Berks hoops review: 5 best games of the ’23-24 season . . . and 5 best of the postseason
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Balance was the buzzword in Berks basketball this season; only Fleetwood, in Berks III, made it through its league schedule unscathed.
The field was particularly even in Berks I where eventual division champ Reading High lost three times in league play and eventual league champ Wilson lost four times.
The Berks I title wasn’t decided until the final night of the season when Reading snapped a first-place tie with Muhlenberg by beating the Muhls. The Berks IV title came down to the final game when Antietam edged Oley Valley in overtime.
Here’s a look at the best games of the season – the five best of the regular season and the five best of the postseason.
There were so many down-to-the-wire contests that Antietam’s pulsating win over Oley didn’t crack the Top 5. Neither did Wilson’s 61-50 win over Central York, which went on to win the PIAA Class 6A championship. That was one of just two regular season losses for the eventual state champs.
Click on the score for a full account of the game and the boxscore.
Coming tomorrow: We’ll break down the best freshmen,
sophomores and the players to watch for the 2024-25 season.
5 best games of the regular season
Berks Catholic 61, Reading High 59
The Game of the Year in Berks – and the most consequential, as well.
The Saints trailed by 14 points in the second quarter, and their big guy, Josh McKoy, was on the bench with three fouls.
Later they saw team leader Kingston McKoy go down with a broken leg – an injury that would end his season. They trailed 47-37 with 2:31 left in the third quarter when he went out.
The Saints, inspired by seeing their best player carried off, rallied for an improbable win.
The Red Knights went ahead by three points three times in the final minutes but each time the Saints clawed back. Parker Nein, who finished with five 3’s and a career-high 27 points, knocked down a corner jumper to tie it with 1:24 left. Josh McKoy scored 18 and tied the game with a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left.
The Saints held Berks scoring leader Yadiel Cruz scoreless in the final quarter after he torched them for 25 through three. When they survived the Knights’ shot at the final buzzer they stormed off the court as though they had just won a championship.
“I don’t know how but we did it,” said jubilant Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly afterward.
The loss was costly. Without Kingston McKoy the Saints went 8-5 down the stretch. They had been favorites to win county and district titles before that.
“To see him go down was hard,” said BC sophomore Zach Suski. “We put it behind us and kept playing.”
Muhlenberg 87, Reading High 74 (2 OT)
Muhlenberg-Reading has developed into the most heated rivalry in the league; with Rick Perez moving from Red Knights head coach to Muhls assistant coach the focus on this neighborhood match-up was at an all-time high.
The Red Knights scored eight points over the final 61 seconds of regulation to send it to overtime, then scored the final bucket of overtime to send it to a second extra period.
Once there they had nothing left. They missed 9-of-10 shots, saw three players foul out and watched helplessly as the Muhls shot them down at the line, making 13-of-14 free throws over the final three minutes to pull away.
Overall, Muhlenberg made 32-of-39 from the foul line; Reading couldn’t overcome that.
Shermar Killen stated his case for a spot on the All-Berks team, scoring a game-high 29 for the Muhls.
“When he plays like that, he’s best player in the county,” said Muhls coach Matt Flowers.
The visiting Muhls led by as many as seven points in the third quarter and had chances to win it at the end of regulation and in overtime but the Bulldogs got key stops.
“We hang our hat on defense,” said Wilson’s Cam Zullinger. “We’re not the biggest, so we’ve gotta make it work on defense.”
Sophomore Correll Akings led the way, scoring a career-high 23 for the Bulldogs, 16 after halftime.
The game was tied for the ninth and last time when the Muhls’ Alex Collado scored in transition to make it 56-56 with 44 seconds remaining in regulation.
Muhlenberg even the score five weeks later with a 61-56 win in Laureldale.
The Red Knights beat the Bulldogs for the second time and positioned themselves for the division title with this early February win at West Lawn.
Freshman Jeremiah Camara fearlessly took the ball to the basket and hit big shots, finishing with a game- and season-high 16 points. That helped make up for a season-low three points by eventual Berks scoring champ Yadiel Cruz, who didn’t score after the first quarter.
The Bulldogs led late in the third quarter before All-Berks guard Nick Chapman took over the game, scoring six late points to help Reading extend its lead.
This mid-January match-up in West Lawn looked every bit like a league championship preview and likely would’ve been had Berks Catholic’s Kingston McKoy not been lost for the year at midseason.
Wilson led by three at the half before Berks Catholic took the lead for good with an eight-point run early in the second half, all of the points scored by the McKoys, Kingston and Josh. They combined for 20 of Berks Catholic’s 23 second-half points.
They provided back-to-back dunks out of the spread early in the fourth quarter to give their team an emotional lift and an eight-point lead.
The Saints won it with defense; they limited the Bulldogs to 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting in the second half.
