Battle to the finish: Lincoln Park fends off Red Raiders in 74-63 win
McMURRAY 鈥� The Uniontown boys valiantly responded several times in the second half of Saturday蘑菇视频 WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal basketball playoff game, but the Red Raiders ran out of rallies in a 74-63 loss to top-seeded Lincoln Park.
The fourth-seeded Red Raiders play in the third-place consolation game Tuesday against Avonworth.
鈥淲e play Tuesday night for seeding. Hopefully, we鈥檒l play them in a couple weeks,鈥� said Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky. 鈥淥ur kids came here to play. I don鈥檛 want them to forget this game. I want them to use the game to get back for another chance against this team.鈥�
Lincoln Park (22-3) plays second-seeded Hampton Thursday in the WPIAL championship. Hampton defeated Avonworth, 61-39.
Kezmarsky said the semifinal had the feel of a title game, and likely would鈥檝e been had the seedings been different.
鈥淭he sad thing is, even the coach from Lincoln Park, he蘑菇视频 a wonderful guy, said we should be playing Thursday night. We all agreed. Everyone from Uniontown agrees we should鈥檝e been the third seed,鈥� said Kezmarsky.
鈥淭hey have high-level kids that played hard and showed our kids a lot of sportsmanship after the game. When you鈥檙e good, you鈥檙e good and they鈥檙e good,鈥� added Kezmarsky. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud for our kids. We鈥檙e not here for moral victories.
鈥淲e wanted to play Thursday, but today was pretty close (to a championship game).鈥�
Jamire Braxton pulled Uniontown to three points twice over a 38-second span in the final 2陆 minutes of the game. He converted a three-point play on a power move to the basket with 2:21 remaining to cut the deficit to 64-61, and hit a jumper to make the score 66-63 with 1:43 left.
Uniontown called timeout after the basket, but Braxton蘑菇视频 field goal was the final points with the Leopards converting 4-of-6 foul shots down the stretch and picking up a couple field goals off errant passes.
Braxton led Uniontown with 28 points.
鈥淲e were there. I thought we did a really good job. They鈥檙e a very good basketball team, the defending WPIAL and state champions,鈥� said Kezmarsky. 鈥淚t very easily could鈥檝e went our way.
鈥淭he 11-point game there at the end, no way was this a 74-63 game.鈥�
Uniontown trailed 53-51 heading into the fourth quarter after Calvin Winfrey III hit a short baseline jumper in the final 20 seconds of the quarter.
The Red Raiders kept the score at one-possession through the first three minutes and appeared to have a possession to take the lead after Lincoln Park蘑菇视频 Meleek Thomas missed a jump shot.
Thomas crashed the boards and, in the eyes of the large Uniontown faithful, climbed the back of the would-be Uniontown rebounder.
However, no call was made and Thomas calmly slipped out to the corner and nailed a 3-pointer for a 62-56 lead with 5:10 to go in the game. Thomas finished with a game-high 29 points.
鈥淓verybody saw what happened in the game. Whenever we were down, we had a rebound and thought he was over the back and then he hit a three,鈥� explained Kezmarsky.
Uniontown trailed by 10 at halftime, 41-31, but steadily sliced into the deficit in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
Notorious Grooms cut the deficit to 49-46 when hit a 3-pointer at 4:25, and Winfrey had a nifty pass to a slashing Braxton for a layup with 3:39 to go to make the score, 49-48, and cause Lincoln Park to call timeout.
Lincoln Park came out firing, making its first four shots of the game. But, the Red Raiders maintained their composure and a hustling play at the end of the quarter led to a Grooms 3-pointer.
Grooms finished with 17 points.
Lincoln Park蘑菇视频 Brandin Cummings scored 16 points and Rhaki Lum added 12.