Red Raiders outlast Raiders, 97-82
Kamron Fitzgerald’s hot hand helped Uniontown overcome Waynesburg Central’s hot start Friday night at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
Fitzgerald connected for seven 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 36 points, as the Red Raiders coasted to a 97-82 Section 3-AAAA victory.
Uniontown overcame an early 12-point deficit to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Red Raiders (9-12, 6-8) finished with 13 3-pointers, and scored their most points since defeating Belle Vernon, 101-73, on Jan. 15, 2008.
“Waynesburg came out on fire, our kids got down, but they didn’t panic,” Uniontown coach Robbie Kezmarsky said. “We’re resilient. We’ve played like this all year. We’ve been down 20 points in a game and we came back.”
Fitzgerald had three of Uniontown’s six first-quarter 3-pointers. The 5-foot-11 junior guard hit another shot from beyond the arc during the second quarter, and he reached 18 points by halftime.
The Red Raiders trailed 30-28 with 5:55 left in the first half, but took control of the game when they closed out the second quarter with a 20-9 run. Uniontown held Waynesburg without a field goal over first half’s final five minutes.
Waynesburg came into Friday’s game fresh off its first Section 3-AAAA win, and had leads of 8-0, 13-3 and 21-9. But, Uniontown’s speed and long-range shooting proved too much for the visitors.
“Waynesburg’s the team that deserves credit,” Kezmarsky said. “Everybody may have been surprised Tuesday when they beat South Park, but if they shoot like they did against us, they can play with anybody.”
Uniontown seniors Malaky Howard (16) and Mike Jones (11) also reached double figures.
Waynesburg’s Darton McIntire scored 13 first-quarter points, and the six-foot junior guard finished with a team-high 32 points and five 3-pointers. McIntire’s 26.8 points per game led the WPIAL last year, and he is averaging close to 24 points per game this season.
The Raiders (2-20, 1-13) struggled at times this season while fielding a young lineup, but coach Kirk King said there’s hope for the future.
“(Against Uniontown), we started three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior,” King said. “If we give the effort like we did (against Uniontown) … I’m high on our future.”
Richard Bortz, a 5-foot-9 freshman guard, scored 17 points. Bortz did a little of everything, as he connected on a 3-pointer and finished 10-of-12 from the foul line.
Sophomore Collin Rose added 13 points, while freshman Lucas Garber finished with seven.
“Except for some lapses on defense, we gave a strong effort,” King said.
Uniontown finished in fifth place in Section 3-AAAA, and the Red Raiders missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
Uniontown lost three section games early this season by two points each, then held a late lead against Belle Vernon, but eventually lost to the Leopards in overtime.
Like King, Kezmarsky sees a brighter future.
“It was unfortunate in those four games … we lost to good teams, but if we win one or two of those games, it’s a different season,” Kezmarsky said. “We played a lot of underclassmen this season. The experience we will have coming back next season will be more than we’ve had the past couple years.”