City of Basketball Love

By Mike Gross
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READING - It’s of course premature to call any basketball game in early December a state-tournament preview. But no one in Exeter High School’s gym Friday would doubt that Berks Catholic and Engineering & Sciences could meet again, in March, for higher stakes.

The Saints held off E&S, 53-49 in an entertaining, high-level game Friday in the CoBL Boys’ Winter Showcase. Berks Catholic got 28 points and a brilliant all-around game from Kingston McKoy, who scored 28. He was the difference in a game that went down to the final minute.

“I feel like we played solid,’’ said E&S coach Dustin Hardy-Moore. “They made some tough shots. They made some big shots. We just needed to be (better for) a possession or two. That’s really what it boiled down to.’’

McKoy is an all-state guard bound for Division I Colgate, and he does everything for the Saints. One thing he did was take the Engineers just a little out of their plan.

For a half, E&S played straight, halfcourt, aggressive-on-the-ball man-to-man defense. It held an elite-level team to 18 first-half points, 11 of them by McKoy.

As the game wore on, though, the concede-nothing D got the Engineers in foul trouble; they went most of the way without one of their key pieces, wing Sahin Rodriguez. Further, the Saints got going enough offensively that it became necessary, as Hardy-Moore put it, to, “get the ball out of McKoy’s hands and make him play off the ball.’’

That meant some zone, and some traps, which were effective enough. The Engineers just didn’t shoot well enough, not nearly as well as they’re capable, according to their coach.

E&S was on a streak of six straight empty possessions when McKoy hit a tough, well-guarded jumper to give his team a 37-32 lead at the third-quarter buzzer.

The final quarter was tense, back-and-forth. E&S got within two twice down the stretch, one on Matt McField’s drive with two minutes left, which McKoy answered with a cold-blooded turnaround.

Then Fareed Brown hit two clutch free throws with 1:01 left.

Here the Engineers, back in man-to-man, had a great, long, grinding defensive possession that ended in a whistle, a marginal foul call that was also the fifth personal on Brown, who was terrific in all areas and finished with a team-high 17 points. 

Berks Catholic got points from each of its last three possessions and held on. Jeremiah Camara scored 13 for the Saints, but more than half their total came from one guy.

In addition to Brown’s 17, E&S got 11 points from Billy Henighan and, critically, just two from the foul-plagued Rodriguez.

Again, it would surprise no one if Berks Catholic and E&S turn out to be two of the best Class 4A teams in the state. The Saints went 24-5 last year and lost to Devon Prep in the 4A state final.

E&S is 3-1, including a win over Chestnut Hill Academy. The Engineers will also face Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Dock Mennonite and, in their division of the Philadelphia Public League, Imhotep and Constitution.

“I scheduled (Berks Catholic) to get us prepared for a long state playoff run,’’ Hardy-Moore said. Hopefully we see them again. We’re scheduling to prepare for March.’’

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By Quarter
BC:   14  |   4   |  19  |  16  ||  53
E&S: 15  |   8   |   9   |  17  ||  49

Shooting
BC: 19-46 FG (8-22 3PT), 7-12 FT
E&S: 17-48 FG (5-16 3PT), 10-15 FT

Scoring
BC: Kingston McKoy 28, Jeremiah Camara 13, Oye Guilavogui 6, Johnny Giesa 3, Carmelo Harper 2, Brady Alitmar 1

E&S: Fareed Brown 17, Billy Henighan 11, Treyvon Deadrick 6, Malcolm Musgrove Jr. 5, Matt McField 4, Samir Roberts-Mouzon 4, Sahin Rodriguez 2

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Muhlenberg slows down frantic Falcons

In an all-District Three opener to Friday’s tripleheader, the Muhls improved to 2-0, pulling away from Cedar Crest, 63-54.

They did it, in large part, by slowing the Falcons and calming themselves, with a zone defense and a locker-room moment of zen.

“Our anxiety was high,’’ said Muhlenberg coach Matt Flowers. “We were pressing for no reason.

“We went in at halftime, myself, the coaches, the players, and we all took a deep breath. In the second half, we went Vibrant (Flowers’ term for a 2-3 zone). I thought it just relaxed our kids.’’

