Much has changed since Reading beat Archbishop Wood in PIAA title game

It’s billed as a rematch — Reading High vs. Archbishop Wood in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A Tournament — but it’s not, really.

It’s not a rematch of last year’s epic state championship game, won by the Red Knights 58-57. The Vikings are a completely different team than the one that took the floor at Giant Center last March.

It’s not a true rematch from earlier this season, when Reading won 64-58 at the Geigle. The Red Knights (26-3), now playing without their No. 2 scorer Daniel Alcantara, aren’t the same team they were seven weeks ago.

When the teams meet Saturday at 3 at Easton Middle School one thing will remain the same, Vikings coach John Mosco said: The Red Knights will play hard, no matter’s who’s in the lineup.

“They’re playing for a whole city,” said Mosco, well-versed in the culture Red Knights coach Rick Perez has created. “That’s the NBA team there. The city is behind them, and they’re loved. You see how they support them. We’re playing a bunch of people (not just the five guys on the court).”

Mosco wanted his players to soak in that atmosphere of love and support at the Geigle; that’s why he scheduled his team to play there in January, knowing full well the teams could collide again at this point of the season.

“You go there, you show up and you battle, it makes you better,” Mosco said. “I wanted to see if we were tough enough. We competed; we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but it’s not always about wins. You learn from losses, too.”

Mosco learned about this team from some early losses to St. Frances of Baltimore, Camden, N.J. and the George School of Newtown, Pa. He knew coming into the season he didn’t have the kind of powerhouse he had a season ago when his starting lineup featured five Division I players and three 1,000-point scorers.

It’s been a totally new look for the Vikings (18-7). Only two current players, seniors Mike Knouse and Tyson Allen, saw minutes in last year’s championship game. The rest of the lineup is composed of younger players who were in the background plus one key transfer: Point guard Justin Moore.

Moore played at Bishop McDevitt in Wyncote last season but that school was closed at the end of the last year. He saw an opportunity at Archbishop Wood and has fit in perfectly.

“We got lucky,” said Mosco. “When you pick up a Division I point guard like that, it always helps.”

Moore is committed to play at Drexel. He was a candidate for Player of the Year in the Philadelphia Catholic League after averaging 15.9 points, 5.6 assists and 2.2 steals.

“He’s a tremendous guard,” Mosco said. “He gets everybody involved, shoots the ball well. He’s smart. His dad, Malik, was a big-time player at Temple. He just knows how to play the game the right way.”

Moore is joined in the lineup by 6-7 junior Carson Howard, one of the top rebounders in the Catholic League and a second-team all-league pick; 6-4 junior Bahsil Laster, a third-team all-league pick who was among the league leaders in assists and 3-pointers; 6-4 sophomore Jalil Bethea, a third-team all-league pick who shoots nearly 40 percent from 3-point range; and the 6-4 Knouse, another dangerous shooter from beyond the arc.

Bethea scored 10 points, Moore 10, Knouse nine and Howard eight in the earlier loss to Reading.

Ruben Rodriguez, the Berks Player of the Year, dominated that game and finished with 19 points. Alcantara and Myles Grey each had 15.

“It was exciting starting practice (this season), it was like starting new,” said Mosco. “You had a bunch of guys that weren’t touted to do a lot. They were eager to learn and had a lot of energy.”

The Vikings made a strong showing in the Catholic League, finishing third behind Roman Catholic and West Catholic. They beat Roman 64-61, Neumann Goretti 92-78 and Devon Prep — which beat Reading — 71-61 during league play. They lost to Archbishop Ryan in the league playoffs and entered the state playoffs as the No. 3 seed out of District 12.

Wood opened the state playoffs with a 77-50 win over Plymouth-Whitemarsh, the No. 5 team out of District 11. That 27-point margin was easily the biggest for any Class 6A team in the opening round.

“We’re ramping it back up to where we were in the middle of the year,” said Mosco, whose team has played just twice in the last 2 1/2 weeks. “(Wednesday) night we were a lot more focused than in the district (seeding) game (against Boys Latin March 2). They knew who was next.

“Nothing against all these other teams in the tournament, but when you’re getting ready to play a Reading or a Lower Merion or a Roman, the kids know; you don’t have to get their attention with a rah-rah speech. They know what they have to do or they’re going to be embarrassed on the court.”