Berks Catholic prepared rigorously for Littlestown’s 1-3-1 zone defense, which helped the Thunderbolts reach a District 3 Class 4A boys basketball semifinal Monday night at Wolf Gymnasium.
At times, however, the Saints looked confused trying to attack Littlestown and saw their lead shrink to four points in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Josiah Jordan took over.
Berks Catholic’s junior point guard had a hand in the Saints’ next 10 points, which allowed them to hold off the Bolts 58-46 before a capacity crowd.
“I came out with aggression,” Jordan said. “I knew what I had to do to get us to Hershey. I came with a fierce mentality. I knew we had to get there.”
He had 21 points, seven assists and three steals for top-seeded Berks Catholic (22-4), which advanced to its first district final in four years. The Saints will take on third-seeded Middletown, a 63-49 semifinal winner over Trinity, for the championship at 4:15 p.m. Thursday at Giant Center.
Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly has been hard on Jordan throughout his career. Jordan played so well in the second half, even he threw bouquets his way.
“He had a great game,” Esterly said. “He did the right things. He had a couple turnovers. That’s going to happen when you’re aggressive like him.
“I thought he found our shooters. They just didn’t make them tonight. It’s a rarity. He did a great job.”
Fourth-seeded Littlestown (19-6), which had won seven of its last eight games, fell behind the Saints by 15 points twice in the third quarter. The Bolts, though, pecked away at the deficit and trimmed it to 40-32 on Zyan Herr’s putback at the end of the third quarter.
Littlestown scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to make it a four-point game before Jordan took over.
Faster than any Littlestown player, Jordan penetrated through the creases in the zone, made two free throws and a layup and found Aidan Sands for a pair of layups. He also stripped the ball from Herr for another basket.
“We talked about the zone a lot,” Jordan said. “We executed in practice. Why not do it in the game? There’s no defense I’ve seen that I can’t break through. We just came through by dishing it. I love to see that.”
Sands’ second easy basket gave the Saints a 50-41 lead with 3:45 to go.
“Jay Jay balled out tonight,” said junior Ryan Koch, who had 15 points. “With me getting into foul trouble early, he had to step up and do major things. And he did.”
Sands also battled foul trouble, but he finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots against 6-7 Chris Meakin, who still had 14 points. Herr led Littlestown with 17 points and Jake Bosley had 13 before he fouled out.
“They played hard,” Esterly said of the Bolts. “We were up 15. They could have melted but they didn’t.”
Littlestown was looking for back-to-back appearances in the district final after losing to Middletown last year. Berks Catholic gained its fourth berth in a title game and will look for its fourth championship one year after finishing 6-11.
“I’m so excited about going to Hershey,” Jordan said.
He even earned praise from his coach, who rides him so that he realizes his potential.
“He was effective when he penetrated the splits in the zone,” Esterly said. “I backed off a little from him tonight. The only time I come down hard on him is when he doesn’t get the situation. That’s why I harp on him.
“I don’t want to take away his fastbreak. That’s what he does special.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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