Snip Esterly-Berks Catholic

Exeter guard Colin Payne came into Thursday’s Division 1 matchup at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium as the leading scorer in Berks County. The 6’3 senior was averaging 20 points a night. I asked Saints’ coach Snip Esterly what his plan was to try and slow down Payne. He simply replied, “JayJay.” Josiah “JayJay” Jordan limited Payne to nine points including just two in the first half. Berks Catholic improved to (16-3, 8-3) with a 60-40 victory over the Eagles. Exeter has dropped five of its last six games. The (10-9, 5-6) Eagles were without their second-leading scorer and rebounder in Joey Schlaffer. The 6’6 junior suffered a left wrist injury on Monday at Wilson. The Penn State football commit is averaging ten points and seven rebounds this season. Jack Miller knocked down a trey before the buzzer to give the Saints a 19-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Berks Catholic held Exeter scoreless for the first four and a-half minutes of the second period. The Saints were up 27-20 at halftime. The Eagles got within two late in the third quarter when sophomore Kevin Saenz drilled a triple from the top of the key. Jordan answered moments later with a 3-pointer of his own. Tyler Givens followed with another shot from beyond the arc and Berks Catholic led 42-34 entering the final period. The Saints put it away with a 10-2 run to open the fourth quarter. Ryan Koch’s fast-break layup made it 52-36 with five minutes remaining. That bucket came after one of Exeter’s 18 turnovers. Jordan scored a game-high 16 points to go along with seven steals. Aidan Sands chipped in with eleven points. Koch and Miller each provided eight. Esterly was worried that Givens wouldn’t be able to play due to an Achilles tendon strain that occurred in Monday’s 87-70 loss to Reading. It didn’t slow down Givens who had six points in the first eight minutes and nine overall. Esterly said the 6’3 senior understands his role and has been playing better lately. Givens set a career-high with 14 points against Gov. Mifflin last Friday. Teddy Snyder finished with a team-high ten points for the Eagles. He connected from downtown twice in the first quarter. 6’6 junior Anthony Caccese had eight points. Exeter was 7-8 from the free throw line, while Berks Catholic went 9-18. The Saints hit seven 3-pointers. Esterly believes that this is one of his better shooting clubs. Exeter head coach Matt Ashcroft was a very good shooter in his days at Central Catholic. Esterly and I talked about his former player with the awkward, yet effective jump shot. Ashcroft was a 1,000-point scorer for the Cardinals. He helped them capture a state championship in 2007. Esterly also discussed a funny moment that he had on Thursday with official Tim Nigrini. Plus, Esterly called Reading one of the best teams in the “country.” Esterly is (762-210) over 33 years as a head coach.