Still perfect: Red Raiders fight off gritty Mustangs, improve to 13-0
Laurel Highlands put up a gritty effort as a significant underdog and battled until the very end of its game against rival Uniontown on Wednesday night.
Still, when it was over, it was the Red Raiders claiming a 66-52 Section 3-AAAA victory inside a sellout crowd at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium to remain unbeaten on the season.
Jamire Braxton rang up a game-high 25 points as Uniontown improved to 13-0.
无毛视频淚 told my players before the game, they have good kids, they just haven无毛视频檛 had a lot of experience,无毛视频� Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky said of the Mustangs. 无毛视频淟aurel Highlands played a slow pattern basketball game. They deserve a lot of credit. They did a really good job of playing their game. Everybody thought this was going to be a mercy rule game.
无毛视频淏ut still, we无毛视频檙e excited and happy for the win. The bottom line is we无毛视频檙e 4-0 in the section.无毛视频�
It was the 120th meeting between the crosstown rivals with Uniontown increasing its series lead to 69-51.
Laurel Highlands, which fell to 0-5 in the section and 2-13 overall, came out with energy and intensity and held a 9-7 lead with just under a minute to play in the first quarter.
Uniontown put up five quick points before the frame ended on a basket and free throw by Calvin Winfrey III sandwiched around a layup by Braxton to go up 12-9, and never trailed again.
The Red Raiders rode that momentum into the second quarter. After Kelan Milsom scored, Shane Layton sank the first of his three 3-pointers in the game for LH, but Uniontown reeled off the next 10 points with four apiece coming from K无毛视频橝drian McLee and Notorious Grooms along with a steal and layup by Winfrey.
无毛视频淭he difference in the game was turnovers,无毛视频� first-year LH coach John Smith said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檇 have a couple turnovers and they无毛视频檇 go on a run. They无毛视频檙e fast. It doesn无毛视频檛 take long for them to run the scoreboard up.无毛视频�
The 17-3 run put the Red Raiders ahead 24-12 and they would widen the gap to 17 points twice before Aiden Black banked in a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to pull the Mustangs within 41-27.
Laurel Highlands opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run with all seven points coming from Ethan Koffler on a 3-pointer, a runner and a layup off a turnover as the visitors sliced the deficit to single digits at 43-34.
Uniontown fired back with a 9-3 burst to close the quarter with a 52-37 advantage.
The Red Raiders took their biggest lead of 63-44 on a basket by Braxton with 2:12 remaining before Kezmarsky began going deeper into his bench.
Uniontown had a trio of players hit double digits in scoring in addition to Braxton with Winfrey, McLee and Milsom each tallying 11 points. It was Winfrey无毛视频檚 first game action since Jan. 2 as he missed time due to a sprained ankle suffered in practice.
As Winfrey returned, however, the Red Raiders were down another starter due to an ankle injury.
无毛视频淲e were without Jeremiah Hager tonight,无毛视频� Kezmarsky pointed out. 无毛视频淛eremiah does a lot for us and is a big part of our team. He should be back Monday. This was Calvin无毛视频檚 first game back and I thought he did well.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky again called on Milsom to step into the starting lineup as he did in Winfrey无毛视频檚 absence.
无毛视频淜elan has played great,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淗e gives us some offense and he played good defense tonight.无毛视频�
Smith lauded the Red Raiders while also commending his own team无毛视频檚 performance.
无毛视频淯niontown is a great team,无毛视频� Smith said. 无毛视频淐oach K is doing a great job with these guys, him and Coach (Calvin) Winfrey, Coach (Ray) Robinson and Coach (Warare) Gladman. I无毛视频檝e known those guys basically my whole basketball career. They无毛视频檝e got a heck of a squad.
无毛视频淚 tried to put together a decent game plan to disrupt them a little bit today and I thought the boys did a pretty good job executing it.无毛视频�
Koffler led the Mustangs with 16 points. Black wound up with 11 points, Layton totaled 10 points, six rebounds and four steals, and Sevi Vecchiolla had five points and 12 boards.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 easy to come out and play hard when you无毛视频檙e winning games,无毛视频� Smith said. 无毛视频淏ut when you无毛视频檙e losing a lot of games and you无毛视频檙e still able to come out, put your head down and keep competing and conduct yourselves like young men, that says a lot about your character and the type of people they无毛视频檙e going to be later on in life.
无毛视频淚 couldn无毛视频檛 be more proud of the effort.无毛视频�
While it wasn无毛视频檛 one of Uniontown无毛视频檚 more dominant performances, Kezmarsky had no qualms with his team无毛视频檚 showing.
无毛视频淓verything无毛视频檚 not going to go your way every game,无毛视频� said Kezmarsky whose team is now a combined 36-6 since the beginning of last season.. 无毛视频淣ot every shot, every layup, every foul shot, and you无毛视频檙e not going to control if a kid banks a shot in.
无毛视频淪till, once we got a significant lead I felt we had control of the game and stayed in control the rest of the way, but give Laurel Highlands credit, they kept playing hard.无毛视频�
Smith pointed out his team无毛视频檚 challenging schedule as part of the reason for the Mustangs无毛视频� record. Laurel Highlands无毛视频� non-section slate included Thomas Jefferson and Gateway, both ranked in the top five in Class AAAAA, as well as Franklin Regional, another Class AAAAA team with a 12-2 record.
无毛视频淚t kind of goes back to last year when we put the schedule together with the class that we had, trying to go after another WPIAL title,无毛视频� said Smith, who was an assistant under Rick Hauger. 无毛视频淲hen me and Rick sat down we said if we put this big schedule together, because of the cycle, every two years, next year we无毛视频檙e going to have a brutal one.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e played some very good teams and have suffered some pretty bad losses, but the boys have never given up. And that无毛视频檚 been my message all year, just keep competing and as we evolve as a team and get better then we无毛视频檙e going to be able to be in any game. Continue to believe in one another, play defense, and take it one possession at a time.无毛视频�
Laurel Highlands is back in action Friday with another non-section game against a Class AAAAA team when it travels to Latrobe.
Uniontown is off until Tuesday when it hosts South Allegheny in a non-section game.