Relentless Red Knights wear down Pocono Mountain West, advance to final

Xavier Davis wasn’t aware that the guy he was guarding Tuesday was an All-State pick who’s committed to play next season at Virgina Commonwealth.

The 6-2 Reading High center didn’t seem to care much that he was giving up eight inches in that post battle, either. All he focused on was carrying out his assignment against Pocono Mountain West’s Christian Fermin.

“We don’t talk about it,” Davis said of Fermin’s resume. “We just look at him as a jersey on a team. We try to make sure whoever we play against that we’re taking advantage of the the advantages that we have.”

The Red Knights took the floor for the Reading Holiday Tournament without their leading scorer and minus two other guys from their regular rotation. They hardly blinked.

Rick Perez had to dig deep into his bench but it didn’t matter because every guy he sent out there played defense every second of every minute. They chased the Panthers all over the court, contested every dribble and every shot and eventually emerged with an impressive 62-50 victory.

“It was beautiful,” said Perez.

The Red Knights coach wouldn’t say why leading scorer Daniel Alcantara, starting guard Joey Chapman or key reserve Aris Rodriguez didn’t play, and wouldn’t say whether they’d be back Wednesday for the championship game against Devon Prep at the Geigle at 7:30.

All he would say is how proud he was of the guys who were out there, including Davis, who played hard and smart; senior Justin Walker, who drew a start and came away with 15 points and 10 boards; and junior Myles Grey, who plays with the wisdom and self-assuredness of someone much, much older.

Fermin was swatting shots away left and right — he had six blocks and was called for goal-tending twice in the first half — and the Panthers (3-2) were up eight points.

That’s easily the biggest deficit the Red Knights have faced since the opening minutes of last year’s epic PIAA Class 6A championship against Archbishop Wood.

They displayed the same poise and effort Tuesday as they did in coming back against Wood. The stakes weren’t as high, the ending wasn’t nearly as dramatic — what could be?

But the result moved their head coach, who called it “one my favorite moments in Reading High history, as long as I’ve been here.”

That 11-year hitch includes a pair of state championships and dozens and dozens of playoff games.

The opening round of a holiday tournament barely compares to those. Still, given the circumstances — playing without Alcantara, an All-State pick a year ago who’s averaging 18.6 points, and without the gritty Chapman, who’s become a hammer on defense — it was indeed a memorable victory.

The Red Knights were down 24-16 before a 10-minute stretch — at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third — that’s as good as any in recent years.

It started with Grey’s reverse layup, which eluded Fermin’s long limbs; included a steal of an inbounds pass by Ruben Rodriguez that led to a Walker basket; and a Davis pump-fake underneath that pulled Fermin off his feet and drew his second foul. Davis’ subsequent free throws gave Reading the lead for good.

After a Panthers turnover with 1:55 to go in the first half Perez pulled the ball out. Grey stood motionless near center court for more than 90 seconds, the ball tucked up against his side. When they finally went in motion, with 10 seconds left, Rodriguez fed Walker inside, drawing a foul and a free throw that made it 27-25 at the half.

The clinic continued in the third quarter when Reading’s relentless ball-hawking defense, spearheaded by Grey, Amier Burdine and Rodiguez, continued to frazzle Pocono’s ballhandlers.

The Panthers turned the ball over 18 times over the final three quarters (the Red Knights had two during that stretch). They hit one basket and scored all of four points over a 10-minute stretch that saw Reading go from eight down to a 40-28 lead.

“I look at the body language of the other team, and you see the moment that they quit,” Perez said. “(They’re thinking:) ‘Man, he’s constantly trying to steal the ball . . . man, he’s constantly present.’ It wears you down. It doesn’t matter what defense we’re in, we’re gonna be there. You’re gonna really have to take care of the ball (against us).”

No one’s been able to do that yet and there are likely few, if any, teams on the schedule that will be capable of it.

Fermin finished with an impressive stat line — 16 points, 16 rebounds, eight blocked shots — but it wasn’t nearly enough to carry his team.

The Red Knights didn’t shoot well but they hit the glass so hard they ended up with a 20-shot advantage. With just one player on the floor taller than 6-2 Reading out-rebounded Pocono 42-40.

Rodriguez struggled to find the range in the first half but still ended up with 18 points, four assists and nine rebounds. Grey scored 13 and had five steals. Davis had nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Malik Osumanu provided some key minutes and hit a big ‘3.’

“Any game, any day, it’s anybody’s opportunity, so we just want to make sure it’s our opportunity that day,” Perez said. “Regardless of people’s status, size, athleticism, whatever. (Fermin) may have been the best athlete on the floor but we had the best basketball players on the floor.”