Rick Perez-Reading

After winning its 24th District 3 championship, Reading went eight days without playing a game. The Red Knights’ starting lineup consists of five seniors. They showed no signs of rust on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the state playoffs. Reading was 12-19 from beyond the arc and blew out Haverford 74-43 at the Geigle Complex. “These young men are very self-disciplined. We don’t have to be after them all the time to do what they need to do,” said head coach Rick Perez. A dunk by Ruben Rodriguez gave the (28-1) Red Knights an early 9-3 edge. It was 22-15 after eight minutes. The (14-14) Fords committed 21 turnovers including 15 in the first half. The #12 seed from District 1 trailed 40-22 at the break. Myles Grey sank four 3-pointers in the third quarter. The 5’11 senior put on a shooting clinic in his final home game. Grey hit eight triples and tied his career-high with 30 points. “He’s always the last in the gym every day shooting. It’s just awesome to watch him play,” remarked Perez. Grey only missed twice from long range. He piled up seven rebounds and six steals. Rodriguez finished with 19 points, ten boards, and eight assists. The Rider commit jammed ten points into the first quarter. Rodriguez increased his career total to 1,931 points. Aris Rodriguez chipped in with nine points. Yadiel Cruz provided seven points off the bench as Reading extended its winning streak to 19. Haverford was led by “Googie” Seidman. The senior guard splashed seven treys and poured in 27 points. The Catholic University commit scored more than 1,000 points during his time with the Fords. “As soon as he steps off the bus, you gotta guard him. We knew, everybody was well aware,” noted Perez. Eleven of Seidman’s points came in the final period. Haverford went 10-18 from 3-point land. All eight of Tommy Wright’s points were in the first half. The Red Knights march on to the second round of the PIAA-6A tournament. They’ll take on Upper Darby on Wednesday at Coatesville. That’s a 7:30pm tip. Perez was all smiles on Saturday. He had fun talking about the best dancer on the basketball team. His squad hopes to keep dancing in March.