Tyler Givens-Berks Catholic

Saints’ head coach Snip Esterly was worried that Tyler Givens wouldn’t be able to play against Exeter on Thursday. Givens strained his Achilles tendon during the game with Reading on Monday. Not only was the 6’3 senior forward in the lineup, Givens was Berks Catholic’s leading scorer in the first quarter. The Saints jumped out to a 19-12 advantage over the Eagles. Givens, who averages four points a night, had six in the first eight minutes. The TE/DE on the football team finished with nine points in a 60-40 victory. Givens told me that he loves playing at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. We talked about the odd situation before tipoff when the gym was evacuated because a fire alarm had been pulled. The short delay didn’t impact Berks Catholic’s defense. Givens said Esterly always stresses giving maximum effort on that end of the floor. Exeter went scoreless for the first four and a-half minutes of the second quarter. The (16-3, 8-3) Saints allowed eight points in that period and just six in the fourth. Berks Catholic was in front 27-20 at halftime and 42-34 after the third quarter. The Saints went on a 10-2 run to open the final period, and the (10-9, 5-6) Eagles never threatened again. Exeter was without second-leading scorer and versatile defender Joey Schlaffer. The 6’6 junior injured his left wrist on Monday at Wilson. Schlaffer averages nearly eleven points and is committed to Penn State for football. Givens gave credit to point guard JayJay Jordan for slowing down Colin Payne. The Eagles’ 6’3 senior guard had nine points. Payne entered the game as the top scorer in Berks County at 20 ppg. Jordan led the way with a game-high 16 points. He answered a 3-pointer by sophomore Kevin Saenz with one of his own late in the third quarter. Givens added a trey from the top of the key in the final minute of that quarter. Exeter went from down two points to trailing by eight. Aidan Sands chipped in with eleven points. Ryan Koch and Jack Miller had eight apiece. Berks Catholic drilled seven triples, but was just 9-18 from the free throw line. Exeter went 7-8 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Teddy Snyder provided a team-high ten points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter. 6’6 junior Anthony Caccese finished with eight points. The Eagles have lost five of their last six contests. They’re still in good shape to qualify for the District 3-5A playoffs. Meanwhile, the Saints are #1 in the Class 4A power rankings. Givens addressed some things that they need to improve on. He mentioned showing more patience on offense and communicating better. We also discussed his favorite class and teacher at Berks Catholic. Plus, Givens had strong words for Madden NFL players in Berks County, and he gave a Super Bowl prediction!