Red Raiders’ rally falls short in loss to South Park
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Billy DeShields drives the lane against South Park’s Hunter Lindsay during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Uniontown's Reginald Grooms (24) powers up a shot in the lane against South Park during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Uniontown's Ray Robinson drives towards the basket against South Park during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Uniontown's Trenton Uphold (1) hits a jump shot against South Park during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Ray Robinson (12) fires a 3-pointer against South Park during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Uniontown's Billy DeShields (22) scores on a drive to the basket to pull the Red Raiders withing 62-57 of South Park during the fourth period of their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night. South Park hung on for a 79-69 victory.
Uniontown's Trenton Uphold (1) draws a foul from South Park's James Jacobs (3) before making the shot during the fourth period of their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Uniontown and South Park players battle for a loose ball, including (from left) Kam Fitzgerald, Michael Graham, Billy DeShields, Trenton Uphold, Reginald Grooms, Hunter Lindsay, Jake Snodgrass and Gio Marian, during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Uniontown head coach Rob Kezmarsky (standing) and assistant coach Warare Gladman (seated) watch the Red Raiders play against South Park during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
South Park's Jake Snodgrass sinks a 3-pointer as Uniontown's Gio Marian (3) defends during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
South Park’s Hunter Lindsay (24) grabs an offensive rebound against Uniontown during their game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.
Uniontown preferred to set forth for Orlando off a victory but South Park spoiled the party on Friday night in their Section 3-AAAA boys basketball clash at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead and maintained it the entire game, although they had to fend off a furious Red Raider rally in the fourth period to earn a 79-69 win.
Uniontown will now head to Florida to take part in the three-day KSA Events Holiday Tournament.
“It’s a credit to these kids’ parents who worked hard in the community to get them there,” head coach Rob Kezmarsky said in looking ahead to his team’s trip. “We’re excited about going. We get to play three games at the Wide World of Sports. We have a nice group of kids and it should be a great experience our kids will remember for a long time.”
It’s the second time Kezmarsky has taken a team to the event.
“We went there in 2014 with the final four team,” he said.
Kezmarsky was hoping to leave Uniontown with a 2-0 section record after winning at McGuffey on Tuesday but South Park (2-2, 1-0) wouldn’t cooperate.
The Eagles soared to a 13-4 lead out of the gate, forcing Kezmarsky to call a timeout.
“We have to have a better start,” Kezmarsky said. “It’s tough to play catch-up. We have to play four quarters of basketball. When we do, we’re going to be a pretty good team.”
The Red Raiders (2-3, 1-1) eventually responded and pulled to within 20-16 on baskets by Kam Fitzgerald and Bill DeShields to close the first period.
South Park reasserted itself in the second quarter and pushed its lead to 42-30 by halftime. The Eagles took their biggest lead of the night, 49-33, after a basketball by Jake Snodgrass early in the third period.
Uniontown again fought back and got to within 49-41 on a bucket by DeShields with 3:30 left in the third. The Red Raiders had four straight chances to cut further into the gap but turned the ball over on their next three possessions before missing a jump shot.
South Park then bumped its lead to 55-45 heading into the fourth period.
Uniontown never quit, however, and stormed back in the final minutes.
A 3-pointer by Fitzgerald, a basket by Trenton Uphold and a free throw by DeShields got the Red Raiders to within 67-63. After Snodgrass hit a pair of foul shots, Fitzgerald sank another trey to make it a one-possession game, 69-66. Fitzgerald then countered two free throws by Hunter Lindsay with two of his own to make it 71-68 with 1:19 left.
Uniontown got the ball back and stormed down court with a two on one but turned the ball over. The Eagles then pulled away by hitting eight of 10 free throws in the finial 1:05 to seal it.
“When it was 71-68 and we had a two-on-one, we’ve got to score there,” Kezmarsky said.
Fitzgerald, who came off the bench, and Snodgrass tied for game-high honors with 19 points apiece.
Uphold had 14 points for the Red Raiders, DeShields scored 13, Reginald Grooms chipped in with nine and Gio Marian had eight, all in the first half.
The Eagles put five players in double digits. Damian Smith followed Snodgrass with 18 points, James Jacobs and Lindsay tallied 11 each and Devin Turner had 10.
“Kam has been sick, that’s why he hasn’t started,” Kezmarsky said. “He played a really good game. Billy played a really good game tonight, too. And I thought our bench did better tonight.
“We scrapped and came back. There are no moral victories, but when you come back like we did … we could’ve probably gotten blown off the floor. That’s a credit to our players. Our kids kept fighting. We want to build off of that fourth quarter. We scored out of our defense a lot there, and that’s one thing that we really want to work on and be able to do.”
The Red Raiders have now won a road game a lost a home game in section play.
“South Park is a really good team,” Kezmarsky said. “They shot the ball well and made all their foul shots, too. They have a lot of players back. Snodgrass is a really nice player.
“We’ve watched every team play. If you look at our section, Belle Vernon is probably the favorite, but any team can beat anybody and it doesn’t matter if you’re home or away.”
Kezmarsky believes some of his underclassmen aren’t quite comfortable playing in front of their home crowd.
“Sometimes younger guys play better on the road,” he said. “We had four sophomores who played a lot in the rotation, so that’s good experience for them. They’re just getting their feet wet.
“I think as we develop, we’ll be more comfortable playing at home.”