Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Snip Esterly entered Wednesday’s BCIAA semifinal against Exeter with 860 career wins. Whether at Central Catholic or Berks Catholic, his teams have always been known for hard-nosed man-to-man defense. The top-seeded Saints put on a defensive clinic at Santander Arena. They held the fifth-seeded Eagles to five points in the opening quarter and 27 points through 24 minutes. Berks Catholic cruised to a 57-40 victory and extended its winning streak to fifteen games. “I thought we had great matchups. Brady [Altimar] did a great job defensively. We knew Kingston [McKoy] would do his job against [Aidan] Dauble. Dauble is a really nice player, but Kingston is a heck of a defensive player,” noted Esterly. The (21-2) Saints will meet Reading in the Berks Conference Championship on Friday at 8pm.
Berks Catholic raced out to a 15-5 advantage over Exeter after the first quarter. The Saints led 8-0 before Dauble splashed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The 6’3, 215-pound senior is committed to Shippensburg for football. He’s averaging 15 ppg. this season. Dauble reached 1,000 career points last month. The (15-9) Eagles trailed 29-15 at halftime.
Carmelo Harper and Altimar hit back-to-back triples in the third quarter. Berks Catholic’s cushion extended to 32-15 with 3:15 left in the period. The Saints were in control 43-27 entering the fourth quarter. McKoy drained a trey from the right wing with six minutes remaining to make it 48-29. The 6’4 Colgate commit finished with a game-high 24 points, including nine in the final period. Harper added 16 points. The 6’1 sophomore guard was responsible for two of Berks Catholic’s five 3-pointers. Johnny Giesa chipped in with seven points and Altimar had six on a pair of shots from beyond the arc. The Saints were without Gavin Welker due to a school-related issue. The 6’3 senior forward had 16 points in a 58-42 win over Schuylkill Valley in the quarterfinals on Monday.
Berks Catholic went 4-of-9 from the foul line, while the Eagles ended up 7-for-11. After Dauble’s early 3-pointer, they didn’t make another attempt from long range until the fourth quarter. Dauble, Jayden Ware, and Braylon Reinert had eight points apiece. “Overall defensively, I thought we did a great job,” said Esterly. The Saints are searching for their first BCIAA title since 2018. They split a pair of games with Reading during the regular season. Berks Catholic prevailed in the most recent matchup 68-47 on January 31st at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium.