North Catholic upends Red Raiders, 73-58
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Calvin Winfrey III (2) flies to the rim for a layup around North Catholic’s Max Rottman in the third quarter of Thursday’s WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff game at Norwin.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Jamire Braxton (34) shoots over a couple North Catholic defenders in the first quarter of Thursday’s WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff game at Norwin.
Uniontown’s Notorious Grooms (00) shoots around North Catholic’s Matt Ellery in the second quarter of Thursday’s WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff game at Norwin.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Bakari Wallace (10) looks for an opening around North Catholic’s Max Hurray in the first quarter of Thursday’s WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff game at Norwin.
NORTH HUNTINGDON — Uniontown was unable to handle North Catholic’s stifling defense and disciplined offense Thursday night as the Trojans upended the third-seeded Red Raiders, 73-58, in the WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinals at Norwin.
The Red Raiders (19-4) host Belle Vernon Saturday at noon in the consolation bracket. The Leopards (11-12) lost in overtime to Laurel Highlands, 75-71.
A victory ensures a spot in the fifth-place consolation game and a berth into the state playoffs. A loss means playing for the seventh and final PIAA playoff berth.
“This is the first time all my years we had to play in. It’s fun. You have two more games. As many young players we have, two more games is better than no more games,” said Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky, adding, “We play Saturday. This is unique.
“Our kids aren’t happy with this. We just want to keep playing. You never know, we might play North Catholic again.”
Kezmarsky added, “It’s been a fabulous year. North Catholic is a good team. At the beginning of the season, we were picked third or fourth in the section and we’re in the Elite Eight.”
North Catholic (18-6) advances to the semifinals against the Mustangs on Monday.
The Uniontown offense was unable to get its footing in the first quarter and trailed 16-9 after the Trojans’ Max Rottman beat the buzzer with a late field goal for two of his 12 points.
Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, the second quarter was a repeat of the first with North Catholic threatening to run away from Uniontown. The Trojans outscored Uniontown, 20-7, for a 36-16 halftime lead.
North Catholic was able to handle Uniontown’s pressure defense with constant movement that led to slashing layups in the lane and solid 3-point opportunities. North Catholic made six 3-pointers in the first half with Matt Ellery making three for nine first-half points.
Maximilian Hurray made a pair of 3-pointers for 13 points in the first half. He finished with a game-high 23 points. Andrew Maddalon added nine points in the first two quarters and finished with 16 points.
Defensively, the Trojans jammed up the lane and didn’t allow Uniontown’s outside shooters time to set up for a good shot.
“They do a good job doubling the ball. We were concerned about that,” said Kezmarsky. “They moved the ball well and they made their shots.
“That’s a good team we played. They’re a senior-oriented team. We knew it.”
The Red Raiders went on 13-5 run in the third quarter to slice the deficit to 12, 41-29. However, the Trojans regrouped and finished with a run of their own to push the lead to 15 points, 52-37, heading in the fourth quarter.
“I felt as the game went on we started attacking the rim more. We kept coming back and they made a shot. We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Kezmarsky.
Two key Uniontown starters were saddled with foul trouble in the third quarter. Bakari Wallace was called for his fourth foul with 6:51 to go in the quarter and Jamire Braxton picked up his third foul with 57.7 seconds left and his fourth 20 seconds later.
Braxton managed to lead the Red Raiders with 15 points despite his foul trouble.
North Catholic kept the cushion throughout the fourth quarter, aided by a technical foul, which led to Wallace fouling out, early in the quarter. Maddalon hit both foul shots and Ellery lofted in a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
The Trojans’ defense held and Ellery scored his fifth 3-pointer of the game the next time down the floor to effectively seal the win with about six minutes remaining. Ellery finished with 17 points.
Both teams scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Uniontown’s Notorious Grooms scored 13 points and K’Adrian McLee added 10.
“We tried. We played hard the whole game. We battled the whole time,” said Kezmarsky.