City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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READING — The opening night of the City of Basketball Love Exeter Showcase saw three high-level varsity boys’ games taking place at Exeter Township High School, with a couple schools from Delco coming up to Berks County to face off against some District 3 talent (as well as a couple District 3 squads matching up).

Here’s who stood out on the first night, with five more games coming on Saturday:

Results
Columbia 43, Upper Darby 40
Berks Catholic 54, Cedar Crest 32
Archbishop Carroll 91, Exeter Township 58

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Darrell Davis (2027 | Archbishop Carroll)
The last game of the night was packed full of standout performances — especially on the Carroll side, the Patriots impressing through all four quarters in a convincing win over last year’s PIAA Class 5A runner-ups. Davis, a 5-foot-10 freshman point guard, is a whiz with the ball in his hands, fun to watch in the open court with his combination of speed and handles, and he’s got some nifty finishes at the hoop too. He finished with 18 points, all in the second and third quarters, with four rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Alex Kelsey (2024 | Exeter Township)
A St. Joe’s baseball commit, Kelsey is an athletic 6-1 guard who looks like he’d be comfortable as a wide receiver with his strong frame. Kelsey’s a pretty good hooper, too, as evidenced by the 15-point, eight-rebound outing he put in against Archbishop Carroll. Kelsey was able to get into the paint even against Carroll’s tough peretimer defense, and he grabbed four offensive rebounds through sheer effort alone, throwing his body around on both ends of the floor. Kelsy knocked down a couple 3-pointers and also got to the line at a good clip.

Kingston McKoy (2026 | Berks Catholic)
The younger McKoy brother led the Saints with 21 points in their big win over Cedar Crest, and he did it without scoring in the first quarter. The athletic 6-3 wing guard’s first bucket was a stop-and-pop 3-pointer on the break, an impressive ability to decelerate and get right into a smooth shooting form; he hit several other long two-pointers, as well as got to the rim on a number of occasions to finish at the hoop. He also added six rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

Lovo Mulbah (2024 | Upper Darby)
The Royals got just outlasted by Columbia in a back-and-forth affair that was the most closely-fought of the evening. Mulbah, a 5-9 guard and the only returning member of the Royals’ state playoff squad, was composed on the floor as he finished with a team-high 14 points, adding in nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. Mulbah was smart with his shot selection (6-10 FG, 2-4 3PT), grabbed five offensive rebounds and generally looked to move the ball within the offense. 

Artie Poindexter (2024 | Columbia)
Columbia’s 5-10 point guard didn’t score a point in the first half, but showed his athleticism by skying for several rebounds and his playmaking abilities in the open court. He got a few more looks in the second half, knocking down a 3-pointer in the third quarter before turning it on in the fourth, a pair of and-ones and a few other buckets lifting him to 13 points in the win, plus five rebounds and four assists to help the Crimson Tide emerge victorious in a tight game. 

Nasir Ralls (2026 | Archbishop Carroll)
Ralls likes to take tough shots, and when he hits them — which is pretty darn often — he’s especially effective and nearly impossible to guard. Ralls had it going for Carroll in the win over Exeter, scoring 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a couple 3-pointers from distance, a few tough pull-ups in the midrange and some off-balance finishes around the rim, using the glass on a few nifty finishes. 

Kevin Saenz (2024 | Exeter Township)
Exeter’s senior is a potential scholarship-level ballplayer, which he showed in a 15-point, eight-rebound, four-assist outing against Carroll. A talented lead guard, Saenz is a smooth athlete who can score from all three levels; he had several great takes to the rim, knocked down a few jumpers and made some great reads on the move to get his teammates open shots. It wasn’t his most efficient night from the floor as he had to try to force the issue against an aggressive and talented Carroll squad, but the ability and hoops IQ was apparent.

Ian Williams (2026 | Archbishop Carroll)
If there was an event MVP for the night, it would be Williams, and there wouldn’t be a close second. Carroll’s sophomore point guard was outstanding in a 28-point, four-assist, three-rebound, two-steal effort, doing a little bit of everything — step-back 3-pointers, drives to the hoop, three-point plays, cross-court passes on a rope. His first quarter was something to behold, as he scored 18 points in about a six-minute span, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor (two 3s) and 3-of-3 from the foul line.  

R.J. Young (2025 | Cedar Crest)
It was a rough night offensively for Cedar Crest, which didn’t connect on a 3-pointer and made less than a quarter of its shots overall against a staunch Berks Catholic defense. The one player the Saints couldn’t do much about was Young, as the 6-7 junior forward had a strong personal night with 13 points and 12 rebounds (three offensive) on a 6-of-11 night from the floor, with a block as well. Young had a couple smooth drop-steps into a right-hand hook, and also had a smooth catch and left-hand finish; he didn’t connect on his only 3-point attempt, but his jumper looks smooth. 

Honorable Mention
Adam Dauble (2026 | Exeter Township), Munir Greig (2027 | Archbishop Carroll), TJ Jackson (2025 | Upper Darby), Elijah Gunter (2025 | Upper Darby), Joshua McKoy (2024 | Berks Catholic), Brelon Miller (2024 | Columbia), Parker Nein (2024 | Berks Catholic)