Josh McKoy, Parker Nein power top-seeded Berks Catholic past Antietam
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Parker Nein scored 11 first-quarter points as top-seeded Berks Catholic blitzed eighth-seeded Antietam 61-38 in a Berks Conference quarterfinal Monday at Wolf Gymnasium.
The Mounts (12-11) scrambled back into it in the second quarter, outscoring the Saints 10-4. They went into halftime trailing 23-13.
Josh McKoy took care of things after that. The 6-4 senior jammed 16 of his game-high 27 points into the third quarter as the Saints (20-2) pulled away. They led 46-25 entering the final quarter.
Berks Catholic advances to meet fourth-seeded Wilson Wednesday in a semifinal at Santander Arena at 7. The Bulldogs advanced with a 74-51 win over Exeter.
The Saints were never threatened, building a 19-2 lead after one quarter. Nein and McKoy combined for 16 of the 19 points.
The senior duo ended up with 46 of the Saints’ 61 points. No one else scored more than three points.
Berks Catholic has been playing without Berks Player of the Year candidate Kingston McKoy for the past three weeks, since he was lost for the season with a broken leg against Reading High. The Saints have gone 6-2 since his injury.
Despite a pair of late-season losses following an 18-0 start Berks Catholic’s top seed was not challenged by any rival coaches at the year-end league seeding meeting.
Shawn Raffety led the Mounts with 10 points; AJ Scheifly had nine.
The victory was the 11th in 12 Berks quarterfinal playoff games for the Saints; they have made the league playoffs every year but 2021.
Antietam has not won a league playoff game since 1993.
The Mounts will be idle until Feb. 23, when the District 3 Class 2A Tournament tips off. They are expected to be the No. 3 seed and open on the road against the No. 2.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Antietam | 2 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 38 |
| Berks Catholic | 19 | 4 | 23 | 15 | 61 |
| Mounts (12-11) | FG | FT | Points |
| Kauffman | 3 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Scheifly | 4 | 1-2 | 9 |
| J. Coste | 2 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Raffety | 4 | 0-0 | 10 |
| Williams | 0 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Shrem | 1 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Severino | 0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Heller | 0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| N. Coste | 2 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Marrero | 0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Totals | 16 | 2-4 | 38 |
| Saints (19-2) | FG | FT | Points |
| Dominguez | 1 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Nein | 7 | 3-4 | 19 |
| J. McKoy | 8 | 10-13 | 27 |
| Altimar | 1 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Suski | 1 | 1-1 | 3 |
| Komoro | 1 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Garcia | 0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Kozik | 1 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Fidler | 0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Manon | 0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Diaz | 1 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Totals | 21 | 14-18 | 61 |
3-pointers: Antietam – Raffety 2, N. Coste, J. Coste. Berks Catholic – Nein 2, J. McKoy, Altimar, Kozik.
