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Red Raiders upend visiting South Park, 54-50

By The 10 min read

Uniontown changed its plan of attack in the second half and Da’Marr Lewis led the way as the Red Raiders rallied to stun visiting South Park, 54-50, in a Section 3-AAAA boys basketball battle Saturday afternoon.

Lewis scored 10 of this game-high 21 points in the crucial third quarter when Uniontown out-scored the Eagles 15-3 to turn a 29-20 halftime deficit into a 35-32 lead.

“We were too 3-point happy in the first half so we changed our philosophy in the second half and didn’t settle for threes,” said Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky, whose assistant coach Warare Gladman helped get Lewis going. “Coach Gladman demanded that Da’Marr go to the foul line and go inside. We attacked the rim.”

Lewis scored Uniontown’s first three baskets of the third quarter to help turn the tide. His drive and dish to Josh Curry Jones for a layup late in the period put the Red Raiders (5-6, 5-9) ahead to stay, 33-32. Lewis added another basket in the final seconds to give the hosts a three-point lead going into the fourth.

Zack Lemansky’s bucket to open the fourth quarter pulled South Fayette (6-3, 8-3) within 35-34 but Uniontown’s Christian Perkins followed with a three-point play and the Lions wouldn’t get closer than three the rest of the way.

“Perkins had some really big rebounds for us and that was a big play there, too,” Kezmarsky said. “We were really patient and we cut down on our turnovers in the second half.”

Lewis put in two more driving baskets in the fourth quarter before fouling out with 1:40 left and the Red Raiders ahead 48-40.

Harper Conroy and Aiden Rongaus both hit late 3-pointers for the Lions but Uniontown made enough free throws and controlled the ball well enough to maintain its lead.

Brian Sykes converted six of his last eight foul shots for the Red Raiders and Jones’ free throw with 14 seconds left made it a two-possession game to all but seal the win for the hosts.

“We did a good job in the four corners and shortening the game, especially Sykes and Josh Curry,” Kezmarsky said. “After Da’Marr fouled out the rest our kids stepped up.”

Sykes ended up with 13 points and Jones had seven.

Uniontown seniors Lewis, Sykes, Jones and Nate Moody were honored before the game.

“I’m happy for our seniors,” said Kezmarsky, who noted the senior class had a 44-16 combined record over the past four years. “They’re all great kids.”

Conroy paced South Park with 15 points. Rongaus finished with 12.

“One of the keys was Tanner Uphold held their leading scorer, Rongaus, to 12 points,” Kezmarsky pointed out. “That was a big part of the win.”

The Red Raiders again played without one of their top offensive weapons, Bakari Wallace, who remains sidelined with an injury.

“We’d love to have Bakari back for the playoffs but we’ll see,” Kezmarsky said. “The other players are really stepping up to pick up the slack.

“That’s a really good win for us. We wanted to beat one of the top teams in the section. We were close against Belle Vernon and Elizabeth Forward. We finally got one today. Hopefully, this will give us a bump in the (playoff) seedings.”

Belle Vernon 81, Elizabeth Forward 53 — The Leopards led 18-0 after the first quarter and didn’t look back for a Section 3-AAAA road win.

Belle Vernon (9-0, 11-1) led 50-24 at halftime and 66-39 after three quarters.

Devin Whitlock paced the Leopards with a game-high 26 points and 10 assists. Jake Haney scored 20 points and Tyler Kovatch added 10. Daniel Gordon had a solid performance with eight points, seven rebounds and nine steals.

Zack Boyd led the Warriors (8-2, 8-4) with 19 points. Matt Daniels finished with 13 and Vernon Settles added 12.

South Fayette 56, Albert Gallatin 50 — Brandon Jakiela scored a game-high 18 points and the Lions took the lead in the third quarter and held on for a non-section win over visiting Albert Gallatin.

The Colonials (9-5) led 20-15 after one period and 32-31 at halftime before South Fayette (7-8) used an 18-8 edge in the third to go up 49-40. AG held a 10-7 advantage in the fourth but it wasn’t enough.

Jake Dunay had 16 points and Logan Yater chipped in with 11 for the Lions.

Nate English led a group of four Colonials in double figures with 12 points. Ja’Shir Kean and Dylan Shea both had 11 points and AJ Blyden added 10 points.

Charleroi 78, Brownsville 38 — The Cougars scored 50 points in the first half to breeze to a Section 4-AAA home victory over the Falcons.

Charleroi (7-3, 10-5) led 50-16 at halftime.

Will Wagner led the way for the Cougars with a game-high 25 points. Zach Usher and Jake Caruso scored 12 points apiece.

Damarion Brown was the top scorer for the Falcons (2-6, 3-7) with 14 points. Tyler Wible added 11.

Carmichaels 77, Bentworth 29 — The Mikes rolled to a Section 4-AA victory over the visiting Bearcats.

Carmichaels (4-3, 8-4) led 20-9, 48-20 and 68-25 at the quarter breaks.

The Mikes’ Chris Barrish made six 3-pointers and Drake Long connected on five. Carmichaels did not attempt a free throw, but made 13 3-pointers.

Barrish finished with a game-high 26 points and Long contributed 19.

Landon Urcho led Bentworth (0-8, 1-11) with 18 points.

Washington 62, Beth-Center 33 — Tayshawn Levy ripped the nets for 27 points and the first-place Prexies raced out to a 17-0 lead in the opening quarter on their way to a Section 4-AAA win over host Beth-Center.

Ian Bredniak added 11 points for Washington (9-1, 10-4).

Rueben Miller scored 13 points to pace the Bulldogs (1-7, 4-8).

Southmoreland 56, Indiana 33 — Ty Keffer poured in a game-high 26 points to power the Scotties past Indiana in a non-section game.

