Edwin Suarez-Muhlenberg

Fans were standing in the corners of Muhlenberg’s gymnasium Tuesday night. Tickets for the Muhls’ crossover matchup with the Red Knights were sold out by Monday morning. Division 2 champion Muhlenberg was riding a five-game winning streak, while Division 1 champ Reading had won seven in a row. Longtime Red Knights’ assistant Matt Flowers was coaching against his good friend Rick Perez. Plus, it was Senior Night in Laureldale. This one definitely lived up to the hype! The seniors for Muhlenberg came through down the stretch for a heart-pounding 63-61 victory. It didn’t look good for the Muhls early in the fourth quarter when they trailed the defending Class 6A state champs by ten points. Edwin Suarez told his teammates that they were playing too fast and just needed to relax. The 6’6 senior finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds. His putback gave Muhlenberg a 58-56 advantage with 90 seconds remaining. It was their first lead since it was 2-0. Suarez and classmate Alex Tomlinson each scored eight points in the final period. Tomlinson, who averages 3.5 points, sank two free throws to make it 60-58 with one minute to go. Following a layup by Joey Chapman, Tomlinson’s putback put the Muhls on top 62-60 with thirty seconds to play. Ruben Rodriguez, the leading scorer in Berks County at 20 points per game, then missed a pair of foul shots. After a Muhlenberg turnover, Chapman connected on one of his two free throws to get Reading within 62-61. Tashiro Alexis was fouled with six seconds on the clock. The senior guard was scoreless up until that moment. He went 1-2 from the FT line and the Muhls led 63-61. Rodriguez was unable to get off a clean look in the closing seconds. The Muhls’ student section stormed the court when the buzzer sounded. Muhlenberg outscored Reading 25-16 in the fourth quarter. Suarez, Tomlinson, and fellow senior Jarrett Jackson combined for twenty of those points. Jackson has two big baskets in the final period. Junior point guard “Dan Dan” Mosquera provided twelve points including ten in the first half. The (17-5, 9-2) Muhls trailed 18-17 after the opening quarter and 30-27 at the break. They scored just one point in the first four and a-half minutes of the second quarter. Rodriguez, an all-state pick last season as a sophomore, splashed a triple from NBA range at the end of the third quarter. The 6’1 guard nailed another trey from the top of the key one minute into the final period. The (18-3, 10-1) Red Knights were up 50-40. They struggled mightily at the FT line going 10-23. Muhlenberg was 6-13. Each team only made three 3-pointers. Rodriguez had a team-high 17 points, but was 3-10 from the stripe. 6’2 forward Xavier Davis chipped in with eleven points and sharpshooter Myles Grey added nine. Daniel Alcantara picked up two fouls in the first quarter. The 6’5 senior was limited to seven points, nine below his season average. Suarez described what Flowers has meant to him. The first-year head coach is a 2001 Muhlenberg graduate. He spent twelve years as an assistant at Reading. Suarez acknowledged the fans for giving them energy. He told me that the Muhls can go far in the Berks County playoffs which begin on Monday.