Uniontown boys hold off Erie, 59-50

UNIONTOWN, Kan. -- The offense gave Uniontown's boys a big lead after three periods here Friday night. The Eagle defense allowed them to hold off visiting Erie in a 59-50 non-league victory.

Uniontown (6-1) led 53-41 after three periods but managed only 6 points -- one field goal -- in the fourth quarter. However, though Erie (2-6) did manage to gain some ground at the free-throw line, the Eagles held the Red Devils without a field goal in the period, which allowed them to survive.

"Erie played hard," Uniontown head coach Nathan Hinrichs said. "They didn't lay down for our kids. They're a good team, a scrappy team and they made us earn it."

Uniontown's first field goal of the fourth quarter didn't come until 3:42 remaining when Domonic Robinson scored to make it 55-46. The Devils got within five points before the Eagles made three of four free throws in the final 22 seconds.

The teams combined to make just 1 of 10 field-goal attempts in the final stanza. Erie made 9 of 14 free throws.

"They did a nice job of getting into the lane and we fouled too much," Hinrichs said.

Uniontown led 16-11 after one as Brenton Esslinger scored 11 of his 17 points in the period. His first 3-point goal with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining gave the Eagles the lead, which they never relinquished.

Esslinger hit another 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining in the half to give Uniontown its largest lead of the half, 37-22. Keaton Page made two free throws with 29 seconds to go for Erie.

"He's a good player for us," Hinrichs said of Esslinger. "We really needed that in the first half. In the second half, they were focused on taking him away. We got Zach Travis a few open shots."

As Erie focused on Esslinger in the third period, others stepped up. Seth Sympson gave Uniontown its biggest lead of the game, 47-30, with about five minutes to go. Robinson scored the Eagles' last three baskets of the period to make it 53-39 before Justin Hartzell made a pair of charity tosses for the Devils with 54 seconds to go.

" (Robinson) really stepped up," Hinrichs said. "He got a few offensive rebounds. He got some points in the paint. He was a little spark for us."

Zach Travis led Uniontown with 20 points, going 4 for 10 from 3-point range. Robinson scored 8 of his 11 points in the second half.

Page led Erie with 17 points as he made 11 of 12 free-throw attempts. Kyle Spielbusch added 15 points for the Devils.

Uniontown shot 39 percent from the field, making 18 of 46 field-goal attempts, and went 17 of 24 at the free-throw line. Erie made 12 of 41 fielders for 29 percent and 24 of 34 free throws.

Erie outrebounded Uniontown 35-29. Esslinger had 7 boards for the Eagles.

Uniontown plays defending Three Rivers League champion Oswego Tuesday night on the road.

ERIE: K.Page 3-9 11-12 17, Dozier 0-3 0-0 0, Hartzell 3-8 3-5 9, Lehenbauer 0-0 0-0 0, G.Page 0-1 0-0 0, Mildfelt 0-0 0-0 0, Marquardt 2-9 1-2 6, Spielbusch 3-6 8-13 15, Murphy 1-5 1-2 3. TOTALS: 12-41 24-34 50

UNIONTOWN: Travis 6-16 4-5 20, Wiley 0-1 2-2 2, Kuns 1-7 2-3 4, Ulrey 0-1 0-0 0, Robinson 5-8 1-4 11, Labbe 0-2 0-0 0, Esslinger 4-6 7-8 17, Sympson 2-5 1-2 5. TOTALS: 18-46 17-24 59

Uniontown..... 16 21 16 6 -- 59

Three-point field goals: Erie 2-13 (Spielbusch 1-2, Marquardt 1-5, Hartzell 0-2, K.Page 0-4), Uniontown 6-18 (Travis 4-10, Esslinger 2-4, Sympson 0-1, Kuns 0-3).

Total fouls: Erie 24, Uniontown 20. Fouled out: Esslinger. Technical foul: Esslinger.

Rebounds: Erie 35 (K.Page 8), Uniontown 29 (Esslinger 7). Assists: Erie 2 (Marquardt, Spielbusch), Uniontown 4 (Wiley 3). Turnovers: Erie 16, Uniontown 9. Steals: Erie 6 (K.Page 2, Spielbusch 2), Uniontown 11 (Kuns 3, Sympson 3). Blocked shots: Erie 1 (Murphy), Uniontown none.