basketball – Berks Sports Report

Stewart picks Albany

Paul Roberts — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 21:30:20 +0000

It’s become trendy to refer to hard-nosed athletes as “dogs.” Wyomissing basketball standout Amaya Stewart is going to be a great dane. The 6’1 rising senior announced on Wednesday that she’s committed to Albany. The Great Danes were (25-7) overall this past season. They finished (13-3) in the America East Conference.

Stewart has been a first team All-State selection in each of the past two years. She’s a two-time Berks County Player of the Year. Stewart will enter her senior season with 1,339 points. She reached 1,000 points against Middletown on January 13. That also happened to be her birthday. Stewart averaged 19.5 points per game last year. She showed her versatility by stepping outside and hitting 21 three-pointers. Stewart has been a dominant low post player for the Spartans.

Wyomissing has won back-to-back Berks League and District 3-4A championships. Stewart led the Spartans to a (31-1) record a season ago. They fell to Blackhawk 47-31 in the PIAA-4A semifinals. Stewart erupted for a career-high 33 points in a 62-52 victory over Neumann-Goretti in the second round of the state playoffs.

Albany reached the semifinals of the America East Tournament this year. The Great Danes came up short versus Vermont 50-46. They were knocked out in the opening round of the WNIT. Colgate defeated Albany 64-50.

Wilson hires Matt Raquet

Paul Roberts — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 23:55:43 +0000

Wilson has found its new girls basketball head coach. Matt Raquet was approved at tonight’s school board meeting. Raquet graduated from Holy Name in 2005. He was on the Blue Jays’ basketball, football, and track and field teams. Berks Catholic inducted Raquet into its Hall of Fame in 2016.

Raquet spent three years (2010-13) as a graduate assistant/video coordinator with the Temple women’s basketball team. His next stop at the Division I college level was Holy Cross. He was an assistant women’s basketball coach for the Crusaders from 2013-18. Raquet stepped down for family reasons, but later coached one of the top AAU programs in Philadelphia for four years. He moved back to Berks County a few years ago.

Chris Gallo resigned as Wilson’s head coach in early May. He had a record of (65-30) over four seasons. The Bulldogs went (24-5) this year and reached the state playoffs. They lost to Wyomissing 45-36 in the BCIAA championship and finished fourth in the District 3-6A tournament.

Wilson’s starting lineup this past season included four sophomores. Unfortunately, point guard Laila Jones suffered a torn ACL last month during an AAU tournament. The two-time All-County selection has 788 career points. Jones averaged a team-high 16 points as a sophomore.

Correll Akings-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 02:45:35 +0000

The West Reading Summer Basketball League championship came down to the final second. Zach Suski got behind Wilson’s defense after a missed free throw. Suski missed an open layup and the Bulldogs held on for a 37-35 victory over Berks Catholic. “I thought it was gonna be a tie game and we were gonna have to fight through overtime. That game was very tough and it came down to the wire,” said Correll Akings. The Saints had won the previous three West Reading League titles. They battled back after trailing 8-0 and 15-4 on Thursday night. Kingston McKoy finished with a game-high 20 points, including four three-pointers. “He’s so good and crafty. He knows how to get a bucket whenever he needs one,” acknowledged Akings. Suski, who had 12 points, sank a triple from the right corner before the halftime buzzer. Berks Catholic was down 21-14 at the break. Wilson was on top 27-24 after the third quarter. A jump hook by Luke Levan gave the Bulldogs a 33-31 advantage with 1:45 remaining. McKoy’s putback tied the score. A tough floater by Madyx Gruber made it 35-33. A layup by Akings gave Wilson a 37-33 cushion with 36 seconds left. However, Akings missed five consecutive free throws down the stretch which gave the Saints a chance. The rising junior guard still ended up with a team-high 11 points. Levan provided eight points. “He’s developed so much and he’s become such a strong player for us,” emphasized Akings. Gruber received the Terry Brennan Most Outstanding Player award. The rising senior guard had 16 points in a 38-29 semifinal win against Warwick. The Bulldogs captured the West Reading League championship for the first time since 2019. Akings, Gruber, Levan, Tommy McFadden, Jon Etim, Cam Zullinger, and Christo Hunsicker are all back from the team that won the BCIAA title this year. “The chemistry is getting stronger and stronger day in and day out. I love the guys so much. They mean a lot to me,” said Akings.

West Reading League Playoffs

Paul Roberts — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:09:38 +0000

The West Reading Summer Basketball League playoffs got underway on Monday. It’s going to be a busy week for the league. The quarterfinals begin at 5:25pm on Tuesday. The semifinals are scheduled for 6pm and 7pm on Wednesday. The championship is on Thursday at 6pm and will be followed by the All-Star Game. If there’s rain this week, the games will be moved to Wyomissing’s old high school gym.

Here are the results from the first round of the playoffs:

Wilson beat Conrad Weiser 44-23.

Berks Catholic got by Daniel Boone 45-39.

Exeter fell to Warwick 29-27.

Gov. Mifflin defeated Ephrata 31-22.

Wyomissing knocked out Fleetwood 50-32.

Hamburg lost to Schuylkill Valley 40-33.

Antietam rolled over Kutztown 43-24.

High Point eliminated Oley Valley 47-38.

