Aris – Berks Sports Report

Aris Rodriguez-Reading

Paul Roberts — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 10:47:00 +0000

Reading is the highest scoring team in the Berks Conference at 70 points per game. The Red Knights can also play some defense. The District 3 champs rolled over Spring-Ford 55-32 in the PIAA-6A semifinals at Coatesville. The (28-4) Rams were held to 17 points in the first 24 minutes. Reading jumped out to a 13-0 advantage thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Aris Rodriguez. “It was beautiful. We played our hardest defense and they were folding. That’s what we wanted them to do,” said Rodriguez. The (31-1) Red Knights were on top 13-3 after the opening quarter. Spring-Ford was scoreless for six and a-half minutes. The Rams first field goal came 90 seconds into the second period. They trailed 22-13 at the break. Nick Chapman came off the bench and hit a triple to put Reading in front 27-15. That was part of a 12-2 run to kick off the third quarter. Spring-Ford, the District 1 runner-up, was down 36-17 entering the final period. The Rams went on a 10-3 run to climb within 39-27 before Myles Grey sank a pair of free throws. The Red Knights finished 19-28, while Spring-Ford was 13-20 from the charity stripe. Ruben Rodriguez managed two points in the first half. He needed twenty to reach 2,000 for his career. The Rider commit crammed eleven points into the fourth quarter to hit the milestone. The 6’2 guard got to 2,000 points on a floater just inside the foul line with 1:53 remaining. His teammates piled on top of him at midcourt. Rodriguez had 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. He converted nine of his ten free throw attempts. The senior added eight rebounds and five steals. “That’s my brother. I love that man to death. There’s more to come. He has a bright future ahead of him,” emphasized Aris Rodriguez. The two guards aren’t related. Aris chipped in with a dozen points and Grey had seven. The Rams struggled mightily from long range. They shot 1-17 from beyond the arc. E.J. Campbell scored a team-high 17 points. The 6’1 junior provided eight over the last eight minutes. Leading scorer Jacob Nguyen, a 6’4 sophomore guard, was limited to six points. He averaged 16 ppg. this season with 76 triples. Nguyen poured in 25 points against Upper Merion to give Spring-Ford its first PAC title since 2016. He went for 22 in the state quarterfinals versus State College. The Rams advanced to the semifinals for the first time under second-year head coach Joe Dempsey. He had a very successful tenure at La Salle College High School. This was Spring-Ford’s fourth appearance in the PIAA tournament. Reading is no stranger to the postseason. The Red Knights improved to (59-43) all-time in the state playoffs. They’re searching for their third championship. Reading will meet Roman Catholic on Saturday at 8pm at the Giant Center. The Red Knights are riding a 22-game winning streak. “We’ve just been locked in. Nobody is gonna take it from us. We’re not gonna let nobody take it from us,” stated Aris Rodriguez.

Aris Rodriguez-Reading

Paul Roberts — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 09:26:00 +0000

Aris Rodriguez dropped a career-high 30 points on Central York in Reading’s season opener. He drilled four 3-pointers in the first quarter and hasn’t slowed down since. The 6’5 guard averaged 5 points per game a year ago. He’s providing nearly 15 points a night during his senior campaign. Rodriguez set the tone on Tuesday in front of a sold out crowd at Muhlenberg. Eleven of his game-high 18 points came in the first half of a 66-47 victory. Rodriguez reached double digits for the 19th time this season. The (21-1, 11-0) Red Knights completed a perfect run through league play, and extended their winning streak to twelve. The Muhls pulled within one point at the end of the opening period when Kyle Archie hit a jumper from the right corner and was fouled just before the buzzer. Archie’s three-point play made it 10-9. Ruben Rodriguez connected from long distance in the final seconds of the second quarter to put Reading in front 28-20. The Rider commit finished with 14 points giving him 1,777 for his career. The Red Knights kicked off the second half with an 8-0 run and were never threatened again. They led 44-28 entering the fourth quarter. Yadiel Cruz added ten points off the bench and Myles Grey chipped in with seven. “We trust each other. If I’m off, I know Ruben or Myles is gonna be on. Somebody on the team is always gonna be on,” said Aris Rodriguez. He noted that Cruz has been a huge addition. “Him coming from the Dominican Republic was a blessing. I’m glad he’s on the team,” replied Rodriguez. The Muhls were held 15 points below their season average. Rodriguez talked about their defensive game plan. “Stop #1 (Xzavion Robertson) and #2 (Dan Dan Mosquera). That was it. Their offense is done without them,” stated Rodriguez. Robertson, Archie, and Josh Alcantara scored nine points apiece. Mosquera was limited to seven. The all-division guard is putting up nearly 14 points per game. Muhlenberg went 14-16 from the free throw line, while Reading was 18-28. Alcantara hit two of the Muhls’ five triples. Jedaya Ortega gave the Red Knights a boost in the final period when he had seven points. The 6’5 senior forward has gone from 290 pounds at the beginning of the season to 255. This was Ortega’s third appearance of the year. Aris Rodriguez admitted that he didn’t watch the Grammys, but he did rank his top three musical artists. He also gave a pick for the Super Bowl. As for the Red Knights, he knows there’s more work to be done. “We’re not even playing our best yet. [Our] confidence is getting there. We’ve got more to come.”

