WARMINSTER — Players of Daniel Alcantara’s caliber just know.
For all the pressure he and his Reading High basketball teammates had put on La Salle from the opening tip in their non-league game Saturday, the Explorers were still hanging around going into the fourth quarter.
While it looked like it could still be a game, Alcantara knew La Salle’s players were wearing down and there was a window to put the game out of reach.
Alcantara, a 6-5 senior, scored 28 points as the Red Knights handled the Explorers 52-32 at Archbishop Wood’s Diane Mosco Foundation showcase.
“It’s a little bit of taking over but also a little bit of me making the right plays and the right read,” Alcantara said. “You know when you have to take over, but you also have to know when to make the right play.”
He was good early, scoring nine first-quarter points as Reading raced out to an 8-0 lead. He was even better late, scoring the Red Knights’ first six points in the fourth and finishing the quarter with 12 points. In between, he and his teammates set about making it a miserable afternoon for an Explorers team that had shown quite a bit of potency in its first three games.
Reading (4-0), the reigning PIAA Class 6A champion, is built on its defense, its hard work and its family identity. While the Red Knights certainly respected La Salle’s talent, they weren’t going to give an inch despite the fact they were playing in Philadelphia Catholic League territory.
“We watched film and took note of their strengths and weaknesses,” Alcantara said, “so we knew what we had to do. It was just a matter of executing it. I feel like we did a good job executing it.
“We pour our hearts out on the floor every time, on offense and defense, so that’s a main reason why we’re so successful because we play for each other, play for the city and play for something bigger than basketball.”
La Salle got within 13-9, but Reading ripped off the last five points of the first quarter. Then the Red Knights opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run that built space. On top of its pressure defense, which started as soon as La Salle inbounded the ball, Reading was tough and physical in the paint and out on the perimeter.
Senior Sam Brown led La Salle with 12 points and was one of just four players on the roster to score against Reading. Nothing came easy for the Explorers, who shot just 6-of-27 in the first half and had 16 turnovers in the game.
“They fought harder than us today,” Brown said. “We made a lot of mistakes so starting Monday we have to work on what we did wrong so we can be ready for Tuesday’s game against Penn Charter. They’re a fast, physical team and pressed throughout most of the game because they’re all good defenders. We have to work on how to the get ball past halfcourt and into our sets when teams are pressuring like that.”
Ruben Rodriguez had a solid all-around game for Reading with seven points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Myles Grey added seven points and Justin Walker had six rebounds off the bench. Joey Chapman was aggressive pressuring the ball.
Alcantara did a nice job defending La Salle wing Horace Simmons, holding the skilled junior to 11 points on a lot of very difficult looks.
“Once we see the other team start to get tired, that’s when we flip the switch,” Alcantara said. “We start to play even harder than we were going before and that’s another reason why we have so much success on defense.
“We’ve been playing together for so long. We’re comfortable and we were just going with the flow and making right plays. Today it just happened to be me.”
Source: Berkshire mont