Jan 27, 2008 By Mike Ciarochi 3 min read

Connellsville topples Uniontown CONNELLSVILLE – Connellsville will not play in the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs, but at least they have two wins over a team that will.

The Falcons beat Uniontown for the second time this season, handing the Red Raiders a 67-61 setback in exhibition action Saturday night. The Falcons (10-11) also handed Uniontown (16-3) its first loss of the season in a tip-off tournament game at Albert Gallatin.

Rob Egan pumped in 24 points to lead Connellsville and Scott Hartz added 10. John Dilworth scored 19 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, leaving him at 999 boards for his career.

The Red Raiders played without junior Doogie Sanner, who suffered a hand injury Friday night against Derry Area. Shawn Cicconi paced Uniontown against Connellsville with 19 points, James Pratt added 15 and Brian Grady 10.

“Robbie Egan played great for us tonight,” Falcons coach Nick Bosnic said. “He’s been carrying us offensively the last few games. Every time we need a basket, he’ll reverse or do something else to get free and get to the basket. He can make plays.

“But it was a very sloppily played game on both sides. Turnovers and missed layups almost cost us tonight, but we were able to turn it around with our defense.”

“Connellsville does a good job on defense,” Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. “They denied our screens all night and really stuck with what they were doing. They are a very good man-to-man team and have played a tough season in a tough section (1-AAAA). Their seniors have been really good for them.”

In fact, two of them, Egan and Dilworth, helped pull out the win in an area not related to defense.

Dilworth was 7-of-8 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and Egan made his last four down the stretch to preserve the win.

“Robbie and John are seniors, so they are used to the pressure of shooting foul shots in a close game,” Bosnic said. ‘If they didn’t make them down the stretch, we probably wouldn’t have won this game.”

Dilworth finished the game 11-of-12 from the line and Egan was 10-of-14. As a team, the Falcons converted 23 of 31 free throws.

Uniontown opened a 27-17 lead 2:01 before halftime, but the Falcons cut it in half with a 7-2 run before the break. Little by little, the Falcons chipped away and took a 43-42 lead early in the fourth quarter. Uniontown reclaimed the lead, 44-43, but that would be the Red Raiders’ last lead.

Connellsville scored seven in a row to start a 15-4 run that produced a 58-48 Falcons lead with two minutes remaining and made seven of their next eight free throws to seal the deal.

“This was a positive game for us,” Kezmarsky said. “I’m very proud of our team. Everybody is hurt about Doogie, but we played a solid game without him. I’m very confident right now.”

Kezmarsky said Sanner will see a hand specialist to determine the exact details of his injured left hand. He also hopes to learn when Sanner may able to play again.

“You never want to see anyone get hurt, but especially not a fine young man like Doogie,” Kezmarsky said. “He averages 15 points a game for us and gets a lot of rebounds, too.”

Uniontown visits Southmoreland Tuesday before hosting Laurel Highlands Friday. Connellsville is scheduled to host Hempfield Tuesday and visits Albert Gallatin Friday.