Doubly good
Ellsworth scores 1,000th point as Red Raiders earn key win over Tigers
Isaac Ellsworth did what he does best as the final seconds of the first half ticked off the clock.
The Uniontown senior nailed a 3-pointer 鈥� the 217th of his career 鈥� with one second left to give himself 1,001 career points and his team a 23-18 halftime lead.
Ellsworth is much more than a long-range shooter, though, and he proved that late in the game with a key pass and two clutch free throws to help the Red Raiders earn an important Section 1-5A win over McKeesport, 55-50, at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
The victory was the fifth in the last six games for Uniontown (6-5, 10-8) and pulled them into a fourth-place tie with the Tigers (6-5, 9-8) in the standings, two games ahead of Latrobe.
鈥淚t was a great night for Isaac and our team,鈥� Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e fought back hard to put ourselves in this position but we鈥檝e still got work to do.鈥�
Ellsworth seemed more concerned with his team鈥檚 win than hitting the 1,000-point milestone.
鈥淭his gives a little bit of a cushion and hopefully leads to a playoff spot for us,鈥� said Ellsworth, who hit five 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 23 points.
McKeesport rallied to take a 33-32 in the third quarter but Cam Dugan鈥檚 basket early in the fourth put the Red Raiders ahead 34-33 and they would never trail again.
鈥淲e had a really good first half, played really well, but give McKeesport credit, they came back in the third quarter,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淏ut our kids kept battling and battling and were able to pull it out.鈥�
Uniontown built its lead up to seven when Nolan Baker sank a 3-pointer to make it 43-36 with 4:36 left.
鈥淣olan hit a very big three in a key spot that gave us some breathing room,鈥� Kezmarsky said.
The Red Raiders held a 49-43 advantage when the Tigers got a basket followed by Brian Jones鈥� fourth 3-pointer of the night to whittle the gap to 49-48 with 1:28 remaining.
Ellsworth brought the ball up court and, with the defense wary of him, he fired a pass to Chase White open inside for a layup that put Uniontown up 51-48 with the clock at 1:16.
鈥淭eams start keying on me late in a game so that leaves some of my teammates open and if I see that I鈥檓 always going to give them the ball,鈥� Ellsworth said.
Cam Dugan made two crucial foul shots with 41 seconds left to put the Red Raiders up 53-48.
Malachi Ogrosky鈥檚 3-pointer with 28 seconds on the clock made it a one-possession game again for McKeesport at 53-30 but Ellsworth calmly swished a pair of free throws with 26 seconds remaining to put the game away.
鈥淚saac and Cam were really big down the stretch and hit some pressure free throws,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淐am really gave us a boost tonight. He played a great overall game, especially on defense. It was a team win, though, a lot of kids contributed.鈥�
Dugan followed Ellsworth with nine points, including four straight free throws in the fourth quarter, and White added eight points.
Lamont Perkins led the Tigers with 15 points and Jones had 12.
鈥淎nthony Sheffey did a great job on Perkins,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淪heffey had a great defensive game. Last time against us he had 34.
鈥淎nd Chase White played such a good game off the bench for us. He scored eight points and handled the ball well and he was all over the floor on defense. That鈥檚 probably the most he鈥檚 played all year.鈥�
Uniontown led 12-7 after the first quarter. Ellsworth鈥檚 fourth 3-pointer of the first half made it 23-18 and the game was stopped to note his 1,000-point milestone.
鈥淚t feels great, especially to do it in front of the home crowd and in a big game like that,鈥� Ellsworth said. 鈥淚t was pretty deep but I practice those shots so I know I can make them. I tried not to get too excited, made a little fist pump. Then the celebration with my teammates, my parents and everyone 鈥� it was a special moment that I鈥檒l remember for a long time.鈥�
鈥淥ur players were very excited for him when he got it,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淗e knew he needed 11 points but he didn鈥檛 come out taking all kinds of shots. He was getting his teammates involved and let the game come to him.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a credit to him. I鈥檝e coached a lot of years and I鈥檝e never seen a better 3-point shooter. But some people don鈥檛 realize he鈥檚 a great player overall, a great ball handler, passer, foul shooter, plays good defense. He made some really nice shots in the open court tonight, too.
鈥淗e鈥檚 worked for every point he鈥檚 scored this year. He must be doing something right because our record with Isaac is 55-18.鈥�
Uniontown faces another tough challenge Friday when it travels to first-place Gateway (10-1, 12-6).
鈥淲e鈥檝e been a good road team (7-3) this year,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e playing well right now.鈥