30th win sends Reading High back to state semifinals after rout of New Castle
(This story will be updated later today with additional details and postgame reaction.)
ALTOONA — Ruben Rodriguez will be the first to tell you he didn’t do it all by himself, but it looked that way for a while.
The All-State guard had nine points in the first quarter and was personally outscoring New Castle into the third quarter in Reading High’s 72-48 rout of New Castle Saturday in a PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal at Altoona HIgh School.
Rodrigez, who sat much of the fourth quarter, finished with a game-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting. The Rider University recruit is now at 1,980 career points.
The District 3 champion Red Knights (30-1) advance to meet Spring-Ford, a 45-39 winner over State College. A site for that game will be announced Sunday.
Myles Grey scored 16 points and Aris Rodriguez had 15 points on 7-of-shooting for Reading, which has won 21 straight games. Da’Juan Young led the Red Hurricanes (24-4) with 18 points.
The Red Knights gave the Hurricanes fits with their defense from the start, picking off several passes on the offensive end and taking them back for scores. Ruben Rodriguez’s steal and layup turned into a three-point play and 15-5 lead five minutes into the game.
Yadiel Cruz also had a steal and uncontested layup during a 15-4 Reading bust that made it 19-7 with less than two minutes to go in the first quarter. The Red Knights had five steals and forced seven turnovers in the opening period, and 18 overall.
The lead grew to 15 when Cruz put back a miss early in the second quarter. Rodriguez had 15 first-half points and Reading led 33-20 at intermission. He scored his 25th point three minutes into the third quarter, giving Reading a 45-24 lead.
The Red Knights shot a sizzling 62 perent from the field and 70 percent from 2-point range.
The last time the Red Knights reached 30 wins Lonnie Walker IV was soaring above local rims. They are back in the state semifinals for the second time in three years and fourth time in eight years, since Walker’s junior season. Reading has won more than 85 percent of its games over that span, going 205-35.
Ruben Rodriguez and Grey were starters on Reading’s last state semifinal team and Amier Burdine was a key reserve. They won their state semifinal on this same court, beating Upper St. Clair 68-46. Ruben Rodriguez had 18 points in that win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| New Castle | 10 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 48 |
| Reading High | 19 | 14 | 24 | 13 | 72 |
| Red Hurricanes (24-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Young | 8-10 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
| Boice | 5-10 | 0-0 | 3-7 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Blundo | 2-7 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Anderson | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| McNight | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wallace | 4-8 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Totals | 20-39 | 3-4 | 5-17 | 9 | 15-15 | 48 |
| Red Knights (30-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Burdine | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Grey | 7-15 | 2-2 | 0-5 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| R. Rodriguez | 11-16 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 1 | 6 | 27 |
| A Rodriguez | 7-9 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Osumanu | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cruz | 4-5 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Chapman | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ortega | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Sosa | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Burgess | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Samuel | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 31-50 | 7-10 | 3-10 | 7 | 21-23 | 72 |
Turnovers: New Castle 18, Reading High 8.
