1K Club: Uniontown’s Braxton scores 24 to reach milestone in win over AG
There was a burst of mixed emotions on more than one front when Uniontown senior Jamire Braxton scored on a smooth drive to the basket early in the fourth quarter Friday night.
The two points put Braxton at 1,000 for his high school career and he went on to drop in a game-high 24 points in the Red Raiders无毛视频� 89-63 win over Albert Gallatin in their Section 3-AAAA boys basketball game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 know what to do at first,无毛视频� Braxton said of how he felt when he sank the shot for 1,000. 无毛视频淚 was excited and I was nervous and then I was ready to cry.
无毛视频淏ut it was definitely joyful.无毛视频�
After being congratulated for his milestone by Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky, the rest of the Red Raiders coaching staff and his teammates, Braxton went over to the Colonials无毛视频� bench, escorted by Kezmarsky, and shared a hug with AG coach Shea Fleenor.
Braxton played at Albert Gallatin his freshman and sophomore seasons before transferring back to his former school district for his junior and senior years.
无毛视频淔or him to have enough respect to come over to me and want me to be a part of that moment with him speaks volumes about that kid,无毛视频� Fleenor said. 无毛视频淵ou know you无毛视频檙e in the heat of battle and then the next thing you know one of your opponents is coming over and you无毛视频檙e hugging him. But I have a soft spot for Jamire. It was nice to share that moment with him.
无毛视频淚f it was going to happen I kind of like that it was against us just because of the history. Congratulations to him. I无毛视频檓 proud of him.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky commended Braxton also.
无毛视频淛amire does a great job. We无毛视频檙e so proud for him and happy for him,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淚 had Jamire in sixth grade when I was his teacher at Lafayette and you could tell back then he is just a wonderful kid. He works so hard. This offseason he dedicated himself, he got his body in shape, he worked out and he continues to work out. He deserves this.
无毛视频淎nd really I think his teammates wanted it for him just as much as he did. It just shows you the type of kids we have.无毛视频�
Submitted photoUniontown senior Jamire Braxton (left) poses for a photo with Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky while they hold a banner commemorating Braxton无毛视频檚 1,000th career point which he scored against Albert Gallatin on Friday night.
Braxton became the second Uniontown player this season to notch his 1,000th career point, joining junior teammate Notorious Grooms who hit the milestone exactly three weeks earlier on the same floor in a 91-61 win over Belle Vernon.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a great accomplishment for him and he earned it,无毛视频� Grooms said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 really proud of him. He worked hard.
无毛视频淲e had a dream when we were younger, me, Jamire and Calvin (Winfrey III), how we all wanted to be on that 1,000-point scoring banner and now it无毛视频檚 happened for two of us and Calvin will get there, too.无毛视频�
Winfrey, a junior who is also on track to hit the 1,000-point mark either late this season or early in his senior year, was held out of Friday无毛视频檚 game as he continues his recovery from a sprained ankle.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e just trying to get him 100 percent,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said of his starting point guard. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 close.无毛视频�
Following Braxton in the Uniontown scoring column against AG was Grooms and Kelan Milsom with 17 points and two 3-pointers apiece and Jeremiah Hager with 15 points.
无毛视频淛eremiah does so much for us and Kelan has done a great job when we无毛视频檝e asked him to come in and start like tonight and Eric Townsend gave us some quality minutes,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e got to get some seniors in there at the end like Nick Torbich and Marcus Hice, too, which was nice.无毛视频�
The Colonials were led by Blake White with 22 points and Mykel Belt with 15 points. Albert Gallatin also got nine points from Shymere Wilson and eight points from J.J. Jackson.
无毛视频淏lake无毛视频檚 been scoring a lot lately,无毛视频� Fleenor said. 无毛视频淧rior to tonight he had two 25-point games and a 23-point game. He无毛视频檚 really been filling it up. Mykel无毛视频檚 been doing a really good job and Shymere Wilson无毛视频檚 been playing well although he struggled a little bit tonight.无毛视频�
Uniontown was coming off its first loss of the season on Tuesday when it fell to South Allegheny, 54-44, in a non-section game, thanks in large part to a one-for-17 performance from 3-point range.
