Up off the deck: Winfrey explodes for 47 as Uniontown bounces back
Calvin Winfrey III and Notorious Grooms took it hard.
The two Uniontown senior 1,000-point scorers were crushed by their team无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal loss to Peters Township on Friday.
无毛视频淲e were sad, dwelling on the loss all weekend,无毛视频� Grooms said. 无毛视频淚t hurt.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭hat loss killed me,无毛视频� Winfrey said. 无毛视频淪o I had to come out and make a statement.无毛视频�
A very powerful one at that.
Winfrey hit five 3-pointers and rang up a career-high 47 points, reportedly a school record, and Grooms added 20 as the Red Raiders rallied in the second half to knock off Penn-Trafford, 86-73, in a WPIAL consolation game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Monday night.
Uniontown, which had already secured a spot in the PIAA tournament, will host Latrobe Wednesday in the WPIAL Class 5A fifth-place consolation game before beginning the state playoffs on March 7.
Kelan Milsom added 11 points before fouling out late as the Red Raiders improved to 21-4 on the season.
The Warriors (14-11) fall into the seventh-place consolation game at Moon, also on Wednesday.
Winfrey sizzled the entire night. He scored 14 points with a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter, added seven points in the second and 13 more in both the third and fourth quarters, sinking one trey in each of the last three frames.
无毛视频淚 came ready,无毛视频� Winfrey said. 无毛视频淥nce I got the first seven I knew it was going to be a good night.
无毛视频淏oth of us have been talking about that loss ever since it happened. We无毛视频檝e got to move on. Now it无毛视频檚 time to try to get a state title.无毛视频�
无毛视频淲e told Calvin we want him going to the basket,无毛视频� Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淚 haven无毛视频檛 seen a player go to the basket like him. He无毛视频檚 great at that. When they tried to stop that he was making his shots and that无毛视频檚 a credit to all the shots he无毛视频檚 taken in practice in his life to get to this point.无毛视频�
Grooms also had an inspiring performance with his passing, rebounding, defense and ball handling, despite being forced to leave the game twice in the fourth quarter with a bloody nose.
无毛视频淚 always try to do those extra little things to help us win games,无毛视频� Grooms said. 无毛视频淲e kept saying we无毛视频檝e still got another chance in the states so let无毛视频檚 shock the world.无毛视频�
Penn-Trafford, which upended second-seeded Baldwin in the first round before falling to Mars in the quarterfinals when a potential game-winning 3-pointer wouldn无毛视频檛 go down, gave Uniontown all it could handle for three quarters.
There were seven lead changes and three ties in the first quarter which ended in a 20-20 deadlock and Penn-Trafford held a 36-34 halftime advantage.
无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 play the best defense for a while there but there are times when the other team无毛视频檚 just making shots, too,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淏ut we picked it up. Kelan especially played great defense in the second half.无毛视频�
The Warriors went up by seven twice in the third quarter but after taking a 55-48 lead on a 3-pointer by Jack Weishaar the Red Raiders closed the quarter on a 14-4 run that included a pair of 3-point plays by Grooms and seven points by Winfrey and never trailed again.
Up 62-59 after three quarters, Uniontown opened the fourth with a 10-point run to go up 72-59 and Penn-Trafford never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
The Red Raiders effectively went to their delay game when the clock ticked under five minutes, the highlight being a no-look pass Grooms zipped to Cam Dugan for a layup that made it 78-65. Uniontown converted seven of 10 free throws down the stretch.
无毛视频淲e did a great job handling the basketball when we spread the floor,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 one thing we无毛视频檝e done really well all year.无毛视频�
Zach Feldman scored 21 points to pace the Warriors, who also got 17 points from Brayden Stone and 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, from Evan Gross.
无毛视频淚 have so much respect for Coach (Doug) Kelly and their players,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said of P-T. 无毛视频淭hey played so hard. They无毛视频檝e improved as the season has gone on and that无毛视频檚 a credit to their team and their coaches.
无毛视频淭his is a very tough game for both teams,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e both had a chance in very close games to be in the semifinals and it didn无毛视频檛 work out.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky knew his players were devastated by the Peters Township loss.
无毛视频淐alvin and Tori are just wonderful kids and there无毛视频檚 nobody that hurt more than them, and all these kids, when we lost that game,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 nobody tougher on Tori than Tori. So this was good for us. We无毛视频檙e going to practice tomorrow, play Wednesday, then take a couple days off and see what we can do March 7.
无毛视频淏ut they don无毛视频檛 have to prove anything to me with what they无毛视频檝e done. We were one game from the state final when these guys were sophomores, we were the only ones who stood up to Lincoln Park last year. We无毛视频檙e going to be in the state playoffs three years in a row and there无毛视频檚 not a lot of programs that can say that.无毛视频�
With another consolation game and at least one PIAA game left, Winfrey and Grooms will have taken part in at least 20 playoff games in their careers when the season ends.
无毛视频淚 laugh because that无毛视频檚 a lot more than me,无毛视频� said Kezmarsky who was a 1,000-point scorer and a WPIAL scoring champion at Laurel Highlands. 无毛视频淚 played in three playoff games, (assistant) Coach (Warare) Gladman played in one.无毛视频�
Winfrey and Grooms would like nothing more than to push their total to 24.