Special night: Grooms scores 1,000th point as Uniontown remains unbeaten with 91-61 win over Belle Vernon
There was a boisterous sellout crowd on hand at Uniontown无毛视频檚 A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
While the fans were looking forward to a key Section 3-AAAA boys basketball clash between the Red Raiders and Belle Vernon, there was also an intriguing subplot to the game.
Uniontown junior Notorious Grooms stood 28 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
First things first, though.
无毛视频淭his was an important game,无毛视频� Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky stressed.
Uniontown made sure in the first half the main goal and Grooms无毛视频� milestone would both be very likely to occur.
The Red Raiders turned a 20-16 lead into a commanding 51-27 halftime advantage by outscoring the Leopards 31-11 in the second quarter and cruised to a 91-61 victory to stay unbeaten at 11-0 overall and 2-0 in the section.
It was Grooms who spearheaded the explosion with 17 points in the second quarter to give him 20 at intermission.
At that point it was only a matter of time.
Grooms scored seven points in the third quarter, which ended with Uniontown ahead 71-48, then with 3:48 remaining in the game he took a long, perfectly thrown pass by K无毛视频橝drian McLee and hit a layup for points No. 1,000 and 1,001 of his career as the Red Raiders fans erupted.
The game was stopped to note the accomplishment. Soon after, Kezmarsky removed his star junior who finished with a game-high 29 points, including three 3-pointers.
无毛视频淚 wasn无毛视频檛 really worried about getting my 1,000th point tonight,无毛视频� Grooms said. 无毛视频淚 just wanted to win. I went with the flow. Then I just found my shot and started getting to the rack and the game opened up a lot for me.无毛视频�
Grooms was one of five Red Raiders to hit double digits in scoring. Kelan Milsom tallied 16 points and was followed by Isaac Ellsworth with 13, including three 3-pointers, and Jamire Braxton and Jeremiah Hager with 11 apiece. McLee chipped in with nine points.
Zion Moored scored 21 points to lead the Leopards (1-1, 6-3) who also got 11 points from Alonzo Wade and 10 from Curtis Wade. Jude Minnitti added nine points.
无毛视频淭o get his 1,000th point as a junior is a great accomplishment,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said of Grooms. 无毛视频淚 told Tori it was going to happen sooner or later. Belle Vernon is a scary team. Zion is capable of scoring a lot of points. We had a great game plan and the kids were so intense, ready to go.无毛视频�
Belle Vernon held early leads of 8-2 and 10-5 before Grooms ignited an 18-6 run with a 3-pointer to put Uniontown ahead to stay. Still, the Leopards were only down four before their second-quarter implosion.
无毛视频淲e stopped playing defense and rebounding,无毛视频� Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino said. 无毛视频淭hey must无毛视频檝e had 24 offensive rebounds. You can无毛视频檛 let a team like that have that many chances at the bucket. The only person that rebounded for us was Alonzo Wade, I think he had nine.无毛视频�
Wade impressed Kezmarsky.
无毛视频淭he one who played really well, I thought, was Alonzo Wade,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 an excellent player. He无毛视频檚 a strong kid and did a good job.无毛视频�
Salvino was hopeful heading into the second quarter.
无毛视频淲e played defense I thought fairly well in the first quarter,无毛视频� Salvino said, 无毛视频渂ut then after that we stopped and consequently you saw what happened.无毛视频�
Uniontown opened the second with a 20-1 run to go up 40-17.
无毛视频淭hey have that type of team,无毛视频� Salvino said of how quickly the tide turned. 无毛视频淲hen you have kids that can shoot the way they can and quick kids that take the ball to the hole, it didn无毛视频檛 surprise me how fast everything turned around when we stopped rebounding and playing defense.
无毛视频淚t just snowballed.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky, whose team was playing without injured starting guard Calvin Winfrey III, advised his squad to just stay the course in between the first and second quarters.
无毛视频淚 told them to keep playing, keep shooting the ball but turn our intensity up a little bit,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 thought Kelan Milsom, who stepped in and started, couldn无毛视频檛 have played better. Isaac Ellsworth, our seventh man, had a great game, too. They both got more opportunity to play and they both produced. Eric Townsend came in and gave us some good minutes when we rested K无毛视频橝drian.无毛视频�
Winfrey, who suffered a sprained ankle during a recent practice, is only expected to miss one more game, if that.
无毛视频淐alvin scores 15 points a game but he无毛视频檚 so important way beyond that for us,无毛视频� Kezmarsky pointed out. 无毛视频淗e sets the pace, plays great defense, handles the ball.无毛视频�
Grooms picked up the slack with his friend relegated to the bench.
Kezmarsky lauded Grooms following the game.
无毛视频淭ori scored more points as a freshman than he did as a sophomore because he contributed in more different ways last year,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭hat just shows he puts the team first. I mean he无毛视频檚 a great passer, great defender. His overall game is continuing to develop. He无毛视频檚 never satisfied.无毛视频�
Salvino tipped his cap to Grooms.
无毛视频淕ood ball player and has always been a good ball player,无毛视频� said Salvino, who has seen plenty of his own players reach the 1,000 milestone over the years. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 happy for him and I congratulate him because 1,000 points in a high school career is something special.无毛视频�
Grooms had that accomplishment in the back of his mind for some time.
无毛视频淚 kind of thought about it when I was watching the Raiders when I was a young ball boy,无毛视频� Grooms said. 无毛视频淚t was always a dream for me. I was looking at the list (of Uniontown无毛视频檚 1,000-point scorers) since I was a kid. When I was an eighth grader I played freshman basketball and every day before practice I would look at that 1,000-point club.
无毛视频淣ow it无毛视频檚 happened and it无毛视频檚 just a dream come true.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky, who was a 1,000-point scorer at Laurel Highlands on his way to being the program无毛视频檚 all-time leading scorer at the time, pointed out the differences between now and then.
无毛视频淚n 1990 it was easier because I didn无毛视频檛 even know,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said with a laugh. 无毛视频淚 scored my 1,000th point against Punxsutawney, they stopped the game and I was surprised.
无毛视频淭oday with social media everything is different. Everybody in the gym knew.无毛视频�
Uniontown has two more players who will likely also reach the 1,000-point mark.
无毛视频淛amire is going to get his this year, too, and Calvin is going to get his at some point, maybe the end of this year or next season,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淎ll three of their names will be on that board.
无毛视频淭hose three aren无毛视频檛 worried about that, though. They无毛视频檙e good kids and they all know it无毛视频檒l come and that team goals come first.无毛视频�
Grooms, who patiently stood to pose for photos and sign autographs as a throng of Red Raider fans lined up on the court after the game, emphasized Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 point.
无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 a lot we want to accomplish,无毛视频� Grooms said.
无毛视频淥ur team can do anything.无毛视频