Finishing touch
Red Raiders start quick, hit foul shots late to sink LH, 81-71
Uniontown has suffered a couple closely-fought losses in Section 1-5A play this season where foul shooting was its downfall.
That wasn’t the case Friday night.
The Red Raiders got off to a strong start, built as much as a 15-point lead and then hit clutch free throws down the stretch to earn a 71-61 victory over crosstown rival Laurel Highlands at Harold “Horse” Taylor Memorial Gymnasium.
Isaac Ellsworth scored a game-high 22 points with a trio of 3-pointers and a nine-of-10 performance from the foul line to lead the way for Uniontown (2-4, 6-7) in the 124th meeting of the Fayette County rivals.
Nolan Baker scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, Payden Fitzgerald tallied 10 and Cam Dugan added eight for the Red Raiders.
“I’ve had teams that were better than this and teams that were worse than this, but for 25 years my kids have played hard and that’s what I was really proud of about these players tonight,” Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. “They came out with intensity right from the start, were hustling and diving on the floor the whole game and just played their butts off.
“And then they made their free throws when they needed to.”
That especially pleased Kezmarsky, who still holds the WPIAL record for consecutive free throws made at 52.
The Red Raiders converted 14 of 18 foul shots in the fourth quarter, including 11 in a row starting with two by Baker at the 2:53 mark, to seal the victory. Baker also contributed a hustle play with 1:02 left when he dove for a loose ball and Kezmarsky called a time out before he could be tied up for a jump ball.
For the game, Uniontown made 22 of 27 foul shots while LH was 11 of 16.
“You never know with free throws,” Laurel Highlands coach John Smith said. “We played Waynesburg this year and went 18 for 18 from the line. Rick Hauger pulled me to the side a couple days after that and said he doesn’t think he ever had a team that went 100 percent with that many free throws.
“Then the next game we came out at home against McKeesport and we missed 11 free throws, went 15 for 26. I can’t explain it.”
The Mustangs (2-4, 8-5) trailed 47-37 after three quarters but trimmed the deficit to five when a 3-pointer by Nick Crouch made it 53-48. After both teams made one of two free throws, Baker swished his third 3-pointer with 3:31 left to put the visitors ahead 57-49.
Tyrone Burton, who had seven of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, scored inside to get LH within six but Ellsworth answered with a 3-pointer to make it 60-51 with 3:06 left.
Uniontown pulled the ball out from there, forcing Laurel Highlands to foul, and the Red Raiders kept converting to keep the Mustangs at bay. After Baker’s pair, Ellsworth made four free throws in a row, followed by two by Chase White and then three more by Ellsworth, who finally missed to end the streak with the Red Raiders up by 10 and just 15 seconds left on the clock.
“We’ve had some games where it’s been tough for us at the free throw line so we’ve been working on that in practice,” Ellsworth said.
“Coming off some tough losses, winning this one feels really good, especially a rivalry game like this. We’ve got to ride this into the rest of the season.”
Ellsworth drew tight defensive pressure from Laurel Highlands most of the night but didn’t let that stop him from having a strong performance.
“What Isaac goes through in a game is something I never did,” said Kezmarsky, the former Mustang who once led the WPIAL in scoring. “After a game he has scrapes all over his arms, hands and neck, but he battles through it.”
Uniontown opened the game on fire with four different players scoring its first four baskets in a 9-4 burst. Baker got things started with a 3-pointer to give the Red Raiders a lead they would never relinquish. The other buckets were by Anthony Sheffey, Fitzgerald and White.
Laurel Highlands’ Kayden Smith drained a 3-pointer to make it 9-7 but Baker and Ellsworth answered with back-to-back treys to put Uniontown ahead 15-7 and it ended the quarter with an 18-13 lead.
Burton scored the first basket of the second quarter and LH whittled the lead down to three thanks to two straight baskets by Smith. The Red Raiders bumped their advantage up to 12 with a 10-1 run before Jackson Nairn scored with 12 seconds left to get the Mustangs within 10.
Ellsworth lit up the Uniontown fans in attendance by hitting a deep 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to put his team ahead 35-22 at intermission.
“Nolan Baker got us off to a good start and gave us some momentum,” Ellsworth said. “Then I think making that shot really gave us a nice lift going into the locker room.”
“I don’t think we did a well enough job of pressuring the ball and making them feel uncomfortable,” coach Smith said. “Credit to them, they came out and they made shots. They got hot and they were comfortable.
“These boys have been playing hard. The last couple games we’ve held teams to under 40 points. But when you give up 35 in the first half to a team like the Raiders, you’re going to be in trouble. We’re not built to score 70 points a game.”
Uniontown increased its lead to 15 three different times in the third quarter before consecutive baskets by Jude Packrone got the Mustangs within 10 heading into the final frame.
Kayden Smith led Laurel Highlands with 18 points and also had six assists and six rebounds. Burton grabbed nine rebounds to go along with his 15 points. Packrone chipped in with nine points and six rebounds and Luke Martin added six points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
“As a head coach there’s not much more I can ask of them,” coach Smith said. “I don’t think they made a ton of bad turnovers. They played their hearts out. I’m proud of the effort. The boys fought to the very last minute.
“I think there were some nerves involved, you know, Uniontown and LH, it’s a big rivalry. But all in all the boys came out and conducted themselves well. I thought there was good sportsmanship from both teams.”
Uniontown has won five straight in the rivalry and now owns a 73-51 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1967.
“It was a team win. I’m happy for our kids,” Kezmarsky said. “Besides Isaac and Cam we had zero experience coming back this season. The way our big kids played inside was impressive and Isaac played like a superstar tonight, he did a lot of good things besides score.
“I thought a lot of guys contributed. Chase White did a good job when he was in there. So did Donovan (Coffey), and Nate Hice, it was a short time but he came in and guarded Kayden well in the first half.”
Both teams now turn their attention to the rest of their section slates until their second meeting at Uniontown on Feb. 3.
“Coach (Warare) Gladman and coach (Trent) Uphold, we watched more film this year than we ever have,” Kezmarsky said. “We’re still working to improve. We want to take the next step and we have three home games next week.
“You know we’ve had several close losses and a lot of people considered us underdogs in this game, and Laurel Highlands is playing really good basketball.
“But Uniontown basketball isn’t here to just be competitive, that’s not enough. We’re here to win.”
The Red Raiders host Franklin Regional, which is tied with Gateway for first place at 5-1 in the section, Tuesday, while Laurel Highlands is at Penn-Trafford, which is tied with McKeesport for third place at 4-2.
“This is my third year and the crowds are starting to get better and I think the program is building back up,” coach Smith said.
The Mustangs were 2-20 in Smith’s first season after the Rodney Gallather-Keondre DeShields era and went 5-16 last year. They’ve already topped that win total in the 2025-26 campaign.
“These boys have really bought into the offseason,” coach Smith said. “They’ve been working hard. We have eight wins this season already and we still have a chance to make the playoffs. We’ve just got to keep grinding.”