Matt Flowers/Dan Dan Mosquera-Muhlenberg

Paul Roberts — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 09:30:00 +0000

Muhlenberg head coach Matt Flowers calls “Dan Dan” Mosquera the closer. “When it’s under two minutes, I tell him to go get the ball. I tell him to win the game for us,” said Flowers. That’s exactly what Mosquera did on Friday night in a 48-46 victory over Berks Catholic. After JayJay Jordan tied it at 46 with a tip-in, the Muhls held the ball for the final shot. Mosquera came off a high screen and got tripped as he was driving down the left side of the lane. The 5’9 senior guard sank both free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining. “I’m going in there with straight confidence. I want the ball in my hands all the time when it’s under 2-3 minutes. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous but I know my team had faith in me,” replied Mosquera. The Saints had one last chance to keep their perfect season intact. Josh McKoy tipped a long inbounds pass perfectly to Jack Miller for a 3-pointer from the left wing. Miller’s attempt was on line, but a little long as the buzzer sounded in Laureldale. “It’s not even about their first loss. It’s about us. Our kids have been through a very emotional week. I’m very proud of these guys,” emphasized Flowers. Muhlenberg lost at Reading 77-60 on Tuesday. The (8-5, 3-2) Muhls jumped out to an 8-4 advantage over Berks Catholic. Xzavion Robertson scored the first ten points for Muhlenberg including two treys. The Saints led 14-13 after eight minutes, but they went scoreless for three minutes and 21 seconds to begin the second quarter. The Muhls went on top 27-19 when Robertson hit another triple from the left wing. The 5’11 senior poured in 17 points in the first half. The lefty guard is averaging 16.5 points this season, up from 8.6 ppg. last year. The (12-1, 5-1) Saints trailed 27-22 at the break. They went on an 8-0 run to open the third period thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Ryan Koch. Muhlenberg got two buckets from Josh Alcantara and had a 36-35 edge entering the fourth quarter. Miller connected from beyond the arc and freshman Kingston McKoy made a layup to pull Berks Catholic within 43-42 after the Muhls had built a six point lead. Luis Valentin came up with a pivotal steal and layup with 49 seconds to play. The 6’1 senior was recently inserted into the Muhls’ starting lineup. He gave Muhlenberg a 46-42 advantage. Mosquera then put the game on ice from the foul line. He’s an 86 percent free throw shooter. Robertson finished with 24 points. Jordan had a team-high 20 for the Saints. The all-county guard surpassed 1,000 points on Monday against Conrad Weiser. Koch, a 6’3 senior, added eleven points. The Pitt-Johnstown commit is up to 800 for his career. All ten of Josh McKoy’s points came in the first half. Berks Catholic went 10-of-14 from the stripe, while the Muhls were 7-10. Muhlenberg committed just seven turnovers. Flowers noted that the level of play is high in the Berks Conference. “Berks County’s hot right now. I think all of Berks County is playing really good basketball from Division 1 to Division 4,” he said.

Dan Dan – Berks Sports Report

Matt Flowers/Dan Dan Mosquera-Muhlenberg