Thomas' buzzer-beater lifts Union
Union (74) Vs. Carrick (71)
Anthony Thomas continued his blistering start to the season last night.
The point guard’s 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted Union High over Carrick, 74-71, in a nonsection matchup.
After a back-and-forth second half, the Scotties (3-0) gained possession with eight seconds remaining. Andre Jones received the inbound pass, drove the lane and kicked the ball out to Thomas for the game-winning shot.
“It didn’t go as planned,” Scotties coach Dave Smialowski said of the play. “It was just kind of surprising that he was open on the wing.”
Thomas, who scored 73 points in the Neshannock Early Bird Tournament last weekend, fell four assists shy of a triple-double. The senior tallied a game-high 26 points, 10 rebounds and knocked down six 3-pointers.
Thomas’ brother, Devonta, also nailed two 3s and Damian Trott added another.
“They came out in a zone,” Smialowski said of Carrick. “Against a zone, you’re going to have to knock shots down.”
Carrick, a Pittsburgh City League team, fell behind Union 31-14 in the first quarter but bounced back to outscore the Scotties 44-23 in the next two periods.
“Everything we threw up went in,” Smialowski said of his team’s first quarter. “The second quarter they started trapping us. They started turning the heat up in the third quarter — a lot of heat actually.”
Union managed to keep the score close and even had a four-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Raiders (2-2) tied the game, 71-71.
Devonta Thomas, Anthony Forletta and Nate Majors each scored 13 points for Union.
Smialowski said if Union wishes to continue its early season success, the Scotties will have to sink more of their fouls shots. Last night, Union shot 13 of 23 from the line and only made 56 percent last weekend.
“That’s a nice win for us,” Smialowski said. “But it doesn’t stop here. I see how good we can be. We just got to keep coming in and working hard.”