Francis Camara-Reading

Reading and Coatesville squared off for the 56th time at Martz Hall in Pottsville. This time a trip to the Final Four was on the line in the PIAA-6A tournament. The Red Knights overcame a slow start and rolled to a 62-44 victory. Reading lost to the Red Raiders 69-51 two months ago, and trailed 18-5 in the second quarter on Saturday afternoon. Francis Camara said everything changed during a timeout midway through the second period. “Our boys started to lock in together. I tell them all the time, with us being together we can move mountains,” stated the first-year head coach. The (22-10) Red Knights also switched to a 2-3 zone defense. “We tried to limit their downhill drives and I think our zone did that. We tried to give them different looks and tried to make them uncomfortable. We were very active in the zone,” remarked Camara. Yadiel Cruz was fouled with 2:40 remaining in the first half. Lawrence Brown, a 6’7 sophomore, was also called for a technical foul. Cruz, the BCIAA Player of the Year, made four consecutive free throws to pull Reading within 18-13. That was part of a critical 12-0 run to end the second quarter. Coatesville led 18-17 at the break, but had lost momentum. Reading came out of the locker room on fire. The Red Knights outscored the Red Raiders 18-4 to open the third period. That 30-4 run over the middle quarters put the defending state champions in firm control. They were in front 39-26 entering the final period. Cruz erupted for 17 points in the second half as Reading’s transition game took over. The 6’2 senior finished with 25 points. “Every game he knows he’s gonna get double-teamed. Every game he knows that he’s the focal point of the other team’s scouting report, and every game he comes out and produces. He does it [while] loving his teammates. He’s the most humble kid,” emphasized Camara. Cruz is just eleven points shy of 1,000 in two seasons with the Red Knights. He went 11-for-15 from the foul line. Reading was 19-of-28 from the charity stripe, while Coatesville went 3-of-12. Nick Chapman provided nine points and some clever steals that led to easy layups. The 5’10 senior didn’t play in the first meeting with the Red Raiders due to an eye injury. Malik Osumanu, a 6’5 senior, blocked four shots and Weshly Rosario dished out five assists. Senior guards Nico Sosa and Daquan Burgess combined for eleven points off the bench. Zuri Harris had a team-high 13 points for Coatesville, the #6 seed from District 1. Amon Fowlkes chipped in with eleven points. Dior Kennedy, a 6’3 senior guard, was limited to four. The Red Raiders end up (22-9) in John Allen’s second year as head coach. Allen scored 2,372 points at Coatesville and guided the Red Raiders to their only state title in 2001. The Red Knights evened the all-time series with Coatesville at (28-28). These programs have piled up a total of more than 4,000 wins! Reading will meet Central York in the semifinals on Tuesday. Camara is enjoying the ride. “It’s been fun. If you see me on the sidelines, there’s a lot of sweat going on. I’m working my butt off. I love the journey with these boys. I’m blessed to be in the position that I’m in,” he said.