Aris Rodriguez-Reading

If you were looking for highlights for the SportsCenter Top Ten, West Lawn wasn’t the place to be on Thursday. When rivals Reading and Wilson square off, it’s not about style points. “We’re not out here for judges. We’re out here for wins,” said Red Knights’ head coach Rick Perez. Reading prevailed 44-39 in a Division 1 slugfest in front of a great crowd. Only eleven points were scored in the first quarter. The Bulldogs committed ten turnovers in the first eight minutes, yet led 6-5. The (11-1, 3-0) Red Knights went on a 9-to-5 run to begin the second quarter and force a Wilson timeout. Reading was in front 20-17 at the break. Myles Grey and Aidan Melograna traded 3-pointers midway through the third period. Grey provided eight of his thirteen points in the quarter. The 5’11 senior added eight steals. The Red Knights were on top 36-28 entering the final period thanks to a pair of buckets from junior guard Yadiel Cruz. Nico Sosa hit a triple to start the fourth quarter and increase Reading’s advantage to eleven points. However, the (8-2, 2-1) Bulldogs held the Red Knights scoreless for the next six minutes. Seamus Breslin limited Rider commit Ruben Rodriguez to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. Rodriguez entered the game averaging 23.5 points. The 6’2 guard has 1,556 points in his career. Aris Rodriguez went 4-4 from the foul line down the stretch. The 6’5 senior guard made two free throws with 34 seconds remaining. Cleveland Harding’s layup pulled Wilson within 42-39 with ten seconds to go. Aris Rodriguez sank two more from the stripe with nine seconds to play to ice it. “Just close my eyes and [have] tunnel vision. It’s just me and the rim, just shoot the ball and I know it’s going in,” stated Rodriguez. He ended up with a game-high fourteen points. Rodriguez gave credit to the Bulldogs. “They came to play…It was super physical. We always knew that they were gonna be physical,” noted Rodriguez. He went crashing to the floor after trying to dunk a pass off the backboard from Grey in the first half. Rodriguez had a big bag of ice on his back after the game, but told me that he was fine. Reading shot just 2-16 from beyond the arc, while Wilson went 3-8. The Bulldogs were hurt by 24 turnovers. Melograna, a 6’3 senior, had a team-high eleven points. Harding chipped in with ten and Ofure Odiale contributed nine. Wilson was 8-12 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs have dropped five straight against the Red Knights. Wilson was once again without all-division point guard Cam Jones due to injury. The Holy Cross football commit is expected to return soon. The Bulldogs host Spring-Ford on Saturday afternoon. Reading had been putting up 72 points a night. The Red Knights only managed eight points in the final quarter, but held on in a playoff atmosphere. “It was beautiful. That’s what we love playing against, especially when the crowd is against us. It’s great energy,” emphasized Aris Rodriguez.