Berks Catholic kicked off the 2024-2025 season with a strong start at the City of Basketball Love Winter Showcase held at Exeter High School in Reiffton on Friday and Saturday.
The Saints defeated Cumberland Valley 60-57 on Friday before downing Pope John Paul II 56-37 on Saturday.
Playing in his first game since suffering a season-ending leg injury last January, junior guard Kingston McKoy scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to propel the Saints (2-0) over the Eagles Friday evening. In addition to his game-high 25 points, McKoy had seven rebounds, two assists, and four steals.
Cumberland Valley, the defending District 3 Class 6A champions, held a 26-19 lead at halftime before Berks Catholic went on a commanding 14-0 run in which McKoy scored 12 of the points.
After trailing 43-36 after three quarters, the Eagles got as close as three points off the lead at 52-49 with 2:30 left in the game. Bryce Gumby had 12 points for the Saints and Carmelo Harper had 10 points for Berks Catholic against Cumberland Valley.
On Saturday, McKoy had 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the Saints’ win against Pope John Paul II. Berks Catholic returns to action to face Wilson at West Lawn Monday night.
Also playing in the showcase, the Bulldogs (1-0) earned a 45-43 win over Liberty Saturday afternoon.
Senior Madyx Gruber scored a game-high 21 points and was 6-for-6 from the foul line to help lead Wilson over the Hurricanes. Gruber made six field goals and one 3-pointer in the first half, and made all of his foul shots in the second half.
Wilson trailed 24-21 at halftime before taking a 33-31 lead after three quarters. In addition to Gruber, Correll Akings scored 11 points and was 3-of-4 from the foul line.
Hosting the showcase, Exeter began its season with back-to-back losses. The Eagles (0-2) fell 59-53 to Cedar Crest on Friday night and to Penncrest 49-38 Saturday night.
On Friday, Exeter held a 28-23 lead over the Falcons at halftime and senior Brady Murray had 10 points and four rebounds in the first half. Murray finished tied with a team-high 13 points with two 3-pointers and fellow senior Carter Redding also ended the night with 13 points and a team-high three 3-pointers.
Danny Speaks had a game-high 15 points for Cedar Crest and the Falcons took over the lead in third and led 43-39 heading into the final quarter.
On Saturday, Redding had a game-high 14 points and made two 3-pointers. The Eagles trailed 22-13 at halftime and came as close as five points off the lead at 41-36 with 4:07 left in the fourth before the Lions went on an 8-2 run to close out the game. Aidan Dauble made a game-high three 3-pointers for Exeter and scored 11 points against Penncrest.
Rounding out the slate of Berks teams competing in the showcase, Gov. Mifflin fell to Cumberland Valley 58-51 in overtime.
The Mustangs (2-1) trailed 25-18 at the end of the first half, but senior Matt Koehler scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to force overtime.
Koehler had 13 points and three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Gov. Mifflin outscored the Eagles 17-7 to force overtime. He finished with a game-high four 3-pointers.
Source: Berkshire mont