Southmoreland (2-15), which snapped an 11-game losing streak, trailed 9-8 after the first quarter but pulled ahead with an 18-8 edge in the second for a 26-17 halftime lead. The Scotties pulled away from there.

Noah Hurler paced the Indians (0-13) with 12 points.

Girls basketball

Elizabeth Forward 41, Belle Vernon 24 — The Lady Leopards led 12-5 after the first quarter, but were held to just 12 points in the final three quarters for a Section 3-AAAA road loss to the Lady Warriors.

Brooke Markland scored 12 points for Elizabeth Forward (4-4, 5-5). Presleigh Colditz led Belle Vernon (4-4, 7-7) with eight points.

Mapletown 47, Avella 45 — The Lady Maples rallied in the second half for a Section 2-A road victory.

The Lady Eagles (6-4, 9-7) led 25-20 at halftime. Mapletown closed the gap to a single point, 35-34, after the third quarter and completed the comeback with a 13-10 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Krista Wilson led the way for the Lady Maples (3-5, 4-5) with 20 points, 20 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Taylor Dusenberry also had a solid game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Morgan Williamson grabbed 15 rebounds.

Katie Dryer paced Avella with 15 points.

Indiana 79, Uniontown 27 — Indiana scored 26 points in the first quarter and then cruised to a non-section victory over the visiting Lady Raiders.

Indiana (7-8) led 26-5, 41-12 and 65-22 at the quarter breaks.

Summer Hawk led Uniontown (3-14) with 12 points.

Indiana’s Hope Cook scored a game-high 20 points. Kathryn Kovalchick added 16.

Charleroi 55, Brownsville 27 — The Lady Cougars pounced early and never looked back in defeating host Brownsville in a Section 2-AAA game.

Charleroi went out to a 22-10 lead in the opening quarter and was up 37-17 at halftime and 51-19 after three quarters.

McKenna DeUnger and Riley Jones led the Lady Cougars (5-4, 7-7) with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Bella Carroto added 11 points.

Emma Seto tallied 14 points for the Lady Falcons (0-7, 0-8).

California 63, Seton LaSalle 41 — The Lady Trojans jumped over Seton LaSalle into second place in Section 2-AA with a 22-point win over the host Lady Rebels.

Makayla Boda sparked California (5-1, 7-3) with a game-high 26 points and Kendelle Weston followed with 16 points.

The Lady Trojans led 14-10, 30-16 and 47-30 at the breaks.

Kiara Cerminara and Kayleigh Donnelly led Seton LaSalle (5-2, 5-4) with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Serra Catholic 48, Carmichaels 19 — Serra Catholic maintained its spot atop of the Section 2-AA standings with a victory at Carmichaels.

The Lady Eagles (7-0, 11-0) soared to a 24-4 lead in the first quarter and cruised from there.

Rylee Campbell scored 16 points for Serra. Sophia Zalar paced the Lady Mikes (2-4, 2-7) with nine points.

Mount Pleasant 57, South Allegheny 52 — Tiffany Zelmore poured in a game high 35 points as the Lady Vikings held off host South Allegheny in a non-section game.

Mount Pleasant (8-6) led 19-16 after the first quarter, 32-24 at halftime and 44-34 after three.

Jamie Riggs paced the Lady Gladiators (1-16) with 28 points and Angelina Cortazzo had 11 points.

Latrobe 40, Southmoreland 28 — The Lady Wildcats roared back in the second half to defeat Southmoreland in a non-section game, snapping the Lady Scotties’ nine-game winning streak.

Southmoreland (13-3) led 9-6 after the opening frame and 19-12 at halftime. Latrobe out-scored the Lady Scotties 18-2 in the third to take a 30-21 lead and held on from there.

Anna Rafferty led the Lady Wildcats with 11 points. Gracie Spadaro paced the Lady Scotties with 14 points.

Lincoln Park 49, Ringgold 19 — The Lions shook off a slow start to rout the visiting Lady Rams in a non-section game.

Ringgold (2-10) held a 7-4 advantage after the first quarter. The Lions (14-7) took over with a 20-3 edge in the second quarter and pulled away from there.

Sarah Scott scored 16 points for Lincoln Park and Anna Rafferty had 11 points.

Kirra Gerard was the Lady Rams’ top scorere with nine points.

Men’s basketball

Waynesburg 68, Bethany (W.Va.) 43 — The Yellow Jackets broke open a close game in the second half for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference home victory over the Bison.

Jansen Knotts led Waynesburg (2-3, 2-3) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Isaiah Alonzo finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Matt Popeck added 13 points.

Travis Zimmerman was the only player for Bethany (0-5, 0-5) in double figures with 12 points.

Girls swimming

Uniontown 50, McKeesport 9 — The Lady Raiders closed the regular season with a Section 5-AA road victory.

Shelby Tressler, Jordan Hoover, Elizabeth Franks and Haylee Syner won the 200 medley really in 2:51.37.

Madelyn King (200 freestyle, 2:13.32; 100 freestyle, 1:02.03), Morgan Metts (50 freestyle, 26.73), and Franks (100 butterfly, 1:32.91) all had individual first-place finishes.

The 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and 400 freestyle were competed in exhibition.

Boys swimming

Uniontown 74, McKeesport 43 — The Red Raiders cruised to a Section 5-AA road victory to close out the regular season.

Uniontown swept the relays, winning the 200 medley in 1:59.28, taking the 200 freestyle in 1:44.62, and finishing first in the 400 freestyle in 4:15.13.

Logan Voytish (200 freestyle, 1:56.35), Jacob Schiffbauer (50 freestyle, 24.24; 500 freestyle, 5:35.19), and Colby Voyten (100 backstroke, 1:05.98) also had individual first-place finishes.

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