Snip Esterly-Berks Catholic

Berks Catholic picked a good time to play one of its best games of the season. The top-seeded Saints blew out fifth-seeded Susquehanna Township 61-42 to earn a trip to Hershey. “It’s absolutely unbelievable. I love the place,” said longtime coach Snip Esterly. Berks Catholic will face second-seeded Eastern York in the District 3-4A championship. They meet at 4:30pm on Thursday at the Giant Center. The (20-5) Saints came out on fire against the (15-8) Indians. Kingston McKoy and Jackson Kozik each knocked down a 3-pointer and Johnny Giesa hit a pair of jumpers. Carmelo Harper provided instant offense with six points in the first quarter. The 5’10 freshman finished with ten points. “Melo came off the bench and gave us a heck of a spark…He loves the game. He has the passion for the game,” emphasized Esterly. Harper had a career-high 15 points in the District 3-4A quarterfinals versus Bishop McDevitt. Susquehanna Township, which had won eight straight games, found itself down 18-8 late in the opening period at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. Harper pulled down an offensive rebound and found Zach Suski for a layup right before halftime. Berks Catholic was in control 32-18 at the break. Esterly noted that facing Reading helped them immensely to prepare for the Indians’ up-tempo style. “The three times we played Reading, it got us ready for this,” he replied. The Saints continued to roll in the third quarter. They outscored Susquehanna Township 15-6 in that period. Suski came alive with seven points, including a three-point play that made it 47-24 with 26 seconds left. He added another three-point play with 4:20 remaining to put Berks Catholic on top 55-32. Twelve of Suski’s 17 points came in the second half. “He does everything. He’s a sneaky offensive player. First of all, he has a great outside shot. He gets a lot of offensive rebounds. He cuts and he gets easy layups,” explained Esterly. The Saints’ defense was outstanding again. Brady Altimar limited junior guard Mekhi Slappy to seven points. Slappy is averaging nearly 15 ppg. and he’s made 69 triples this season. The Indians were held to 24 points through 24 minutes on Monday night. They committed ten turnovers in the first half. Susquehanna Township was 10-for-16 from the free throw line, while Berks Catholic went just 8-for-19. Jahkai Sloane-Marks led the Indians with 17 points. The 6’6 freshman had 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 65-60 quarterfinal victory at Wyomissing. Alfonso Burnett, a 6’2 senior, chipped in with a dozen points against the Saints. McKoy led everyone with 21 points. The 6’2 junior guard was responsible for three of Berks Catholic’s five treys. “Kingston was Kingston,” stated Esterly. Berks Catholic gets a chance at some redemption on Thursday at the Giant Center. Eastern York defeated the Saints 51-44 in the semifinals last year. Berks Catholic is searching for its sixth District 3 crown.