Brady McKee-Conrad Weiser

Conrad Weiser head coach Rich Miller knows the importance of winning your home games. The former PSAC East Coach of the Year at Mansfield instructed his players to write their initials in the circle at midcourt before the season opener against Antietam. “To establish that this is our home court and we don’t lose [here],” explained Brady McKee. The 5’10 sophomore guard had a game-high 17 points in the Scouts’ 54-51 victory over the Mounts in Robesonia. McKee hit three triples and sank two clutch free throws with 32 seconds remaining for a 52-46 advantage. Antietam took its first lead at 44-42 on Noah Archambault’s layup midway through the fourth quarter. The Mounts went scoreless for the next three and a-half minutes. Archambault’s jumper got Antietam within 50-46 with 33 seconds to go. A deep 3-pointer by sophomore Jowen Reyes-Rodriguez cut the deficit to 53-51 with six seconds on the clock. The Mounts were out of timeouts and some precious seconds ticked away until Conrad Weiser inbounded the ball to Evan Miller. The coach’s son went 1-for-2 from the stripe with only two seconds to play for the final margin. I asked McKee what was the difference down the stretch. He replied, “Just staying composed out there. We have no rush. There’s really nothing to be worried about. I have faith in my team.” The Scouts went 14-of-19 from the foul line in the last period. Miller had their only bucket over the final eight minutes. The 6’1, 200-pound sophomore contributed six points off the bench, all in the fourth quarter. He’s a TE/DE on Conrad Weiser’s football team. Donovan Gingrich, the quarterback on that squad, is also a key figure for the Scouts when hoops season arrives. He averaged 8 points and made 43 treys last year as a freshman. Gingrich got off to a hot start versus Antietam. The 6’ guard knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored nine points in the opening quarter. He finished with 15 points. Gavin Rapp, a 6’3 sophomore starter, provided eight points. Conrad Weiser raced out to an 18-11 lead after eight minutes. The Scouts held a 27-23 edge at halftime. They were on top 38-33 after the third period. The Mounts started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run. They used balanced scoring to keep it tight. Archambault, a 6’3 senior, had a team-high 14 points. Jovan Hollis, who just wrapped up his football season at Exeter last Friday, chipped in with 11 points. Eight of the ten points for Reyes-Rodriguez came in the second half. 6’4 sophomore center Julious Williams picked up his third foul with two minutes left in the second quarter. He ended up with nine points. Antietam only connected twice from beyond the arc while Conrad Weiser drilled five 3-pointers. “That’s kind of our thing, live and die by the 3-pointers,” admitted McKee. The Scouts were 17-of-25 from the free throw line. The Mounts went 6-of-9. Antietam won 20 games last season and reached the District 3-2A championship game. Conrad Weiser had an (8-14, 3-8) mark in Miller’s first year at the helm. He was the head coach at Mansfield from 2006-16 before moving on to run the Penn State Berks men’s basketball program in 2018. “Coach [Miller] runs us a lot in the offseason. We’ve put in a lot of hard work. I think we’ve shown a lot of improvement,” said McKee. We also discussed his favorite NBA and NFL teams, as well as his favorite teachers.