Snip Esterly-Berks Catholic

Berks Catholic squared off with Muhlenberg on Friday at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. If you thought the Saints were going to be flat after an intense 72-64 win over Exeter on Thursday, think again. Berks Catholic hammered the Muhls 64-39. Head coach Snip Esterly gave credit to his players for the perfect (10-0) start to the season. “We do work our butts off. Six o’clock in the morning in the summertime, Monday through Friday, these kids were in the gym working their tails off,” emphasized Esterly. Josh McKoy scored eight of his fifteen points in the opening quarter to give the Saints an 18-14 advantage. Berks Catholic held Muhlenberg to six points in the second quarter for a 35-20 halftime lead. The Saints continued to dominate in the third period when they outscored the Muhls 22-9. Parker Nein and Kingston McKoy each made a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter. They combined for 18 points in those eight minutes. Nein, a 6’2 senior, finished with a game-high 20 points. “The young man is a gamer. He’s an intense individual. He’s so much more mature than he was last year,” noted Esterly. Nein, who has been dealing with a left thigh contusion, appeared to have hurt his right ankle late in the second quarter. He looked fine, however, in the third quarter when he scored ten points. Kingston McKoy added 17 points while playing terrific defense. “Kingston is the #1 kid that gets everybody on the same wavelength. He’s an incredible leader,” remarked Esterly. Keep in mind that he’s talking about a sophomore. Muhlenberg was held 25 points below its season average. The (8-5, 3-2) Muhls were coming off a double overtime victory against Reading on Tuesday. Alex Collado, Muhlenberg’s leading scorer at 16ppg., was shutout by Berks Catholic. Shermar Killens ended up with a team-high ten points. “They love transition. We wanted to get them in a half-court game as much as we possibly could,” explained Esterly. The Muhls didn’t hit a single shot from beyond the arc. They were 7-of-12 from the free throw line, while the Saints went 9-for-11. Esterly was honored before the game with Exeter for reaching 800 career wins. He’s (802-217) over 35 years, including 13 seasons at Berks Catholic. “It’s so special because so many people are involved in this. The coaches to the players to faculty to my lovely wife and my kids,” said Esterly.