无毛视频淲e had great practices on Wednesday and Thursday and were working really hard,无毛视频� Braxton said. 无毛视频淲e got our energy back and played better as a team.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky put Tuesday无毛视频檚 loss in perspective.
无毛视频淲e played a really good 4A team, South Allegheny, which beat the first-place team in their section, Avonworth, last night,无毛视频� Kezmarsky pointed out. 无毛视频淲e played Monday night against Southmoreland and had a really big section win and it无毛视频檚 hard to play back-to-back but no excuses. There无毛视频檚 a difference between exhibition games and section games to us though, and right now we无毛视频檙e 6-0 in the section with four to play, so we无毛视频檙e excited.无毛视频�
Uniontown had another challenging non-section game scheduled for Saturday against Baldwin at the PBC Hall of Fame Classic at North Hills
无毛视频淧eople were talking about Baldwin, Baldwin, Baldwin on Saturday but we were concentrating on AG,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 a section game. We want to win that 51st section title.无毛视频�
The Red Raiders (6-0, 15-1) hold a two-game lead over Belle Vernon in the section standings.
Albert Gallatin (2-4, 6-8) is in the hunt for the postseason also, sitting just one game behind Southmoreland and Elizabeth Forward who are tied for third place. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs..
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know that anybody in the section is going to beat Uniontown,无毛视频� Fleenor said. 无毛视频淭he focal point is the rest of the section. We have a leg up on Belle Vernon (AG won at home against the Leopards, 70-67, on Jan. 11). We无毛视频檙e still right there with a chance to make the playoffs.无毛视频�
The Colonials fought hard in a first quarter that had six early lead changes. After AG grabbed a 9-8 advantage on a basket by White, the Red Raiders closed the quarter on a 14-2 run to go up 22-11.
Uniontown led 44-31 at halftime then pushed the margin up to 26, 71-45, at the end of three quarters. The Red Raiders took their biggest lead of 82-51 early in the fourth quarter after a dunk by K无毛视频橝drian McLee and Braxton无毛视频檚 final bucket of the night.
Fleenor reflected on Braxton无毛视频檚 time at AG.
无毛视频淲e had him for two years and that last year for us he averaged about 19 (points) and 9 (rebounds),无毛视频� Fleenor said. 无毛视频淗e had a really great year.
无毛视频淣o disrespect to anyone else on their team, but I think he无毛视频檚 their best player overall. I have a lot of respect for Jamire. I think he无毛视频檚 a very, very talented player who无毛视频檚 put a lot of work into his game and the results show.无毛视频�
Fleenor was pleased with his own players无毛视频� effort against Uniontown.
无毛视频淚 thought we battled good for a while and then we kind of lost our way,无毛视频� Fleenor said. 无毛视频淭he one thing about this group all season, I don无毛视频檛 fault their effort ever. They play hard. They don无毛视频檛 give up. They battle. They don无毛视频檛 always make the right play but I don无毛视频檛 question their heart.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky praised the Colonials.
无毛视频淎G has improved since the last time we played them,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淐oach Fleenor does a great job with them. They were well prepared tonight. AG无毛视频檚 got some wonderful kids that play hard. They无毛视频檙e battling for a playoff spot and we wish them nothing but the best.无毛视频�
The game drew another large crowd at Uniontown.
无毛视频淣ight无毛视频檚 like this are good for Fayette County basketball,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said.
Braxton lauded both his current coach and former coach after the game.
无毛视频淚 wanted to go over and thank Coach Fleenor because he helped build me into the player I am now,无毛视频� Braxton said. 无毛视频淎nd the whole Uniontown coaching staff are like my fathers, I love each and every one of them, especially Coach K. He puts his time, his heart, his blood, sweat and tears, everything into us. If it wasn无毛视频檛 for him, we wouldn无毛视频檛 be here as a team.无毛视频�
Braxton added an extra bit of trivia to his milestone.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 the first Braxton out of my family to ever do it,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淪coring 1,000 is a big achievement for me and my family.无毛视频�
Braxton, as Grooms said also after scoring his 1,000th point, is now ready to move on.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a great accomplishment but now it无毛视频檚 time to look forward. We want to win another section and go to the Pete (Petersen Events Center, site of the WPIAL championships) and go to Hershey,无毛视频� Braxton said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 what we无毛视频檙e all aiming for, step by step.无毛视频