Ruben Rodriguez-Reading

If you thought Reading would be sluggish after traveling three hours to Altoona, think again. The Red Knights jumped on New Castle early and never looked back. Reading blew out the Hurricanes 72-48 in the PIAA-6A quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon. New Castle committed seven turnovers in the first quarter and trailed 19-10 after eight minutes. “When we’re playing defense like that, it just comes easy,” said Ruben Rodriguez. The Rider commit jammed nine points into the opening period. Rodriguez scored eight straight points, including two treys, to begin the third quarter and give the Red Knights a 41-22 advantage. They were on top 57-33 entering the final period. Reading piled up 24 points in the third quarter. Rodriguez finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and three steals. He was 11-16 from the field. The (30-1) Red Knights shot 62% overall. Aris Rodriguez was an efficient 7-9 for 15 points. Myles Grey added 16 points, including eight in the decisive third period. Da’Juan Young, a 6’2 senior, led the (24-4) Hurricanes with 18 points. Isaiah Boice chipped in with 13. Jonathan Anderson was limited to three points. The senior point guard averaged 17 ppg. this season. He had 22 points against Pittsburgh Central Catholic in the WPIAL Championship. New Castle, the District 7 runner-up, couldn’t overcome 19 turnovers on Saturday. The Hurricanes have been one of the elite squads in western Pennsylvania for many years. They won the state title in Class 4A in 2014. New Castle is a four-time state runner-up. Head coach Ralph Blundo is (314-51) with seven WPIAL championships over 13 years. Reading is another storied basketball program in Pennsylvania. The Red Knights are up to 2,244 wins, the most in state history. Reading has captured two PIAA crowns and a record 24 District 3 titles. Ruben Rodriguez is closing in on another milestone. The 6’2 guard is twenty points shy of 2,000. “It’s crazy to think about being so close to two thousand. As long as we get the dub, that’s really all that matters,” he replied. I asked Rodriguez if this was their best performance of the season. “It definitely has to be up there. We played a real complete game. We played hard from start to finish…You never know when it could be your last game,” he said. The Red Knights improved to (58-43) all-time in the state playoffs. The Hurricanes slipped to (49-26). Reading will meet Spring-Ford in the semifinals at Coatesville on Tuesday at 7pm.