Snip Esterly-Berks Catholic

Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium only holds about one thousand people. It can get very loud in a hurry. The decibel levels reached a peak right before the third quarter buzzer when Josh McKoy threw down a powerful one-handed dunk. Top-seeded Berks Catholic outscored #4 seed Octorara 17-7 in that period. The (22-4) Saints are headed back to Hershey after a 53-47 victory in the District 3-4A semifinals. “That was a nice momentum builder for us. That gave us a little energy and I thought that might of brought them down a little bit,” said Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly about McKoy’s slam. The 6’2 junior drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner early in the fourth quarter for a 44-34 advantage. The (17-8) Braves pulled within three points on a Zach Kirk layup with one minute remaining. Kingston McKoy, Josh’s younger brother, knocked down two free throws with 34 seconds left to create a five point margin. Jackson Roberts got an open look from the left wing, but the 6’3 senior couldn’t hit the triple. That was Octorara’s last chance. “They were a very good ball club, well coached. I was really impressed with 23 (Elijah Hamilton) and 24 (Zach Kirk), replied Esterly. Hamilton, who reached 1,000 career points in the quarterfinals against Eastern York, poured in 22. He jammed ten points into the opening period, including the Braves’ only two treys. The Saints were on top 17-15 after eight minutes. They trailed 25-24 at halftime. A three-point play by JayJay Jordan broke a tie at 32 with 2:15 to go in the third quarter. Berks Catholic ended that period on a 9-0 run. Jordan was in attack mode in the second half. Thirteen of his fifteen free throw attempts came after the break. The 5’11 senior point guard finished with 20 points. He was 10-15 from the charity stripe. “I’m one of JayJay’s biggest critics and tonight I thought he [played] really well. I thought he got everybody involved,” remarked Esterly. Kingston McKoy, a 6’1 freshman, provided 15 points off the bench. Josh McKoy added nine. Despite being in foul trouble, Kirk ended up with 14 points. The Braves went 9-14 from the foul line, while the Saints were 13-19. Each team only committed six turnovers. Esterly mentioned that being the #1 seed was a big factor. “You don’t have to worry about traveling. It’s not the NBA, but riding on a school bus is not fun. It affects your legs a little bit,” noted Esterly. He’s had just two losing seasons over 34 years. Esterly is (791-216) with thirteen District 3 titles. Berks Catholic will be going for its fifth District 3 championship on Thursday afternoon at the Giant Center. The Saints square off against second-seeded Fleetwood at 12:45pm. The (22-3) Tigers crushed Littlestown 58-37 on Monday. Esterly revealed that he voted for Fleetwood’s Terry Sitler for Berks County Coach of the Year. They’ll be on the sidelines in two days with gold medals on the line.