The Muhls had led 10-0 early, thanks in part to smooth 3-point shooting by Jadin Perez, son of Rick Perez, who has won three state titles as the head coach at Reading High.

Cedar Crest was able to rally by turning the game tempo way up, with a battalion of small, quick guards led by brothers Cam and Antonio Tirado.

It got a little too fast for both sides at times. After 11 lead changes, the first half ended in a torrent of turnovers, Muhlenberg leading 27-26.

The Muhls went much of the half without their best player, Eli Hemmings, due to foul trouble. But Hemmings was back after the break and got going, converting turnovers into open-court runs. Hemming scored eight of his 12 over three third-quarter possessions. The Muhls won the third quarter 22-10 and took control they never quite gave up.

Cedar Crest kept fighting, forced six fourth-quarter turnovers and got as close as 55-50, on a three-point play by Antonio Tirado with 2:55 left.

Shooting hurt, though. The Falcons were 1-for-14 from the three-point arc. Through two games this season, they’ve made exactly two three-pointers.

Cedar Crest has won the last two Lancaster-Lebanon League championships, but this edition is very young and small, if athletic. The Falcons are 0-2. Tirado led them with 19 points.

Muhlenberg, 2-0, had balance, including 12 points each from Hemmings and Josh Miller, an athletic wing who didn’t start.  

By Quarter
MHS: 16  |  11  |  22  |  14  ||  63
CC:    16  |  10  |  10  |  18  ||  54 

Shooting
MHS: 21-53 FG (6-23 3PT), 15-25 FT
CC: 23-63 FG (1-16 3PT), 7-13 FT

Scoring
MHS: Josh Miller 12, Eli Hemmings 12, Michael Miller Jr. 11, Justin Armstrong 10, Jadin Perez 9, Nelson Malave 8, Rhyon Hutchinson 1

CC: Antonio Tirardo 19, Steven Reyes 13, Jemar Pauleus 8, Jaxon Bechtold 8, Cam Tirado 2, Owen Outman 2, Jackson Smith 2

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Pottstown can’t overcome host Exeter

Ken Ivory liked the fight he saw. 

The Pottstown head coach wasn’t thrilled that his Falcons trailed Exeter Twp. by 13 at the break after scoring just two points in the third quarter, and it was an 18-point gap going to the fourth. But Pottstown never quit, forcing a whole bunch of fourth-quarter turnovers to make it a game again before ultimately falling short, 65-55. 

Leading 29-16 at the break, the Eagles scored 26 points in the third quarter as senior guard Dylan Donate scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the frame, knocking down three 3-pointers, including an and-one from deep. But the Falcons’ defensive intensity ramped up, a full-court press helping Pottstown get within eight points in the final three minutes, though they weren’t able to hit enough shots to pull off the full comeback. 

“It just shows that you know we're a resilient bunch of guys: we work hard, we grind, they're those types of kids,” Ivory said. “I knew that was there. We just had to change the tempo to a game speed that we like to play.”

The Falcons, making their season debut after a Tuesday postponement, got a strong game from senior Yahsir Wood, who finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two assists. The 6-5 forward was efficient around the rim, grabbed six offensive rebounds and made several nice back-door passes, deserving a few more assists than what he got based on the quality of his passes. 

“He is our alpha; we expect him to play like that and we need him to play like that for us to be successful,” Ivory said. “If we can get him to do that every night from the jump, we’ll be just fine moving forward.”

Senior forward Elias Butler added 14 points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks for Pottstown. Senior guard Jayden Ware added 11 points and a variety of other stats for Exeter Twp.

By Quarter
Exet.: 14  |  15  |  26  |  10  ||  65
Potts: 14  |   2   |  21  |  18  ||  55

Shooting
Exet.: 23-57 FG (8-21 3PT), 11-15 FT
Potts:  22-58 FG (1-14 3PT), 10-15 FT

Scoring
Exet.: Dylan Donate 20, Jayden Ware 11, Aidan Dauble 9, Cameron Scott 8, Patrick Payne 5, Mason Goodhart 4, Braylon Reinert 3, Jackson Kozak 2

Potts:  Yahsir Wood 22, Elias Butler 14, Malachi Robbins 8, Duren Ditice 4, Kamrin Robinson 4, Syncere Whitehurst 3

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