Red Raiders open WPIAL playoffs with 64-45 victory
Isaac Ellsworth provided a spark for Uniontown with five 3-pointers Friday night as the Red Raiders advanced in the WPIAL Class AAAA basketball playoffs with a 64-45 first-round home victory over visiting Quaker Valley.
Fourth-seeded Uniontown (20-3) advances to the quarterfinals against North Catholic on Wednesday. The Trojans (14-8) defeated Elizabeth Forward, 73-53.
The Red Raiders played North Catholic twice in the playoffs last year. Uniontown won a thrilling 55-54 game in the PIAA playoffs, and lost to the Trojans in the WPIAL quarterfinals, 73-58.
“We’re just happy to keep playing,” said Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky. “We play North Catholic next. We’ll see what we can do.
“We played North Catholic twice last year. We split with them. We know they’re going to be ready. We have the whole weekend to get ready,”
Kezmarsky continued, adding, “The dribble drive. They play a disciplined, tempo game, but they shoot a lot of threes. We have their game plan. They probably have ours.”
The victory guaranteed the Red Raiders will have a shot at a PIAA playoff berth, as well, with seven WPIAL teams advancing to the state tournament.
“It’s basically a double-elimination tournament,” said Kezmarsky.
The teams played to a 10-10 tie in the first quarter after the Quakers (11-12) were held scoreless over the opening two minutes of the quarter.
“Quaker Valley has a great program. They have a great coach. I have so much respect for them,” said Kezmarsky. “They’re a winning program.”
Quaker Valley’s Zach Washington scored five straight points to give the visitors the lead, 21-18, with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Washington finished with 19 points.
Then, about a minute later, the Quakers’ Joey Coyle converted a four-point play for a 25-20 lead with 1:11 left.
Ellsworth took over from that point, coolly sinking a 3-pointer on Uniontown’s next possession and closing the half with another trey just before the buzzer for a 26-25 halftime lead.
“Our kids kept their composure. We are not worried about losing the lower score, we’re worried about winning the game,” said Kezmarsky.
Uniontown found their stride after the halftime break, while the Quakers seemed to lose theirs.
The Red Raiders’ Jahmere Braxton scored an easy, fastbreak layup after a turnover for a 35-29 lead, leading Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni to his third timeout with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
Uniontown responded to the timeout with Ellsworth draining another 3-pointer for a 38-29 lead with 3:39 remaining in the quarter. Ellsworth finished with five 3-pointers spread over late in the second quarter and midway through the third quarter.
“Isaac Ellsworth is only a sophomore. The sky’s the limit. He’s a great kid. This is really his first playoff game,” praised Kezmarsky.
Jeremiah Hager was left wide open under the basket to extend the lead to 40-29 with 2:28 left in the quarter. Hager finished with 12 points.
The Red Raiders took over from that point, taking control of the playoff game with a 23-7 quarter advantage and 49-32 lead, closed out with Braxton’s late 3-pointer.
Braxton scored a team-high 15 points.
“We didn’t really shoot the ball that well in the first half. I knew we were eventually going to start making them,” said Kesmarsky, adding, “We ran our game plan perfectly.”
Coyle scored a game-high 20 points, but the Red Raiders’ defensive pressure made the senior guard work harder in the second half to find room to shoot..
“I think (Coyle) got tired. When you have three people guarding you the time, but that’s the way he plays,” said Kezmarsky. “Our kids found their legs defensively.”