Feb 10, 2007 By Rob Burchianti 6 min read

The WPIAL playoffs don’t begin until next week, but Friday night’s 90th meeting between Uniontown and Laurel Highlands had all the feel of a postseason clash. The Mustangs never trailed and led by as much as 19, but had to survive a furious fourth-period rally by the Red Raiders before securing an 89-86 Section 3-AAA victory in front of a noisy, packed crowd at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.

Nick Thomas and Brian Grady combined to score 41 points, and Kaleb Ramsey added 14 points in only 14 minutes of playing time before fouling out, to help Laurel Highlands (12-11, 10-6) finish in a tie for third place with Yough.

Jonathan Eicher added 12 points for the Mustangs.

Both teams are headed for the playoffs and both coaches agreed that the intensity of the game gave their players a taste of what the postseason will be like.

“This game here had an even more intense atmosphere than a playoff game, I think,” Hauger said. “It was a great game for both teams.”

Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky thought his players learned something in the defeat.

“For us to win in the playoffs, we have to play great defense and finish on offense, and we can’t afford to come out in the first quarter not ready to play,” said Kezmarsky, whose team fell behind 12-3 in the opening minutes. “I was real pleased with our effort at the end, but we have to play a complete game for us to be successful in the playoffs.”

Shawn Cicconi was almost an unlikely hero for Uniontown. He entered the game in the closing minutes and scored consecutive baskets, the second on an offensive rebound and scoop shot, to pull the Red Raiders within 87-86 with one minute left.

After LH missed a shot, Cicconi drove to the hoop, but his tough shot in traffic wouldn’t fall and Grady was fouled while hitting a lay-up at the other end moments later with 32 seconds remaining. He missed the free throw, leaving Uniontown down by three, and Kezmarsky called time out with 10 seconds remaining.

“James Pratt and Ryne Turner, two of our best 3-point shooters, had fouled out, so we wanted to set up a play for Doogie Sanner,” Kezmarsky said.

The Mustangs defended well, though, and Brian Hairston wound up taking a tough 3-pointer from the top of the key that was off the mark. A scramble for the rebound resulted in a jump ball with possession to LH with only three-tenths of a second left. The Mustangs inbounded the ball cleanly and the game was over.

Uniontown fell behind 66-47 late in the third period after four straight points by Grady, who finished with 20 points, and the frame ended with the Mustangs up 67-52. The Red Raiders outscored LH 34-22 in the frantic final quarter, but came up just short.

“Even before the game started I told our kids there were going to be runs, and they had to withstand them,” Hauger said. “They can put a lot of pressure on you, and for the most part I think we handled it, but Uniontown made some plays there at the end.”

“Laurel Highlands played an excellent game,” Kezmarsky said. “When we got down, we really started pushing the ball. The kids never game up. We just needed one more basket.”

Or a few more free throws.

Foul shooting is another key to winning in the postseason, and Kezmarsky wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance in that area.

The game featured 54 fouls and 85 free throws. Laurel Highlands sank 28 of 42 from the charity stripe, but Uniontown converted only 22 of 43 attempts.

“We need to do a lot better than that,” Kezmarsky said. “If we just made a few more free throws it could’ve been the difference in the game. We practice on it and work on technique, but we need to make them in a game like this. That’s the bottom line.”

The Red Raiders (14-8, 12-4), who already had second place in the section locked up, featured a very balanced scoring attack that included six players in double figures.

Pratt led the way with 15 points before fouling out. Turner, who also fouled out, and Kevin Sanders followed with 13 points apiece. Josh Thomas contributed 12 points, and Sanner and Hairston both added 11. Turner and Sanner each nailed three 3-pointers.

Uniontown won the first meeting easily, 71-44, at Laurel Highlands on Jan. 9. In that game, Ramsey suffered an ankle injury in the opening period and never returned.

He didn’t play all that much more, despite being healthy, on Friday.

“Kaleb is a big part of our team and we know when he goes out we have to step it up,” said Nick Thomas, who scored a game-high 21 points.

Laurel Highlands played outstanding man-to-man defense in the first period to slow down Uniontown’s offense.

Ramsey grabbed six rebounds in the opening frame, but drew his second late in the quarter and went to the bench for the rest of the first half.

Nick Thomas drilled a trio of treys in scoring 11 first-period points to spark the Mustangs to a 21-11 lead when Ramsey left, but two late 3-pointers by Sanner, both on assists by Hairston, helped the Red Raiders pull within 21-17 by the end of the frame.

Laurel Highland pushed its lead up to 12 in the second quarter, but again Uniontown used a late rush to make it 39-35 at halftime.

Ramsey reentered the game at the start of the third period and had an immediate impact. In the opening minutes of the third period he totaled seven points, drew three fouls, had two assists and a steal to spark a 14-point run that made it 53-37. He went back to the bench with his third foul with 5:29 left in the quarter, though, and wouldn’t return until the fourth period.

“Though we’re not as good when Kaleb isn’t in there, these kids have played enough without him this year to know they can survive when he’s not in the game,” Hauger said.

Uniontown still leads the overall series, 55-35.

The WPIAL pairings meeting will be held on Tuesday.

“I think Greensburg Salem in the best team in Class AAA and we finished a solid second behind them in the section, two games ahead of everyone else, so I would hope the pairings committee would take that into consideration,” Kezmarsky said. “I think we have a strong section. Laurel with Ramsey has who I consider the section MVP and he’s one of the best post players around, so I think the deserve respect, too.”

“Winning this game may help us a little bit in the seedings,” Hauger said. “Our team had improved and matured a lot as the season has gone on.”