Johnie Doogan led the team through the first two games and first quarter of Friday’s third state tournament game. Doogan made four shots and Jaden Craft three as they combined to go 7-for-7 in the first quarter to get the Tide out to a 19-10 lead.

“He knew the role he was going to step into and I think he’s done a good job of preparing for that,” Reece Craft said. “Again, it’s just great to see him repeating his benefits of working hard with us.”

Doogan finished with 17 points, but acknowledged that the spotlight shifted to his teammate after Scranton Prep closed to within 25-20 at halftime.

“He just got it all going for us,” Doogan said. “He helped us keep the momentum going. They grabbed it a few times, but we just kept building off of that.”

Jaden Craft opened the second half with one 3-pointer then hit another 1:15 in. he scored on a drive, then added a 25-footer while falling down to make it 36-26.

Doogan added a 3-pointer for the game’s biggest lead, 39-26, and Craft hit again from long range seconds after the midway point in the quarter. He had 14 points in the first 4:09 of the half and finished with 25.

It was a performance that fit in with a family history that includes his mother Tricia (Halpin) Craft having a productive, four-year NCAA Division I career at George Mason; his uncle and aunt, Jason and Kelly (Halpin) Fisher, both making the Wall of Fame at NCAA Division III power University of Scranton. Olivia Craft, Jaden’s younger sister, had 16 rebounds in the second round of the state tournament as a Cardinal O’Hara freshman and was also playing in the state quarterfinals Friday night.

“Man this is excellent, I see all the shots he puts up all the time, so this is just work coming to fruition here,” he said. “It’s just great to see him stepping up and thriving.”

Jaden Craft helped move Devon Prep (8-18) return to Monday’s state semifinals where it will meet District 4 champion Lewisburg, which is 25-4 and beat Bishop McDevitt 60-58 Friday night.

“We played in the PCL, which is one of the hardest leagues in the tri-state area,” he said. “We’ve been through tough games and I feel like we’re battle-tested.”

Scranton Prep coach Larry Reagan agrees. His Cavaliers defeated the Tide 73-58 back on Dec. 6 in Pittsburgh in a game where they held Jaden Craft scoreless.

“They just played with a completely different level of physicality,” Reagan said. “I think most likely what happened was they were breaking in an entirely group out in Pittsburgh that hadn’t yet played in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Now, they’ve played in the Catholic League.

“The way I said it to our kids is that they’re pretty much like we would be if we had to play in the Catholic League.”

Scranton Prep, the District 2 champion eight of the past nine seasons, is 6-3 in the last three state tournaments. Devon Prep is two wins away from being the champion of those three tournaments and four of the last five.

The Cavaliers (22-6) were led by Brody Martin with 17 points. Martin made all five of his fourth-quarter shots and finished 8-for-10 from the floor.