Myles Grey-Reading

Myles Grey was the smallest player on the floor Wednesday night when Downingtown West visited the Geigle Complex for a Class 6A state playoff opener. Grey was rudely introduced to the biggest player on the court in the first quarter. The 5’11 junior got leveled on a screen by Drew Shelton. The 6’5, 290-pound senior is committed to Penn State as an offensive tackle. Grey said, “I was kind of fired up after that.” He responded by drilling a 3-pointer on the next possession. Grey was able to joke about that sequence after scoring eleven points in a 56-42 victory over the (18-9) Whippets. Downingtown West, the #12 seed from District 1, trailed 13-2 before going on a 9-0 run. The (26-3) Red Knights led 13-11 after the first eight minutes. Point guard Dylan Blair hit consecutive triples to put the Whippets on top 19-16 midway through the second quarter. The 5’11 junior is a 1,000 point scorer. Blair dropped 24 points on Wilson in a 60-47 win on January 22nd. His father, Damien, is the head coach at West Chester University. Reading happens to have a dynamic junior guard of its own. Ruben Rodriguez’s three-point play pulled the Red Knights within 22-21 with one minute to go in the first half. Justin Walker finished a reverse layup before the buzzer for a 23-22 Reading advantage at the break. Grey told me that Walker is an energetic player and very positive person off the court. The 6’1 senior chipped in with five points off the bench. The Red Knights started the third quarter with a 9-2 run. They entered the final period with a 38-32 edge. Grey provided their first five points of the fourth quarter. He splashed a trey from the right corner and then made a floater in the lane. We discussed how he has worked on that part of his game. Grey was responsible for all three of Reading’s 3-pointers against Downingtown West. The all-division pick is up to 56 this season which puts him third in the Berks Conference. Cooper Hardin connected from beyond the arc in the left corner with 1:10 remaining. That shot got the Whippets within six points. Rodriguez sank four consecutive free throws and the Red Knights’ cushion was at 52-42 with 31 seconds to play. Rodriguez threw down a dunk for the exclamation point with twenty seconds on the clock. The slam followed one of 26 turnovers committed by Downingtown West. Grey talked about their game plan of trapping Blair and then denying him the ball. Blair had a team-high 15 points, but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. He fouled out with 31 seconds left. Rodriguez poured in 23 points including eight in the final period. The 6’1 junior raised his career total to 1,270. Xavier Davis added eight points for the District 3 champions. The Red Knights were 13-23 from the foul line. While it certainly wasn’t their best shooting night, they only had ten turnovers. Grey stressed how their shot selection improved after falling behind by four in the second quarter. He also emphasized how electric Rodriguez is in transition. The Berks County Player of the Year is averaging twenty points this season. Grey elaborated on the intense conditioning drills that the Red Knights do at practice. They believe that they can wear down teams in the second half. Reading outscored Downingtown West 33-20 over the last sixteen minutes. 6’9 junior Jake Warren ended up with eight points and Shelton had seven. The Whippets went 6-9 from the charity stripe and made six 3-pointers. This was the final home game of the season for the Red Knights. They went (13-1) at the Geigle. They’re (501-97) at the well known venue since it opened before the 1973-‘74 season. Reading will square off with Archbishop Wood in the second round on Saturday. The Red Knights defeated the Vikings 58-57 in last year’s state final. Reading got past Wood 64-58 on January 22nd. Rodriguez had 19 points in that one.