Berks Catholic’s biggest advantage came inside, where center Josh McKoy scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs were within 40-38 with 2:07 left and within 43-40 with 21 seconds left as All-Berks guard Madyx Gruber, going against Kingston McKoy, the toughest defender in the Berks Conference, kept making near-impossible shots to keep his team in it.
Several others worth noting:
- Wilson 61, Central York 50
- Antietam 49, Oley Valley 47 (OT)
- Berks Catholic 77, Trinity 73 (OT)
- Fleetwood 51, Wyomissing 46 OT
- Berks Catholic 72, Exeter 64
- Fleetwood 51, Wyomissing 46 OT
- Gov. Mifflin 64, Muhlenberg 59
- Wyomissing 57, Schuylkill Valley 49
- Muhlenberg 61, Wilson 56
- Central Dauphin 59, Muhlenberg 56
- Wilson 64, Exeter 63
5 best games of the postseason
The Bulldogs saved their best for last.
After losing a pair of tight games earlier in the season when the Red Knights who came up with key late plays Madyx Gruber made the defensive play of the season when he broke up the potential game-winning basket with 2.3 seconds left to preserve the victory.
“I knew they were gonna try and get to the basket,” Gruber said. “Nick (Chapman) kind of faked me out a little bit; I was a little behind but I just dove for it and got my hand on it.”
Gruber, a defensive back, let his football instincts take over in the biggest moment of the basketball season. Chapman had a step on him but Gruber dove to the floor and knocked the pass away with his left hand to deliver a dramatic ending at Santander Arena.
The game was tight the whole way, with five ties and nine lead changes – four of them in the final quarter.
Wilson’s Luke Levan, who finished with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, preserved the lead when he blocked Weshly Rosario’s shot with 30 seconds left.
“I’m just so proud of our guys,” said Wilson coach Matt Coldren after winning his fifth league title “we didn’t get caught looking on the back door. Reading has caught us before on give-and-go layups.”
After entering the postseason with three straight losses the Bulldogs played their best ball of the season in knocking off Exeter, Berks Catholic and Reading – each of which would go on to win at least one game in the PIAA Tournament — in the span of five days.
There are easier places to play in March than the ‘Clip Joint’ but the Red Knights showed their poise and perseverance when they got a blocked shot from backup center Xavier Beatty in the final second to preserve their PIAA Tournament opener.
“ ‘X’ can guard 1-thru-5,” said Reading coach Francis Camara of the 6-3 Beatty, an all-league defensive back in football. “He can do anything we ask him to do. He’s a big, physical kid.”
When sophomore Weshly Rosario missed the back end of a two-shot foul he left the door open with 5.5 seconds left. Chester’s Dallas Thompson found an opening on the baseline and pulled up for an 8-footer but Beatty came from behind and swatted the ball out of bounds as time expired.
“Every link is just as important as the next,” Camara said of the importance of Beatty’s contribution off the bench.
Yadiel Cruz scored 17 for Reading, eight in the final quarter.
Reading played the final 1:33 without All-Berks guard Nick Chapman, who fouled out.
Reading High 54, McDowell 47 (OT)
The Red Knights’ fullcourt press took its toll on the Trojans, who saw Reading score the final nine points of the game to pull away in overtime.
Nick Chapman’s layup, off an outlet pass from Weshly Rosario, gave Reading the lead for good at 49-47 with 2:21 left in overtime. The Trojans went scoreless over the final 3:20 of OT, missing their final nine shots.
Yadiel Cruz scored a game-high 21 points for Reading.
McDowell saw sixth man Stephon Porter foul out in the final seconds of regulation and starters Andrew Mitchell and Quentin Orlando go in overtime.
The Red Knights seemed the fresher, better-conditioned team in overtime, and it showed up when they turned up the fullcourt heat.
A week after beating Reading for the Berks Conference championship the Bulldogs saw their season come to an end against the Lancaster-Lebanon League champ in a District 3 Class 6A opener worthy of a much larger stage.
The 10th-seeded Bulldogs trailed most of the night and were down 13 at one point late in the third quarter. They used a 7-0 opening run in the fourth to get back in it, forced seven fourth-quarter turnovers, and pulled within 52-50 on Correll Akings’ three-point play with 1:05 remaining. They got no closer.
Akings, a sophomore and all-division pick, scored a game-high 18 points. Madyx Gruber, a junior and All-Berks pick, scored 15.
The Eagles used a late nine-point run to pull away from the Cardinals in a PIAA Tournament opener at Upper Dublin.
Exeter sophomore Jayden Ware came up big at the end, with two steals and a key blocked shot in the fourth quarter; his layup off a steal gave Exeter a 65-58 lead with 38 seconds left.
“We needed to get some stops (at the end),” said Exeter coach Jeff Van Gorder said. “Jayden has really come on for us in the playoffs. He made two or three huge plays to help us win that game.”
Reece Garvin finished with a game- and career-high 26 points and a game-high nine rebounds. He made a pair of free throws with 2:21 left to snap a 58-58 tie and give the Eagles the lead for good.
