Casey Seymour scored the first basket of the game and the fifth-seeded Knights were on their way.

Both teams were cautious in their shooting in the opening quarter as Eisenhower led 12-8 at the end of the quarter.

The Knights began to heat up in the second quarter as they hit five 3-pointers, with junior guard Derek Guiher leading the way with three; Gavin Lindemuth and Austin Hanson each had one. Guiher would finish with five 3-pointers in the game. The Knights would outscore the fourth-seeded Panthers 22-9 in the quarter and open up a 34-17 halftime lead.

Eisenhower cooled off in the third quarter but its defense continued to shut down Saegertown’s offense, holding the Panthers to just 11 points. The Knights led 43-28 at the end of the quarter.

The Knights’ Austin Hanson scores at the basket. Times Observer photo by Steve Younger

The two teams played a neck-and-neck fourth quarter, but the Knights continued their assault from beyond the arc as Guiher, Will Mandeville and Jaydon Chase hit 3-pointers to put the game away.

“It was a good team win, we executed our game plan, hit our open shots and our team defense was good all game,” Guiher said.

Eisenhower head coach Ryan Mangini was pleased with the effort of his team but knows there is room for improvement as they continue in the playoffs.

“Our guys did a pretty good job executing our game plan early, we attacked, hit open shooters and our guys stepped up and knocked down shots,” Mangini said. “Our rebounding needs to improve but we are proud of the boys and how they performed.”

The Knights (14-8) will play No. 1 Rocky Grove (19-3) on Tuesday at a time and location to be determined Sunday.

Eisenhower’s Gavin Lindemuth, left, and Will Mandeville, right, challenge a shot from Saegertown’s Reese Wilkinson during Friday’s District 10 Class 2A boys basketball quarterfinal at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie. Times Observer photo by Steve Younger

EISENHOWER (61)

Chase 1 0 3, Seymour 4 1 9, Hanson 6 4 18, Guiher 6 0 17, Lindemuth 1 3 6, Mandeville 3 0 8. Totals 21 8 61.

SAEGERTOWN (47)

Gjovik 0 0 0, EGardner 0 0 0, Leslie 0 0 0, LGardner 3 0 8, Young 4 4 13, Boleratz 0 0 0, Shaffer 1 0 2, Wilkinson 4 5 13, Manning 0 0 0, JaScott 5 1 11. Totals 17 10 47.

3-point goals–Chase, Hanson 2, Guiher 5, Lindemuth, Mandeville 2, LGardner 2, Young.

Eisenhower 12 22 9 18 — 61

Saegertown 8 9 11 19 — 47