Jan 8, 2005 By The 4 min read

Uniontown ended on the upswing in a game full of momentum shifts to remain alone atop the Section 1-AAAA standings with a 76-69 victory at Latrobe on Friday night. The Red Raiders trailed by seven at halftime, surged to an 11-point advantage in the third period, watched the Wildcats roar back to retake the lead, then regained control and pulled away down the stretch.

Kishaun Cook’s basket with 3:02 left and Quindell Dean’s lay-up soon after put Uniontown in front to stay, 65-62, as the Red Raiders improved to 11-2 overall and 5-1 in section play.

Dean and Eric Johnson led coach Rob Kezmarsky’s squad with 24 and 18 points, respectively.

The victory sets up a section showdown on Tuesday when the first-place Red Raiders will host Albert Gallatin, which stands alone in second place after a 56-45 win over Penn-Trafford on Friday.

“They have a good team,” Kezmarsky said of the Colonials. “It should be a good game. We’ll be ready for them. We’re playing them one game at a time.”

Friday night’s win seemed to be several different games rolled into one.

Latrobe (8-6, 3-3) rallied from an early 8-2 deficit to lead 17-12 after one period. The Wildcats pounded the ball inside after Cook left the floor with two early fouls.

Latrobe maintained its lead through the second quarter. Uniontown closed to within 29-26 before the Wildcats dropped in the final four points of the half to lead 33-26 at the break.

Kezmarsky switched the Red Raiders to a zone press at halftime and the defense worked wonders.

Uniontown reeled off the first seven points of the third period to pull even and eventually surged to a 55-45 lead after a jumper by Marc Umbel and lay-up by Johnson closed the quarter’s scoring.

“The kids had worked hard and prepared for the game, but we just didn’t execute in the first half,” Kezmarsky said. “We came out in the second half in a zone press and executed.”

“The lapse in the third quarter is what cost us,” said Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel, who admitted his squad was caught off guard by Uniontown’s defense. “We came out and were a little surprised by it and it took them too long to react. Once we adjusted, we did OK, but that did cost us.”

A lay-up and two free throws by Dean gave the Red Raiders a seemingly comfortable 59-48 lead with 6:19 remaining in the game, but the Wildcats responded with 12 straight points, including two buckets by Eric Mueseler and a pair of 3-pointers by Jeff Garcia, for a 60-59 advantage.

Mueselar, who scored a game-high 29 points, hit two free throws to offset a lay-up by Dean, but that would be Latrobe’s final lead.

Cook and Dean both scored, and then Zack Sawka hit a lay-up after a Wildcat free throw to make it 67-63. Dean’s basket countered two Mueselar free throws, Cook hit one of two from the line, and then Mueselar scored again to make it 72-67 with 48 seconds remaining.

Cook and Latrobe’s Joel Palko traded baskets and the Dean and Johnson each made one of two from the line to set the final score.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Kezmarsky said. “The showed a lot of character and heart, coming back after Latrobe scored those 12 straight points. It showed a lot of guts. They could’ve quit, but they didn’t. They held their composure.

“This is a huge win, beating Latrobe on the road.”

Umbel followed Dean and Johnson in the Red Raider scoring column with 10 points, and Cook chipped in with nine.

Palko and Tony Destefano tallied 11 and 10, respectively, for Latrobe, which would’ve created a three-way tie for first place with Uniontown and Albert Gallatin had it defeated the Red Raiders.

“Uniontown’s a pretty good team and a fast team,” Wetzel said.

“They were able to penetrate our defense and get a lot of easy buckets. Even when we were playing good defense, Cook and Johnson were able to some very tough baskets against us.”

The Red Raiders hit five 3-pointers, with Rodney Turner nailing a pair, and Dean, Umbel and Steve Kezmarsky hitting one apiece.