Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
It’s fair to say that Wilson and Gov. Mifflin are pretty evenly matched. The Bulldogs won in Shillington by three points in their first meeting. The Mustangs prevailed 65-59 in overtime at West Lawn. The rubber match went down Thursday night at Santander Arena in the BCIAA semifinals. Wilson, the defending champion, led 8-6 after the first quarter and 15-12 at halftime. Gov. Mifflin trailed 30-27 entering the final period. It was a defensive battle from the opening tip. Ian Fleming scored in transition to put the third-seeded Mustangs on top 35-34 midway through the fourth quarter. The junior guard finished with eleven points. A nifty move in the lane by Jahmair Johnson made it 37-36 with 2:45 left. The 6’3 senior had six of his team-high twelve points in the last quarter. Madyx Gruber’s layup gave the second-seeded Bulldogs a 38-37 edge with 2:10 remaining. The All-County guard scored again for a 40-37 advantage. Gruber ended up with 18 points. Matt Koehler tied it with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:22 to go. That was just the second triple of the night for Gov. Mifflin. Wilson attempted to hold for the last shot, but Fleming came up with a steal. With four seconds on the clock, the Mustangs threw the ball away and Correll Akings got off a shot from beyond the NBA 3-point line at the buzzer. His attempt while on the move hit high off the backboard which meant overtime. Luke Levan’s three-point play put the (19-5) Bulldogs in front 43-40 and they never looked back. The 6’6 senior had a game-high 19 points including five in overtime. “I think he was effective because we gave him a lot of touches. I don’t think we gave him enough touches throughout the year, mostly because our guards had a lot of success on the outside. We needed him to step up and he did,” said head coach Matt Coldren. Cam Zullinger found Levan for an easy bucket with 1:20 left in overtime. The (16-8) Mustangs trailed 49-41 at that point. Gruber shut the door with four consecutive free throws in the last minute. Zullinger was 4-for-6 from the stripe in the extra session. The 6’ senior provided ten points off the bench. Wilson was 11-of-13 from the foul line with eleven of those attempts coming in overtime. Gov. Mifflin struggled with its free throws. The Mustangs were 9-of-17 overall and 3-of-8 in the extra period. Koehler, who averages nearly 15 ppg., was limited to six points. Senior point guard Andrew Galantuomo chipped in with ten. The Bulldogs survived and advanced. They’ve won three Berks County titles in the past five years. “I have the opportunity to coach some really great kids. This group has been really dedicated to my program. It’s just a great example of when you put time in, good things happen to you,” remarked Coldren.
Good things have been happening to Reading’s basketball team since mid-January. The fourth-seeded Red Knights knocked off top-seeded Berks Catholic 48-41 in the BCIAA semifinals at Santander Arena. Reading has won nine of its last ten games. “The boys started to trust each other more. Earlier in the year, we were turning the ball over at a ridiculous clip. We limited turnovers, our defense has been tremendous,” said head coach Francis Camara. He also stressed that maintaining their composure at the end of games has been crucial to the turnaround. Camara’s son, Jeremiah, led everyone with 19 points. “I’m super proud of him. He has the utmost confidence. The kid has so much confidence because he works so hard,” noted Camara. Jeremiah, a 5’9 sophomore, was relentless in attacking the basket. He had six of the Red Knights’ 13 points in the fourth quarter. “It’s a proud moment as a father. It’s beautiful to see. I got a front row seat to watch my son play high school basketball,” emphasized Camara. Reading went on a 9-0 run to start the second quarter and build a 23-11 advantage. The (13-11) Red Knights were up 27-18 at the break. They went scoreless for nearly five and a-half minutes in the third quarter as the Saints climbed within 27-23. A three-point play by Zach Suski made it 31-28 with 1:42 left in the period. Weshly Rosario fed Xavier Beatty for a layup at the buzzer and a 35-28 lead. A steal and layup by Camara extended Reading’s cushion to 41-30 with five and a-half minutes remaining. He scored again with 90 seconds to go after the Red Knights beat Berks Catholic’s pressure. That layup put the (18-5) Saints in a 45-37 hole. Brady Altimar scored and was fouled with 53 seconds to play. The 5’9 junior missed the free throw, but cut the deficit to 46-41. Reading beat the Saints’ trap again which resulted in a layup for Jostin DeCastro with 45 seconds left. The 6’2 sophomore contributed 14 points including six in the final eight minutes. The Red Knights were 6-for-11 from the foul line, while Berks Catholic went 5-for-9. Each team only made two 3-pointers. Kingston McKoy jammed 14 of his 16 points into the first half. The 6’2 junior guard leads Berks County in scoring at 22 ppg. Suski added seven points and freshman guard Carmelo Harper had six off the bench. The Saints had won ten of their previous eleven contests. They Division 1 champions swept Reading in the regular season. The Red Knights didn’t qualify for the District 3 playoffs for the first time since 2001 when they finished (13-13). Friday night’s BCIAA Championship will be their last time taking the court together this season. They square off with Wilson at 8pm. Reading is looking for its 26th Berks County title.
