Red Raiders keep control of second spot in Section 3
Appropriately, the game ended with Uniontown ahead of Yough by 10 points. The Red Raiders’ 69-59 verdict over the Cougars marked the ninth time in the game that the home team enjoyed a 10-point lead.
Uniontown’s win, by any margin, coupled with Laurel Highlands’ win over Mount Pleasant, leaves (11-7) Uniontown all alone in second place in Section 3-AAA with a 9-3 section mark. Yough, which fell to 11-7 overall, also fell into a three-way tie for third with the Mustangs and Vikings.
“It was huge to pull out this win because it gives us a two-game hold on second place,” Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. “This was a nice win for our kids, but now we have to get ready for Southmoreland.”
This game wasn’t nearly as easy as a 10-point cushion might indicate, however. While it appeared the Red Raiders were ahead by 10 every time one looked at the scoreboard, the Cougars made a habit of cutting their deficit down to six quickly.
“And if we could have made more foul shots in the first half, we would have made it even closer,” said first-year Cougars coach Ed Marko. “We didn’t shoot the ball well at all tonight, actually. We were 4 of 18 on three-pointers and that isn’t very good.”
The Cougars made only 4 of 11 free throws before intermission, but kept the game close by hitting 11 of 15 in the second half and 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Doogie Sanner paced Uniontown off the bench with 24 points, including four three-pointers. His last three-pointer put Uniontown ahead, 59-46, at the end of the third quarter.
Just when it looked like the Red Raiders were going to sew up the win, back came the Cougars. Yough’s Craig Sedenov opened the fourth quarter by banking home a three-pointer to cut Uniontown’s lead to 10, 59-49. It also ignited a 13-2 Cougars run that found Yough down by only two, 61-59, with 2:33 remaining.
“We had three possessions once we cut their lead down, but we had a couple of turnovers and a missed shot,” Marko said. “When you are playing on the road against a good team like Uniontown, you can’t afford to turn the ball over. That hurt us a lot tonight. We had 19 turnovers. We just played too sloppily.”
“Yough made some incredible shots when they came back like that, but our kids didn’t hang their heads, they kept playing and that was impressive to me,” Kezmarsky said. “We had some foul trouble and in the third quarter there was a long stretch when we had four sophomores on the floor.”
Kezmarsky also credited assistant coach Warare Gladman for his work on Uniontown’s four-post delay offense. Even though Uniontown scored only two points in the first 6:40 of the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders managed to hold their lead. Uniontown scored the game’s last eight points to finish with a 10-point cushion.
“It was nice to see Earl Minor and Kats McLee in the stands supporting the team tonight,” Kezmarsky said of two former Red Raiders who played on the school’s 1981 PIAA championship team.
Two other Uniontown sophomores, James Pratt and Brian Hairston, scored in double figures with 10 each. Senior Josh Thomas had eight points and seven rebounds. Yough placed four players in double figures, with Andrew McCauley and Justin Shaffer leading the way with 14 each. Adam Matuya and Ben Hoffer added 10 each.
While Uniontown is hosting Southmoreland on Senior Night Friday, Yough will be hosting Laurel Highlands.