The Reading Rebels season ended on Tuesday night at Albright College, as the Rebels fell 131-120 to the Albany Patroons in an Atlantic Northeast play-in game of The Basketball League Playoffs.
After finishing second in the Atlantic Northeast division, Reading needed to defeat the Patroons to advance to play the division-leading Frederick Flying Cows (20-4) in round one of the Eastern Conference Championship for a three-game series.
Albany defeated the Rebels (19-6) last year in a play-in game at Albany.
In the fourth quarter, after trailing for a majority of the game, Reading got as close as five points at 116-11 when Reading native Javon Adams, a 6-9 power forward, made 2-of-2 at the line. From there, the Patroons (18-6) went on a decisive 11-1 run to put the game away with 2:30 remaining.
Kutztown University graduate Anthony Lee scored a game-high 33 points and made four 3-pointers for the Rebels. He was also 15-for-20 from the foul line, had five assists and six rebounds. Adams finished the game with 22 points and had three assists and three rebounds.
Ronald Scott also had 22 points for Reading, as well as eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Rebels trailed 35-25 at the end of the first quarter and 64-46 at the half.
Albany led 103-83 at the end of the third quarter and maintained around a 20-point lead for the entirety of that period.
Shadell Millinghaus had a team-high 31 points for the Patroons, as well as eight assists and 10 rebounds.
After ending 2022 12-12 in its inaugural season and finishing last season 17-7, 2024 was a sign of growth for Reading, as the team finished with its best record to date and also completed its longest winning streak in franchise history of 11 games.
Source: Berkshire mont