Zyion Paschall-Exeter

Exeter point guard Zyion Paschall takes a lot of pride in his defense. “I feel like I’m one of the best defenders in the county, and I really don’t care who you are. I’m gonna lock you down,” stated Paschall. The 5’10 senior also came through on the other end of the court in the Eagles’ 57-50 victory over Muhlenberg on Monday. Paschall scored a career-high 17 points while holding “Dan Dan” Mosquera to three. The Muhls’ senior guard entered the night averaging 13.5 ppg. Josh Alcantara got Muhlenberg off to a good start. The 6’4 senior forward hit three triples to put the Muhls on top 11-6 midway through the opening quarter. Alcantara, who had only made eleven treys all season, finished with a team-high 15 points. He connected on five of Muhlenberg’s eight 3-pointers. His fourth shot from long range tied it at 16 in the second period. Exeter then went on a 14-6 run. The (8-4, 4-2) Eagles had a 31-24 edge at halftime. The (8-6, 3-3) Muhls began the third quarter by scoring eight straight points. Anthony Caccese and Kevin Saenz both picked up their fourth fouls, but Exeter maintained a 41-37 advantage entering the final eight minutes. Saenz and Caccese had been combining for nearly 24 points per game. Muhlenberg opened the fourth quarter with a 6-1 run thanks to 3-pointers from Luis Valentin and Alex Collado. The Eagles responded by scoring the next eight points. They led 50-43 after Teddy Snyder’s baseline floater midway through the period. “Every single team is gonna have a run, and it just depends on how you react to it. I think we reacted very well. We just kept our composure and played defense,” replied Paschall. Saenz made a pair of free throws with two minutes remaining to make it 54-50. After Xzavion Robertson’s triple rattled out, Snyder got a layup in transition with twenty seconds left. Paschall splashed five of his last six free throw attempts. Exeter had been shooting 59% from the stripe as a team. The Eagles were 13-of-17 against the Muhls, including 10-13 in the fourth quarter. Muhlenberg went just 9-17 from the foul line. Robertson came into the week as the sixth-highest scorer in the Berks Conference at 16.5 ppg. The 5’11 senior was limited to eight points. Valentin ended up with nine. Reece Garvin was responsible for three of Exeter’s four 3-pointers. The 6’3 junior provided 13 points. Snyder contributed a dozen. The Eagles have relied on balanced scoring all season. They’ve won three of their last four contests. It was Youth Night in Reiffton. The kids had a reason to smile after this intense crossover matchup.