, the Rams put on another defensive clinic. Eden Christian entered the game averaging 69 points per contest, but were left without any answers to Johnsonburg defensive intensity. Both teams played a zone, and employed a press at times, which really threw off any momentum on offense.

The Warriors scoring came primarily from Chase Haring and Kingman, who had 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Eden Christian moves on to play Shanksville on Tuesday, while Johnsonburg’s season comes to a close.

It was one of the more memorable ones in school history for the Rams, as they ended Elk’s reign atop Class A, and rattled off 19 wins in the process.

“Nobody expected that,” Shuey said. “But we did, and that was the important ingredient.”

It will most likely be a bit of a rebuilding year next season for the Rams, as they graduate a core group of seniors, all four of whom started on Friday night.

“Our seniors poured their heart and soul and were dedicated to the program over four years,” Shuey said. “There was a real connection with those four and I appreciate everything they’ve done for the program and their dedication and support to me, also.”

AT CLARION

Jamestown (40)

Dawson Urbansky 2 8-12 13, Keyser 3 0-0 7, Graham 2 2-4 6, J. Rhoades 2 2-5 6, Smith 2 0-3 4, Steadman 1 2-2 4, College 0 0-2 0. Totals: 12 14-28 40

Elk County Catholic (66)

Ryan Newton 8 5-6 22, Alex Breindel 6 4-4 17, Wortman 3 0-0 6, Gregory 2 0-0 4, Gregory 2 0-0 4, Schneider 2 0-0 4, Hoffmann 1 1-4 3, Klawuhn 1 0-0 2, Aiello 1 0-0 2, Lindemuth 0 2-4 2. Totals: 25 10-14 66

Jamestown  3 16 31 40

ECC            11 27 46 66

Three-point goals:  ECC 4 (Breindel 3, Newton 1) Jamestown 2 (Urbansky, Keyser); Total fouls: ECC 21, Jamestown 14; fouled out: none

AT CLARION

Eden Christian (30)

Chase Haring 5 1-4 13, Kingman 4 2-4 10, Gross 1 0-0 3, Manges 1 0-0 2, Clary 0 2-2 2. Totals: 11 5-10 40

Johnsonburg (28)

Austin Green 4 0-0 11, Schloder 2 2-3 6, Singer 1 0-0 3, Lobaugh 1 0-0 2, Raubenstrauch 1 0-0 2, Freeburg 1 0-0 2, Bliss 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 2-3 28

Eden     8 17 28 30

J-Burg  10 20 28 28

Three-point goals:  Johnsonburg 3 (Green) Eden 3 (Haring 2, Gross 1); Total fouls: Eden 10, Johnsonburg 9; fouled out: none