Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Team of the Week: Uniontown

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 14, 2019 | 9:03 PM

Our Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Team of the Week is the first-place squad in Section 3-4A, the Uniontown Red Raiders.

Earlier this season, Uniontown lost both of its games in the Snowball Holiday Tournament in at Southern Garrett HS in Maryland to drop to 4-3.

Since the calendar changed from 2018 to 2019, though, the Red Raiders have been red hot, going 4-0 and winning by an average score of 77-38.

“We have been playing well,” said veteran Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky, in his 17th year. “We shot the 3-ball better the last few weeks.”

The busy week began for Uniontown with a section victory Tuesday over Ringgold in a battle for first place. The Red Raiders cruised to a 28-point victory at home.

Then, after a 77-28 nonsection rout at home against Mt. Pleasant, the Red Raiders rolled past host Elizabeth Forward, 77-46.

It was a huge week for Red Raiders junior Billy DeShields. The 5-foot-10 guard scored 28 points against Ringgold, 24 against Mt. Pleasant and 26 points at Elizabeth Forward.

“Billy has his average over 20 points a game now,” Kezmarsky said. “He is a very good player and leader for us.”

The three wins lifted Uniontown’s overall record to 8-3, but more importantly, the two section victories puts it alone in first place in the section.

“We need to continue to focus on getting better at all phases of the game,” Kezmarsky said. “I really like the attitude and dedication of this group.”

While the Red Raiders are on top heading into their final game of the first half of section play Tuesday against Waynesburg Central, a lot of attention in Class 4A has been focused on Section 2.

The top three teams in this week’s Trib HSSN 4A rankings are all from Section 2: Quaker Valley, New Castle and Ambridge.

That fact doesn’t seem to bother Kezmarsky, the coach of the new No. 5-ranked team.

“Section 2 has great programs,” Kezmarsky said. “We just want to focus on Uniontown and try to get better each game.

“We start five juniors, so we’re really excited for the next few years.”

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Uniontown