Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Central’s Jesse Muthler looks for help as Beaver’s Logan Weiland (center) and Brady Mayo defend.

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Central boys basketball team will have to wait yet another year to claim that elusive PIAA playoff victory.

Multi-sport senior standout Brady Mayo scored a game-high 25 points and teammate Nicholas Krzeczowski added 16 points and 15 rebounds Friday as Beaver sprinted to a 65-49 victory over the Scarlet Dragons in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs.

Central, which finished 19-5 and claimed its first district title in 30 years last month, fell to 4-14 in the state playoffs, its last victory coming against Montour in 1995.

“Let’s start by giving Beaver credit,” Central coach Paul Frederick said. “They shot the ball phenomenal. They have good, solid basketball players, but shot the ball at a higher level than I had seen.

“You can only do so much trying to take away Mayo, and when you double him or help with some stuff to try and take him away, you’re going to give up some stuff and they made us pay for it, especially in the first half.”

Central jumped to a 3-0 lead on Kyle Klotz’s 3-pointer 14 seconds into the game, but the Dragons never led again.

The Bobcats (20-6) put together runs of 8-0, 10-0 and 12-0 over the next 15-plus minutes to take control of the game.

They led 32-19 at halftime as Mayo, a Bucknell University football recruit and the WPIAL’s second-leading scorer with a 27.5 average, scored nine of his 15 first-half points in the second quarter.

Central did manage to fight back with an 8-0 run of its own in the second quarter, but Christian Hesuton’s 3-pointer, which would have given the Dragons the lead, hit the back of the rim from the corner.

After Eli Muthler pulled Central to within 20-19 by converting the front end of a two-shot foul, Beaver scored the last 12 points of the quarter.

Central closed to within five points twice in the second half but couldn’t get any closer.

Muthler, who guarded Mayo until getting in foul trouble, led the Dragons with 17 points. Mason Byler added 12 and Black 11. All three are seniors.

“We fought back numerous times from some pretty big deficits, but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” Frederick said. “We’d like to get a state playoff win, that would be good.

“As frustrating as that is, I am focused on the fact that we had seven phenomenal seniors. You can’t have better kids to coach. I couldn’t be prouder of the work they put in this season and the previous years.”

Beaver has been playing basketball for nearly 100 years but clinched just its third 20-win season ever.

The Bobcats, who finished fourth in the WPIAL, advanced to the second round of the PIAA playoffs Tuesday, where they will get a rematch with WPIAL runner-up North Catholic.

Central and Beaver combined for 22 3-pointers.

“Mayo has been really good for us all year,” first-year Beaver coach Jason Bumblis said. “I thought we were more athletic than them. We were able to keep them in front of us. I thought we did a good job on those guys.

“They wanted to make sure Brady didn’t get in the paint and beat them and we had some guys make some outside shots. That’s not usually our game.”

BEAVER (65): Mayo 8 6-6 25, Krzeczowski 6 1-2 16, Weiland 2 0-0 5, Marino Jr. 4 1-2 11, Peluso 2 0-0 6, Pupi 1 0-0 2, Kazas 0 0-0 0, Haller 0 0-0 0, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Lutton 0 0-0 0, Sly 0 0-0 0. Totals — 23 8-10 65.

CENTRAL (49): Byler 3 3-4 12, E. Muthler 6 3-5 17, Black 4 0-0 11, J. Muthler 0 0-0 0, Heuston 0 0-0 0, Klotz 2 0-0 6, Lingenfelter 0 0-0 0, Bassler 0 0-0 0, Hoover 1 0-0 3, Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Beltz 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 6-9 49.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Beaver 12 20 18 15 — 65

Central 7 12 19 11 — 49

3-point goals: Beaver 11 (May 3, Krzeczowski 3, Peluso 2, Marino 2, Weiland); Central 11 (Byler 3, Black 3, E. Muthler 2, Klotz 2, Hoover).

Records: Beaver (20-6); Central (19-5).

Officials: Shawn Sinclair, Mike McDermott, Brock Kaufman.