Aris Rodriguez-Reading

Paul Roberts — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 00:33:00 +0000

If you were looking for highlights for the SportsCenter Top Ten, West Lawn wasn’t the place to be on Thursday. When rivals Reading and Wilson square off, it’s not about style points. “We’re not out here for judges. We’re out here for wins,” said Red Knights’ head coach Rick Perez. Reading prevailed 44-39 in a Division 1 slugfest in front of a great crowd. Only eleven points were scored in the first quarter. The Bulldogs committed ten turnovers in the first eight minutes, yet led 6-5. The (11-1, 3-0) Red Knights went on a 9-to-5 run to begin the second quarter and force a Wilson timeout. Reading was in front 20-17 at the break. Myles Grey and Aidan Melograna traded 3-pointers midway through the third period. Grey provided eight of his thirteen points in the quarter. The 5’11 senior added eight steals. The Red Knights were on top 36-28 entering the final period thanks to a pair of buckets from junior guard Yadiel Cruz. Nico Sosa hit a triple to start the fourth quarter and increase Reading’s advantage to eleven points. However, the (8-2, 2-1) Bulldogs held the Red Knights scoreless for the next six minutes. Seamus Breslin limited Rider commit Ruben Rodriguez to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. Rodriguez entered the game averaging 23.5 points. The 6’2 guard has 1,556 points in his career. Aris Rodriguez went 4-4 from the foul line down the stretch. The 6’5 senior guard made two free throws with 34 seconds remaining. Cleveland Harding’s layup pulled Wilson within 42-39 with ten seconds to go. Aris Rodriguez sank two more from the stripe with nine seconds to play to ice it. “Just close my eyes and [have] tunnel vision. It’s just me and the rim, just shoot the ball and I know it’s going in,” stated Rodriguez. He ended up with a game-high fourteen points. Rodriguez gave credit to the Bulldogs. “They came to play…It was super physical. We always knew that they were gonna be physical,” noted Rodriguez. He went crashing to the floor after trying to dunk a pass off the backboard from Grey in the first half. Rodriguez had a big bag of ice on his back after the game, but told me that he was fine. Reading shot just 2-16 from beyond the arc, while Wilson went 3-8. The Bulldogs were hurt by 24 turnovers. Melograna, a 6’3 senior, had a team-high eleven points. Harding chipped in with ten and Ofure Odiale contributed nine. Wilson was 8-12 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs have dropped five straight against the Red Knights. Wilson was once again without all-division point guard Cam Jones due to injury. The Holy Cross football commit is expected to return soon. The Bulldogs host Spring-Ford on Saturday afternoon. Reading had been putting up 72 points a night. The Red Knights only managed eight points in the final quarter, but held on in a playoff atmosphere. “It was beautiful. That’s what we love playing against, especially when the crowd is against us. It’s great energy,” emphasized Aris Rodriguez.

Aris Rodriguez-Reading

Paul Roberts — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 11:13:00 +0000

You’re already very familiar with Ruben Rodriguez. The 6’2 senior guard is a two-time, first team all-state selection with more than 1,000 points over the past two years at Reading. You’re probably not nearly as familiar with Aris Rodriguez. Until now. The 6’5 senior guard turned Tuesday’s season opener against Central York into his coming out party. He knocked down four 3-pointers in just four and a-half minutes, and jammed 14 points into the first quarter. Aris Rodriguez poured in a career-high 30 points in an 87-68 rout of a talented Panthers’ squad. He gave credit to the fans at the Geigle Complex for energizing him. “It’s beautiful. It’s a blessing. We just know that if we have a home game, it’s gonna be packed,” said Rodriguez. The Red Knights are (502-97) all-time at the Geigle which opened prior to the 1973-74 season. A breakaway dunk by Rodriguez gave Reading a 27-14 edge early in the second quarter. Central York got within 37-29 before he hit another triple with 1:50 remaining until halftime. The defending Berks County and District 3-6A champions were on top 48-34 at the break. The teams combined for 48 points in the second period. Ruben Rodriguez kicked off the third quarter with a trey from the right corner and the Red Knights were never threatened. The Rider commit finished with 31 points including 18 in the second half. He’s up to 1,322 career points. There are four seniors in Reading’s starting lineup. “We’ve been playing since we were young so the chemistry is there. You’re gonna pass the ball and you’re gonna get it back,” noted Aris Rodriguez. He praised senior forward Amier Burdine for his interior defense. “Amier is a dog. He’s been a dog since second grade. He’s always been that small guy to guard a big man and keep him off the block,” replied Aris Rodriguez. Central York got a boost when 6’8 sophomore Ben Rill transferred from Westtown. The lefty had a team-high 24 points. Greg Guidinger, a 6’6 junior forward, added 16 points. He kept the Panthers hanging around in the second quarter with 12 points. Guidinger has offers from Drexel, Toledo, and Robert Morris. There were 41 combined free throw attempts. Central York went 17-24 while Reading was 14-17. The Panthers committed 23 turnovers and only made three shots from beyond the arc. The Red Knights splashed nine 3-pointers, six came from Aris Rodriguez who averaged 5.4 points a season ago. His brother, Rene Rodriguez, was a guard on the 2021 state championship team. Aris told me that the Lakers are his favorite NBA team right now because of former Reading star Lonnie Walker. “He had me on my feet when I was like 7 [years old]. He was a big inspiration, especially coming from the same part of town. He represented the hood a lot,” said Rodriguez. Walker is averaging 16 points for the Lakers this year. If Aris Rodriguez continues to perform like he did on Tuesday night, he’ll be inspiring the next generation of Red Knights. Rick Perez earned his 250th victory. This is his 12th season as head coach. He’s one win shy of tying Jim Gano’s school record. Perez has guided Reading to two state titles, four District 3 crowns, and five Berks County championships. Perez took part in a pregame ceremony to remember former head coach Pete Carril who passed away in August at 92. Carril led the Red Knights from 1958-66 with an outstanding mark of (145-42). He spent one season at Lehigh before taking over the Princeton men’s basketball program. From 1967-96, Carril won 514 games and 13 Ivy League titles. The Tigers made eleven appearances in the NCAA tournament. Carril was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. All of the Reading High coaches wore bow ties in his honor on Tuesday.