West Reading Summer League Championship

Over the past two nights, Berks Catholic showed that how you finish, not how you start, is what really matters. On Wednesday, Berks Catholic (Berks Packing) fell behind Exeter 23-9 in the second quarter. Berks Catholic rallied to win that semifinal 55-53. On Thursday, Berks Catholic trailed Wilson (Apella Wealth) by 13 points in the second quarter. Once again, Berks Catholic turned things around in the second half and beat Wilson 47-37 in the West Reading Summer Basketball League Championship. Wilson was outscored 20-3 in the fourth quarter. They were on fire early, making five 3-pointers in the opening period. NeChar Mercado scored eight of his team-high 15 points in the first quarter. The rising sophomore point guard hit a pair of triples. Wilson was in front 21-10 after eight minutes. Mercado drilled a trey from the right wing to make it 26-15 in the second quarter. He added a couple of free throws to increase Wilson’s advantage to 28-15 with one minute remaining before halftime. Matt Coldren’s young team was up 29-19 at the break. Johnny Giesa and Kingston McKoy finished off three-point plays to pull Berks Catholic within 34-27 in the third quarter. Wilson went scoreless for six and a-half minutes in the final period. Gavin Welker drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5:40 to go. All of a sudden, Berks Catholic was only down by two points. McKoy followed with a sensational reverse layup while being fouled. The two-time All-State selection completed the three-point play to put Berks Catholic on top 35-34. A layup by McKoy made it 37-34 with 3:45 left. He sank four straight free throws to give Berks Catholic a 41-35 cushion with one minute remaining. Wilson trailed 45-37 after Brady Altimar went 2-for-2 from the foul line with 33 seconds to play. McKoy converted two more free throws to seal the deal with 17 seconds on the clock. He ended up with 27 of their 47 points. Welker chipped in with eight points. Correll Akings, the lone returning starter for Wilson, had eleven points.

Berks Catholic won Division 1 of the Ron Krick Memorial League with a (9-3) record during the regular season. Wilson was in second place at (8-4). These squads squared off for the West Reading League title last summer as well. Wilson prevailed 37-35 a year ago.

Berks Catholic left Wyomissing with some individual hardware on Thursday night. McKoy received the Terry Brennan Memorial Most Outstanding Player award. Giesa took home the Woozy Smith Memorial Most Improved Player award. The Bill Snyder Best Defensive Player award went to Exeter’s Jayden Ware. Xavier Negron from Conrad Weiser won the West Reading Drug Store Sportsmanship award.