Xavier Davis-Reading

Berks Catholic came into Monday riding a seven-game winning streak. Reading had won five in a row. Both teams are #1 in the District 3 power rankings in their respective classes. Something had to give at a sold out Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. The Saints committed eleven turnovers in the first quarter. The Red Knights took advantage and went up by ten in the second quarter. Ryan Koch brought Berks Catholic back with eight straight points including two treys. The 6’3 junior finished with a team-high 22 points and five 3-pointers. Koch leads the Saints with 44 on the season. Christian Cacchione came off the bench to knock down a triple and Berks Catholic went in front 35-32 with one minute remaining in the first half. It was 36-all at the break as the Saints put up 24 points in the second period. Xavier Davis told me the Red Knights were lazy in the first half and needed to pick up their energy level. The 6’2 senior forward jammed nine points into the third quarter and ended up with a career-high 15. Davis converted a three-point play to give Reading a 51-47 edge with 4:45 left in the third period. I asked him about playing with all-state guard and 1,000-point scorer Ruben Rodriguez. Davis replied, “He can score at will and we all know that.” That’s precisely what Rodriguez did in the second half. The 6’1 junior had 15 points in the third quarter and ten more in the fourth. His 35 points guided Reading over Berks Catholic 87-70. Rodriguez is averaging 20 points a night. Davis stressed that Rodriguez loves the game and works very hard at practice. We joked about what would happen if Davis had to guard Rodriguez. Davis believes that he’s the best defender on the team because he can guard multiple positions. Speaking of defense, the (17-2, 9-0) Red Knights forced 25 turnovers. Davis thinks their defense is the key to their offense. They exploded for 51 points in the last 16 minutes. The (15-3, 7-3) Saints had been allowing 50 points per game. 6’5 senior Daniel Alcantara provided 24 points including nine in the fourth quarter. The all-state forward made four of Reading’s five shots from behind the arc. Berks Catholic splashed twelve 3-pointers. Junior point guard JayJay Jordan had 20 points and Aidan Sands chipped in with 14. Jordan went to the bench midway through the first quarter after picking up his second foul. The Saints were 8-17 from the free throw line, while the Red Knights went 8-10. Davis and I talked about Reading’s ball movement, as well as the crowd. We also discussed his love of sneakers and fashion. He would like to own his own business in the future.