Brownsville upsets Uniontown
Ever wonder what would happen if David and Goliath teamed up, instead of duking it out? Uniontown found out first-hand Friday night.
Everything fell for Brownsville’s Carson Thomas, as the five-foot-seven point guard drilled a handful of three-pointers on his way to a game-high 26 points, and 6-5 center Paul Hlatky dominated the paint, blocking seven shots and pulling down 16 rebounds, as the Falcons handed the Red Raiders their first Section 3-AAA loss of the season, 74-67, at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
The loss was Uniontown’s first at home and first in section play since Jan. 12, 2001, when Laurel Highlands defeated the Raiders while both teams were competing in Section 2-AAAA.
“This is a real big win for us,” said Falcons coach Pete Logan. “Not only did it come against Uniontown on the road, but it was a key section win. Everybody counted us out, but we’re right back in it.”
Especially if Brownsville (8-8, 4-4) plays like it has its past 10 days. A three-game winning streak started with a section win over Waynesburg Central, continued with an exhibition victory over Jefferson-Morgan and reached three games Friday night with an impressive road win at Uniontown.
The Falcons trailed only once, 8-6 early on, and led by as many as 17 points, when Thomas connected on his fourth three-pointer with 7.6 seconds left in the first half. Uniontown (12-3, 7-1) turned up the heat over the final 16 minutes, forcing 14 Brownsville turnovers, and cut its deficit to four points by the end of three quarters.
Trailing 67-63 with less than a minute to play, the Raiders had a chance to cut to the gap to one, but lost the ball out of bounds after Brandon Duncan missed a three-point attempt. Hlatky then made five of six free throws in the final 56.8 seconds, and Brian Gates added a pair of foul shots to seal the victory.
“We give Brownsville all the credit in the world,” said Uniontown coach Robbie Kezmarsky. “They came out and played a very good ballgame. They played with desperation. Their coaches and kids deserve a lot of credit. And they shot the ball extremely well.”
Thomas scored all but six of his points in the first half, either nailing three-pointers from NBA range or beating his defender and driving to the basket. Thomas scored 16 of the Falcons’ final 19 second-quarter points, including 13 straight at one point.
Thomas picked up third and fourth foul within the first 3:33 of the third quarter, however, and sat the rest of the period. He re-entered the game at the start of the fourth quarter, and sank his longest trey of the night to give Brownsville some breathing room after Uniontown had pulled to within four points.
“He always has the green light,” Logan said. “I’ll put the clamps on him if he comes down and takes three of four bad shots, or takes us out of our offense, but he always has the green light to shoot from anywhere.”
As big as Thomas’ shooting was, Hlatky’s dominance inside was equally as impressive. The senior, who received a full scholarship to Allegheny Community College, grabbed nearly every first-half rebound and swatted away Uniontown shots with ease.
Hlatky finished with 17 rebounds and six blocks, all the while only picking up two fouls.
“I just love the game and I’ll do anything to win,” Hlatky said. “I just push and go as hard as I can. I really get pumped up for road games.”
Brownsville’s Mike Bogden was deadly from long range as well, hitting three three-pointers on his way to 13 points. Gates added 13 as well, and led the Falcons with six in the final quarter.
Junior Mayes led Uniontown with 20 points, including 11 in the third quarter when the Raiders pulled back into the game. Duncan followed with 17 points, including three treys. Mayes also pulled down nine rebounds, while Reese Hodge added eight points and eight boards.
“We’ve dug ourselves into holes before, but we dug ourselves into too big a hole,” Kezmarsky said. “We have to start playing four quarters of basketball like we did when we were down. When we came back, we had some chances to win the basketball game.
“We’re still the same team that started out 7-0 in the section. We win together and we lose together. All of the goals we’ve set are still very reachable. We’re going to take this game and learn from it. We’re not going to overreact. The greatest thing about being at Uniontown is that people expect to win. The support we get is unbelievable.”