Berks Catholic’s Snip Esterly is as fierce a competitor as there is coaching high school basketball.
Esterly was unhappy that the Saints didn’t shoot well or show more patience in a 51-35 loss to Reading High in the Berks Conference title game Friday night at Santander Arena.
But he didn’t hesitate showing his admiration for how the Red Knights play.
“I told our guys we’re not going to face anybody like them in districts,” Esterly said after his team’s third loss to the Red Knights this season. “We’re going to face good teams, but not like that.”
Reading built a 21-point lead in the third quarter, holding Berks Catholic, the No. 1 seed in the District 3 Class 4A playoffs, to five points over a 14-minute span.
The Red Knights had a lapse that allowed the Saints to pull within 36-30 on Aidan Sands’ layup 20 seconds into the fourth quarter. Then they did what they have done repeatedly, finding another gear and trampling past Berks Catholic to their first Berks championship in three years.
“It was us getting away from our habits,” senior Xavier Davis said about the Saints’ 16-1 run. “We knew what we needed to do to prevail.”
That meant cranking up the defensive pressure and putting the basketball in the hands of junior guard Ruben Rodriguez.
He scored nine of Reading’s 15 points in the fourth quarter, capped the night with a breakaway dunk with 1:40 to go and finished with 22 points.
After a halftime tie earlier this month at Berks Catholic, he scored 25 of his 35 points to lead the Red Knights to an 87-70 victory.
“He brings poise,” Davis said. “He brings stability. We look for him when we need to score. We look to him when we need to speed things up. We look to him when we need guidance on where to be. He brings that leadership. He sets the pace for us.”
Then there’s the relentless defense that attacks in waves. Reading held the Saints, one of the best shooting teams in the league, to 11-of-42 from the field and a season low in points.
The Red Knights also limited Berks Catholic to seven fourth-quarter points two nights after holding Muhlenberg to eight in the semifinals.
They play at a pace that tires opponents and makes them submit. They seem to get stronger as the game goes on.
“I’ve not seen anybody sustain that level of defense for four quarters,” said Exeter coach Matt Ashcroft, whose team lost twice to Reading this season. “They’re in better shape than any team in the state of Pennsylvania.”
Reading will be the No. 1 seed in the District 3 Class 6A playoffs and a contender for its second straight PIAA championship.
Wilson coach Matt Coldren said in December that he believes the Red Knights are a better team than they were last season when they had 6-6 Moro Osumanu, who averaged 13.7 points a game and led the team in rebounds and blocked shots. He’s a freshman reserve at West Chester.
Ashcroft doesn’t disagree, citing the improvement of Rodriguez, Davis, Daniel Alcantara, Aris Rodriguez, Myles Grey and Joey Chapman since last year.
“Osumanu was a major loss,” he said. “He was unbelievable. You can’t discount the loss of a guy who cleaned up the glass and blocked shots. I don’t know if I’ve seen a big with that kind of motor.
“But the growth of those six guys from last year to this year has been unbelievable. While it’s very difficult to replace a guy like Osumanu, they’re better than they were last year.”
Reading will face Wilson or Waynesboro in the 6A quarterfinals Friday at Geigle Complex. Since losing 63-61 to Muhlenberg, the Red Knights have beaten the Bulldogs, Wyomissing, the Muhls and Berks Catholic by an average of nearly 28 points.
Coach Rick Perez said the night after the Muhlenberg loss that Reading had been carrying “some baggage” and that it had been playing “privileged basketball.”
That’s no longer the case. They’re playing at a championship level.
“Honestly, I think we really needed that loss,” Alcantara said. “We needed that loss to humble us and for us to stay grounded.”
The Red Knights have their first county title since seniors Alcantara, Chapman and Davis were freshmen.
“It feels amazing,” Davis said. “As a freshman I didn’t make too much of an impact in winning the title. Being able to grow, being able to develop and being able to have the impact that I have now, it feels amazing. I’m ecstatic.”
Now they direct their attention towards the district and state playoffs. Can they repeat?
Source: Berkshire mont
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