Matt Coldren-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:26:50 +0000

The extreme temperatures haven’t slowed down Wilson’s boys basketball team this summer. After beating Exeter 54-37 last week, the Bulldogs improved to (7-0) in the West Reading League. They’re also unbeaten in the Cedar Beach League with a mark of (12-0) in Allentown. “It’s been a good summer. The kids have been very committed. I’m really pleased with where we’re at,” said head coach Matt Coldren. He likes what he has seen on the offensive end of the court. “I think what I’ve been most pleased about is they are sharing the ball which is really huge for us,” noted Coldren. He has an experienced squad with four starters and some key reserves returning from a county championship team. Wilson defeated Reading 54-53 in the Berks Conference Final at Santander Arena. The Bulldogs claimed their third county title in five years. “I think what’s the greatest thing about winning championships…it’s the joy on the kids’ faces and the glow they had,” emphasized Coldren. Wilson finished (17-9) a season ago. Madyx Gruber, Correll Akings, Luke Levan, and Tommy McFadden are all back. Gruber was an All-County selection who averaged nearly twelve points per game. Levan, a 6’5 rising senior, gives the Bulldogs some size. Akings provided a team-high 12.1 ppg. as a sophomore. Coldren has won a school record 408 games over 23 years. He understands that expectations will be high this winter. “I’ve been at Wilson long enough to realize that we’re not really liked so it doesn’t matter whether we’re the favorite or we’re the underdog,” he stated.

Jason Bieber-Fleetwood

Paul Roberts — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 20:33:55 +0000

Fleetwood’s boys basketball team is getting a makeover. The Tigers will look much different this winter. They’ll have five new starters and a new head coach. Jason Bieber takes over for Terry Sitler who retired after twelve years. Bieber is no stranger to Fleetwood. He graduated from the high school in 1994 and lives in the district. In fact, his first coaching position was as an assistant for the Tigers’ boys basketball team. Bieber spent the past two seasons as the girls basketball head coach at Brandywine Heights. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Tulpehocken and Boyertown girls basketball teams. Bieber was with the Trojans for four years. He led the Bears for thirteen seasons. In 2017, Boyertown won the PIAA-6A championship. “It was a magical year…we had five girls that all played college basketball. It was just putting them on the court and guiding them in the right direction,” said Bieber. There will be a bunch of fresh faces in Fleetwood’s lineup this winter. Aiden Soumas, Nate Herb, Hunter Svoboda, Liam Hilburt, and Mason Musitano all graduated after a (20-6) campaign. A lot of playing time will be available in 2024-25. “You all have your opportunity now. It’s brand new, everybody gets a fresh slate,” Bieber told the returning players. He has an overall record of (264-216). Bieber prefers a structured offense. “I do like a lot of sets. We usually have about 6-7 set pieces,” he noted. Bieber is still learning the landscape in the Berks Boys Basketball Conference, but he’s optimistic. “I think we’ll fit in just fine in Berks III and IV. I think a lot of the teams are very similar there,” he replied.

Wrobel Joins the Eagles

Paul Roberts — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 21:14:08 +0000

A former head coach in the Berks Boys Basketball Conference has joined another coaching staff in the county. Brian Wrobel is headed to Reiffton. He spent the past two years as the head coach at Gov. Mifflin. Wrobel will be the head coach of Exeter’s JV team. He’ll also serve as an assistant to Jeff VanGorder. The Eagles finished (19-10) in VanGorder’s first season. Exeter reached the second round of the PIAA-5A tournament this year.

Return of the King(ston)

Paul Roberts — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 20:40:00 +0000

The Berks Catholic boys basketball team received some good news over the weekend. Kingston McKoy was cleared to return to action at the “Bash at the Beach” tournament. McKoy played limited minutes for the Saints. The standout guard suffered a fractured tibia against Reading on January 23rd. Berks Catholic won the game, but lost McKoy for the rest of the season. He averaged 15 points in 14 games as a sophomore. The defensive guru was a third team All-State selection in Class 4A.

The “Bash at the Beach” event was moved indoors this year due to the extreme heat. The Saints defeated Whitehall, the host school, in the semifinals on Sunday evening. McKoy didn’t play in that matchup. He saw just two minutes of action in the championship game versus Parkland. Berks Catholic came up short in the final 40-33 on Sunday night.

West Reading-Sacramento Exchange

Paul Roberts — Thu, 30 May 2024 12:27:00 +0000

The 52nd West Reading-Sacramento Cultural Exchange program is being held in Berks County next month. The Franklin High School boys basketball team from Elk Grove, California will be here for a week beginning on June 11th. Berks Catholic is hosting a tournament on Thursday, June 13th. Franklin, Berks Catholic, Wyomissing, Waynesboro and Smithsburg, Maryland are participating in that event. On June 14th, Franklin will play at Gov. Mifflin at 10 o’clock and then travel to Wilson for another game at 4:30pm. On June 15th, Exeter will entertain Franklin at 10am. Oley Valley will take on Franklin that evening at the West Reading playground. That game is scheduled for 6:20pm.

The Franklin players will get to visit Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C. They will also attend a Reading Fightin Phils game at FirstEnergy Stadium on Saturday, June 15th. In addition, Franklin will take part in basketball clinics at the 3rd & Spruce Recreation Center and West Reading playground.

Konlan Krick-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Tue, 28 May 2024 13:41:00 +0000

Wyomissing has found its new boys basketball head coach. Konlan Krick will be taking over the Spartans’ program. Krick has been an assistant coach at Exeter for the past seven years. He also played for the Eagles and averaged a team-high 14 points during the 2011-12 season.

Krick will be replacing Garrett Etzel at Wyomissing. Etzel spent one year as the Spartans’ head coach. They went (11-11) this winter. Etzel left Wyomissing to become the head coach at Gov. Mifflin, his alma mater. The Spartans will be losing six seniors to graduation including Aiden Schippers, Alex Campbell, and Logan Hyde.