Doubly good
Ellsworth scores 1,000th point as Red Raiders earn key win over Tigers
Isaac Ellsworth did what he does best as the final seconds of the first half ticked off the clock.
The Uniontown senior nailed a 3-pointer 无毛视频� the 217th of his career 无毛视频� with one second left to give himself 1,001 career points and his team a 23-18 halftime lead.
Ellsworth is much more than a long-range shooter, though, and he proved that late in the game with a key pass and two clutch free throws to help the Red Raiders earn an important Section 1-5A win over McKeesport, 55-50, at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
The victory was the fifth in the last six games for Uniontown (6-5, 10-8) and pulled them into a fourth-place tie with the Tigers (6-5, 9-8) in the standings, two games ahead of Latrobe.
无毛视频淚t was a great night for Isaac and our team,无毛视频� Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e fought back hard to put ourselves in this position but we无毛视频檝e still got work to do.无毛视频�
Ellsworth seemed more concerned with his team无毛视频檚 win than hitting the 1,000-point milestone.
无毛视频淭his gives a little bit of a cushion and hopefully leads to a playoff spot for us,无毛视频� said Ellsworth, who hit five 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 23 points.
McKeesport rallied to take a 33-32 in the third quarter but Cam Dugan无毛视频檚 basket early in the fourth put the Red Raiders ahead 34-33 and they would never trail again.
无毛视频淲e had a really good first half, played really well, but give McKeesport credit, they came back in the third quarter,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淏ut our kids kept battling and battling and were able to pull it out.无毛视频�
Uniontown built its lead up to seven when Nolan Baker sank a 3-pointer to make it 43-36 with 4:36 left.
无毛视频淣olan hit a very big three in a key spot that gave us some breathing room,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said.
The Red Raiders held a 49-43 advantage when the Tigers got a basket followed by Brian Jones无毛视频� fourth 3-pointer of the night to whittle the gap to 49-48 with 1:28 remaining.
Ellsworth brought the ball up court and, with the defense wary of him, he fired a pass to Chase White open inside for a layup that put Uniontown up 51-48 with the clock at 1:16.
无毛视频淭eams start keying on me late in a game so that leaves some of my teammates open and if I see that I无毛视频檓 always going to give them the ball,无毛视频� Ellsworth said.
Cam Dugan made two crucial foul shots with 41 seconds left to put the Red Raiders up 53-48.
Malachi Ogrosky无毛视频檚 3-pointer with 28 seconds on the clock made it a one-possession game again for McKeesport at 53-30 but Ellsworth calmly swished a pair of free throws with 26 seconds remaining to put the game away.
无毛视频淚saac and Cam were really big down the stretch and hit some pressure free throws,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淐am really gave us a boost tonight. He played a great overall game, especially on defense. It was a team win, though, a lot of kids contributed.无毛视频�
Dugan followed Ellsworth with nine points, including four straight free throws in the fourth quarter, and White added eight points.
Lamont Perkins led the Tigers with 15 points and Jones had 12.
无毛视频淎nthony Sheffey did a great job on Perkins,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淪heffey had a great defensive game. Last time against us he had 34.
无毛视频淎nd Chase White played such a good game off the bench for us. He scored eight points and handled the ball well and he was all over the floor on defense. That无毛视频檚 probably the most he无毛视频檚 played all year.无毛视频�
Uniontown led 12-7 after the first quarter. Ellsworth无毛视频檚 fourth 3-pointer of the first half made it 23-18 and the game was stopped to note his 1,000-point milestone.
无毛视频淚t feels great, especially to do it in front of the home crowd and in a big game like that,无毛视频� Ellsworth said. 无毛视频淚t was pretty deep but I practice those shots so I know I can make them. I tried not to get too excited, made a little fist pump. Then the celebration with my teammates, my parents and everyone 无毛视频� it was a special moment that I无毛视频檒l remember for a long time.无毛视频�
无毛视频淥ur players were very excited for him when he got it,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淗e knew he needed 11 points but he didn无毛视频檛 come out taking all kinds of shots. He was getting his teammates involved and let the game come to him.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a credit to him. I无毛视频檝e coached a lot of years and I无毛视频檝e never seen a better 3-point shooter. But some people don无毛视频檛 realize he无毛视频檚 a great player overall, a great ball handler, passer, foul shooter, plays good defense. He made some really nice shots in the open court tonight, too.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 worked for every point he无毛视频檚 scored this year. He must be doing something right because our record with Isaac is 55-18.无毛视频�
Uniontown faces another tough challenge Friday when it travels to first-place Gateway (10-1, 12-6).
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e been a good road team (7-3) this year,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e playing well right now.无毛视频