Red Raiders pull away from Wildcats; take two-game lead in section race
After coming within five points of reaching triple digits and having its best shooting game from the field this season, it was safe to say Uniontown wouldn无毛视频檛 have the offensive production it did against Fayette County rival Albert Gallatin in a Class 5A Section 1 showdown with Latrobe.
The Wildcats entered Tuesday无毛视频檚 contest at AJ Everhart Memorial Gymnasium with one one setback this season, which came at the hands of Uniontown, but coach Brad Wetzel无毛视频檚 team was ready to tie the Red Raiders in the section standings.
The prediction was true in that Uniontown wasn无毛视频檛 firing on all cylinders, but the Red Raiders slowly extended their lead each quarter en route to a 64-45 victory.
Uniontown moved to 9-0 in section play and is 14-3 overall. Latrobe无毛视频檚 two losses in nine section tilts and 17 games overall are at the hands of the Red Raiders.
无毛视频淎ll that matters to me is that when I go home, we are 9-0 in the section and have a two-game lead over a solid Latrobe team,无毛视频� Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淚 think Latrobe is one of the top five teams in 5A, and they are 15-2, which isn无毛视频檛 too shabby.无毛视频�
The Wildcats remain one game ahead of Gateway for second place in the section standings, but their section championship dreams took a huge hit in Tuesday无毛视频檚 setback.
无毛视频淭hey (Uniontown) are just a really good team, and they make you pay for your mistakes,无毛视频� Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel said. 无毛视频淲e had to stay at arm无毛视频檚 length, and to do that, you have to score some baskets and get some stops. We have battled all year, and now we just have to look at the five games ahead, which are all going to be tough, and who knows, maybe we无毛视频檒l see them again.无毛视频�
Latrobe were step-for-step with Uniontown in the first quarter, and held an early 4-0 lead, but the Red Raiders took the advantage late in the frame but couldn无毛视频檛 put together any runs in the period, as the Wildcats trailed 12-10 with .7 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Uniontown无毛视频檚 Kelan Milsom inbounded the ball to Notorious Grooms, who floated up a three-pointer while fouling out of bounds in front of the Latrobe bench to extend the lead to seven heading into the second frame.
无毛视频淚 was told the kids were at Tori无毛视频檚 (Grooms) house playing video games all night because they were off with this remote learning, but these kids have played a lot of high-level basketball, and they are always ready to play,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭hey are good kids, and they get along with each other really well.无毛视频�
Grooms scored 16 points on four field goals, with three coming from behind-the-arc, and was 5 of 6 at the foul line. Teammate Calvin Winfrey III led all scorers with 20 points on six field goals (one 3-pointer) and was 7 of 9 at the charity stripe.
Milsom put in 11 points and Cam Dugan came off the bench to score eight points.
Uniontown outscored Latrobe, 16-10, in the second quarter for a 33-22 halftime lead. The home team had a 13-10 edge in the third and an 18-13 advantage in the fourth.
The Red Raiders pushed their advantage to 55-37 in the final frame on an 8-0 run with Milsom converted on a layup and made the and-one, Winfrey scored in transition and Grooms swished a three-pointer with 5:07 remaining.
The Wildcats didn无毛视频檛 let the game get out of hand, but Kezmarsky instructed his players to run out the final 1:45 without attempting a shot.
The Wildcats were led in scoring by John Wetzel, who had 15 points on four field goals and was 7 of 12 at the foul line. Teammates Ian DeCerb put in 14 and Max Butler added 10.
DeCerb and fellow post player Andy Tatsch battled foul trouble, as DeCerb had three personal fouls called against him and Tatsch four, which put them on the bench as early as the first half.
无毛视频淭hat really hamstrung us because we were controlling the boards, and absolutely controlling that pace a little bit, and when my two best rebounders go sit on the bench for most of the half, that无毛视频檚 tough,无毛视频� Brad Wetzel said. 无毛视频淚 know it无毛视频檚 part of the game, but it certainly didn无毛视频檛 make things easier for us tonight.无毛视频�
Uniontown returns to action Friday at home against Penn-Trafford.
The Warriors (5-4, 8-6) gave the Red Raiders their stiffest test in section play this season, as Uniontown won the first meeting, 68-64, on Dec. 10.
无毛视频淲e play Penn-Trafford on Friday, who is as good as anybody,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭hey have a lot of kids back, and I think they are starting to play really well. They have a great program.无毛视频