Wilson gets late stops, fends off Conrad Weiser upset bid

Conrad Weiser was on the brink of pulling off one of the bigger upsets of the year Monday.

The Scouts led Wilson by as many as five points in the third quarter and were leading with five minutes left before the Bulldogs pulled away in the final minutes, hitting five late free throws for a 56-50 Berks Conference I-II crossover win at West Lawn.

Cleveland Harding scored eight of his 13 points for Wilson in the fourth quarter and Bulldogs freshman Madyx Gruber had a breakout game, with 13 points and some key plays.

“Our freshman did a lot of good things,” said Wilson coach Matt Coldren. “I’m not sure we win if he doesn’t play. He had two or three steals, a couple deflections, and made some shots for us.”

The Bulldogs (3-3 Berks I, 8-4) were again playing without junior guard Cameron Jones, their leading scorer. He has missed the last two games after hitting his head on the floor Jan. 11 in a win over Berks Catholic. He won’t be cleared to practice until Friday, said Coldren, and won’t play until next week.

The Bulldogs won easily without him at Fleetwood last week but trailed much of the way against the Scouts (1-5 Berks II, 3-10).

Freshman Donovan Gingrich hit five 3-pointers and led Weiser with 17 points; Charlie Dobb scored 16.

The Scouts went over four minutes at the end without scoring, going from up one point to trailing 54-48 before Aanjay Feliciano hit a bucket in the final minute.

Foday Sillah came up with a big play for Wilson, blocking Dobb’s shot with two minutes left in a one-possession game.

“We finally put together a couple stops at the end,” said Coldren. “(Conrad Weiser) played well, and we missed everything. (Our shooting) was awful. I think we only had two jumpers. Everything else was foul shots or layups. We missed everything.”

Junior Seamus Breslin scored nine points for Wilson, including three free throws in the final 90 seconds.

The loss was the seventh straight for the Scouts and part of a tough stretch that has seen them play Muhlenberg, Reading High and Wilson over the last seven days.

“The frustration is, if there’s a year to compete with Wilson, this was it,” said Weiser coach Rich Miller. “We know this was an opportunity to win the game.

“That’s been the story of the year: Good enough to come close. It’s been frustrating, but we’re getting more out of Donovan Gingrich, and we’re starting a freshman point guard (Brady McKee). So there’s hope somewhere along the line. But coming close and failing is getting a little old.”

Wilson plays at Twin Valley Thursday and against Downingtown West on Saturday. Coldren said Jones will miss Saturday’s game in order to take a football recruiting trip to Penn State.

Wilson has won four straight since blowing a huge lead at Exeter in a 48-47 loss Jan. 3. The Bulldogs are one loss behind second-place Berks Catholic in Berks I. However, they’ve already beaten Berks II leader Muhlenberg. The Saints play the Muhls in a key crossover game Thursday.