Ruben Rodriguez-Reading

How explosive are the Red Knights? Berks Catholic made twelve 3-pointers and still lost to Reading by 17 points. Saints’ coach Snip Esterly told me that they won’t face a tougher opponent all season. I don’t think anyone would argue with Esterly who has won 761 games over 33 years. Berks Catholic trailed by ten in the second quarter before Ryan Koch got hot. The 6’3 junior scored eight consecutive points to give the Saints a 32-30 advantage. They were even at 36 at halftime. Then Ruben Rodriguez illustrated why he was a first-team all-state selection last season. The 6’1 junior erupted for 15 points in the third quarter. The (17-2, 9-0) Red Knights were in front 62-54 entering the final period. Rodriguez added ten more points over the last eight minutes to finish with 35. Reading prevailed 87-70 for its sixth victory in a row. This was the first sell out at Berks Catholic, and Rodriguez told me that the Saints’ fans motivated him. He thought the tempo definitely favored the Red Knights. The highest-scoring squad in Berks County put up 51 points in the second half. Berks Catholic was allowing just 50 per contest. Rodriguez emphasized that ball movement was the key over the last two quarters. He said head coach Rick Perez wanted ten passes per possession. The players on the bench were counting them out loud. Perez is (240-71) over eleven years. Jim Gano holds the school record for wins with 251. Rodriguez is up to 1,082 career points. He scored ten points in the first two minutes and ten seconds of the third quarter! Rodriguez got plenty of help against the (15-3, 7-3) Saints. Daniel Alcantara contributed 24 points. The 6’5 senior showed his versatility by knocking down four of Reading’s five treys. 6’2 senior forward Xavier Davis went for a career-high 15 points including nine in the third period. Rodriguez praised Davis for his leadership on and off the court. We also talked about facing junior point guard JayJay Jordan. He ended up with 20 points for Berks Catholic. Jordan went to the bench midway through the first quarter after getting his second foul. Koch had a team-high 22 points and five 3-pointers. Aidan Sands (14) and Jack Miller (10) were also in double digits. The Saints’ seven-game winning streak came to a halt. They committed 25 turnovers and went 8-17 from the charity stripe. The Red Knights were 8-10. Both teams are on top of the District 3 power rankings in their respective classes.