Several college basketball coaches attended Monday night’s District 3 Class 4A quarterfinal at Wolf Gymnasium.
They were there to watch 6-7 center Corey Attivo, Elco’s leading scorer, and make their recruiting pitch to him.
No one was around Berks Catholic 6-3 center Tyler Givens, who slowed Attivo in the top-seeded Saints’ 55-40 victory over the eighth-seeded Raiders.
“He’s a real solid big man,” Givens said. “I tried to get in front of him as much as I could. If he gets the ball in the low post, he’s lethal down there.”
Givens and his teammates held Elco to 16-for-45 shooting and advanced to the semifinals against Littlestown — a 75-64 winner over Eastern York — Monday night at 7 back at Wolf Gymnasium.
The Saints (21-4) also clinched a berth in the PIAA Tournament after going 6-11 last season, the first losing record in school history.
“That’s awesome,” Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly said. “That’s fantastic. That’s a great improvement by these guys.”
Ryan Koch struggled with his shooting in the Berks Conference playoffs last week at spacious Santander Arena. He got back on track in the Saints’ friendly confines by scoring 19 points, 14 in the second half.
His eight points in the third quarter helped stretch the lead from 10 at the half to as many as 16.
“It’s always nice getting your shot back,” Koch said. “Hitting one early helped get the motor going. As I saw more and more fall, I kept shooting it.
“It was all in my head. Seeing the ball go in the basket was big for me.”
The Saints received contributions up and down their lineup. Jack Miller scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc; Aidan Sands had eight points and eight rebounds; and Aron Reinhart provided a lift off the bench in the second quarter when Josiah Jordan sat with two fouls.
“They rose to the occasion,” Esterly said. “They really did. We could have easily fallen down in the first half. Each and every player picked it up.”
Jordan scored six points in the second half, including 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute to seal it.
Attivo made just 6-of-15 attempts and finished with 14 points for Elco (14-11), which will play in a consolation game Monday. He scored 24 in a 68-59 win over Wyomissing in the first round.
Sands limited Williams, a running back and linebacker who’s headed to Bloomsburg, to four points on 2-for-12 shooting and four points, eight below his average.
“We had to beat their big guys to spots and we did,” Esterly said. “We got great efforts on defense inside from Tyler, Aidan and Aron.”
Givens had four points, three rebounds and one blocked shot, but he had a huge impact on the game and sparked Berks Catholic’s effort on defense, which he called “one of our best.”
“He’s an even-keel kind of kid,” Esterly said. “He doesn’t really show his emotion. He’s a heady kid. He’s a strong boy. He rebounds well and he knows his role on this team, which is great.”
The Saints are now within two wins of their first district championship in four years.
“Making states is big,” Koch said. “We knew last year was a learning curve for us. We know we can make a big run.”
Source: Berkshire mont