Classic clash: Cummings, Thomas star as Lincoln Park again fights off gallant Red Raiders
Perhaps in a different year Uniontown’s boys basketball team would be celebrating a WPIAL title and a trip to Hershey.
The Red Raiders happened to have one of their all-time great teams at the same time Lincoln Park, and its two NCAA Division-I recruits, occupied WPIAL Class AAAA.
The defending state and two-time WPIAL champion Leopards recovered from an early Uniontown onslaught that resulted in a stunning 19-4 deficit to rally and fight off the gallant Red Raiders for the second time this postseason, 66-62, in a PIAA second-round game at Canon-McMillan High School on Tuesday night.
Lincoln Park (25-3) fended off Uniontown in the district semifinals as well, 74-63 in what was a one-possession game with a minute to play, and eliminated the Red Raiders in a PIAA final four game last year. 85-64.
Senior Pitt commit Brandin Cummings poured in a game-high 33 points, including five 3-pointers, and junior Maleek Thomas tallied 24 points as the Leopards advanced to Friday’s PIAA quarterfinals against North Catholic.
“We played as good as we could play for a quarter and a half,” Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. “But there’s a reason those kids are going Division-1.
“We made runs, we made plays, but they made them, too. We battled and battled. We played good defense. They made some tough, tough shots.”
Lincoln Park’s big two offset a well-balanced Uniontown attack that saw all five of its starters score in double figures.
Jamire Braxton led the way for the Red Raiders (23-5) with 14 points and K’Adrian McLee, who played a stellar game in the post, followed with 13 points. Uniontown also got 11 points apiece from Calvin Winfrey III and Jeremiah Hager, and 10 points from Notorious Grooms.
“I told these kids how proud I am of them to have back-to-back years like that,” said Kezmarsky, whose squad went 23-6 last season and won back-to-back section titles, Nos. 50 and 51 in program history.
“We got eliminated by a great team two years in a row, the defending state champion. It’s tough to swallow. But I couldn’t be proud of our six seniors (Braxton, McLee, Hager, Eric Townsend, Nick Torbich and Marcus Hice). They all said goodbye to each other but they’re not going anywhere, they’ll be part of our family forever. All six of them deserve a lot of credit, and I’m not just talking about the kids that play and start and get all the fame. There’s six wonderful kids there. We’re going to miss them.”
Kezmarsky expressed frustration over the layout of the PIAA bracket after the game.
“This should’ve been for the right to go to Hershey, not a second-round game,” Kezmarsky said. “Just like I thought if we were seeded correctly in the WPIALs we would’ve been playing Lincoln at The Pete in the final. I thought my kids deserved that chance.”
While there was a faction of people who felt Lincoln Park would have a much easier time in the rematch with Uniontown after their tight battle in the WPIAL playoffs, the Red Raiders showed right off the bat this would be no walk in the park for the Leopards.
Down 4-2, the Red Raiders went on a dazzling 17-point run in the first quarter as it dissected Lincoln Park’s defense with crisp passes and darts to the basket. The burst included seven points by Hager, four each by Braxton and McLee and two by Winfrey.
Leopards coach Mike Bariski was forced to call a timeout with 2:29 left in the quarter.
“I was concerned but I was also thinking that we’ve got a lot of time left,” Bariski said.
Thomas, who is considered one of the top juniors in the nation, felt the same way.
“It was still early,” said Thomas, who scored all but two of his team’s points in the opening frame. “It was just stay patient, don’t panic, keep the team together and weather the storm.”
The Leopards got within 10 but a basket by McLee and two free throws by Winfrey put the Red Raiders up 23-9 after the first quarter.
Lincoln Park began changing up its defense in the second quarter and the Leopards’ offense started to hit its stride as it gradually cut into the deficit but Uniontown still led 32-28 as the final seconds of the first half ticked off. Cummings managed to slice the gap to one point, 32-31, when he banked in an off-balance, buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
“Cummings’ shot before the half, you can’t play better defense and he still somehow gets it to go in,” Kezmarsky said.
Lincoln Park grabbed the lead for the first time since it was up 4-2 in the first quarter when Cummings drilled another 3-pointer early in the third quarter.
Uniontown wasn’t about to cave in, though, as Grooms answered with a 3-pointer to put the Red Raiders back on top 37-36.
That sparked a back-and-forth third-quarter battle that had seven lead changes and two ties.
“We kept answering,” Kezmarsky said. “There was no quit.”
McLee scored six straight points midway through the quarter, two on passes from Winfrey, that gave Uniontown a 43-30 advantage but Cummings and Thomas spearheaded a seven-point burst to put the Leopards ahead 47-43.
Undaunted, the Red Raiders pulled even on a driving basket by Braxton and a fast-break layup by Winfrey as the quarter ended with the score knotted at 47-47.
McLee gave Uniontown its last lead with he made one of two free throws to open the fourth quarter but a basket by Thomas put Lincoln Park ahead to stay and Cummings followed with a long 3-pointer to make it 52-48.
The Red Raiders got within two twice more on a basket by Braxton and two free throws by Grooms but a three-point play by Cummings and a bucket by Thomas off a rebound gave the Leopards a 59-52 advantage with 1:29 left.
Uniontown couldn’t get closer than four the rest of the way. Thomas scored nine points and Cummings had eight in the final frame.
“I was thinking money time,” Thomas said. “Let’s make the plays, do what we have to do to finish the game and get out of here with a win.”
Bariski and Thomas commended the Red Raiders.
“We held our composure tonight,” Bariski said. “But that’s a great team. Rob does a good job with them.”
“They’re very well coached and have very good guards,” Thomas said. “They’re just a good team. They play together well. They compete. They’re the hardest team we played all year other than those (non-WPIAL) teams we lost to.”
Kezmarsky thought his team made a statement in defeat.
“We had a great team but unfortunately it was at the same time as Lincoln Park,” he said. “Their coach was very respectful and said some nice things about our players after the game.
“Every kid wants to play at a high (collegiate) level. We have kids that have a lot of Division III schools looking at them. Well, they proved tonight that they could play at a very high level. We proved we could play with them.
“Looking ahead, we do have four of our top six coming back, and we have some really good young kids in the program. So we’ll be back strong again next season.”