Elijah Komoro-Berks Catholic

Elijah Komoro had a conversation with longtime head coach Snip Esterly before the season. “Coach told me I have a role, play defense and you’re gonna be on the court,” said Komoro. The 6’ senior forward took those words to heart. Berks Catholic bottled up Blue Mountain 43-32 in the first round of the PIAA-4A playoffs at Orwigsburg. The (23-5) Eagles entered the night averaging 64 points. The District 11 runner-up had just five points after the opening quarter. Komoro helped to limit sophomore guard Tyeirre Meade to seven points. Meade was scoreless in the first half when the Saints took a 21-15 advantage to the locker room. “He’s a really crafty guard. He can get to the basket. Coach said he had 49 3s so I tried to get a hand out there,” explained Komoro. Berks Catholic ended the second period on an 8-to-2 run. Josh McKoy, who averages 17 ppg., didn’t score in the first half. The 6’3 senior took control of the game in the third quarter with seven points. Berks Catholic built a 28-17 cushion. Blue Mountain responded well and pulled within 30-25 entering the final period. Komoro finished two layups to give the (23-4) Saints some breathing room. They were on top 40-32 with 1:45 remaining. Komoro provided a career-high nine points. He had scored just 36 points all season before Friday. Komoro gave credit to McKoy for some sweet assists. “A lot of people underrate his vision, but he knows how to get to the basket and get it to us,” replied Komoro. Parker Nein had a game-high 13 points including eleven in the first half. The 6’2 senior made half of Berks Catholic’s six 3-pointers. McKoy added nine points and Altimar chipped in with five. Isaac Thomas led the Eagles with a dozen points. The 6’5 Wilkes commit connected twice from long range. Blue Mountain hit five triples and only committed six turnovers. The Eagles were 1-of-2 from the foul line while the Saints went 5-for-8. Blue Mountain fell in the first round of the state tournament for the second straight year. Berks Catholic advanced to play Neumann-Goretti on Tuesday. The Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse has claimed nine PIAA championships. If the Saints want to pull off the upset, they’ll need another stellar effort on the defensive end.