Hot-shooting Aris Rodriguez leads Reading High to season-opening win
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
Aris Rodriguez’s Reading High teammates and coaches have been laying down some bold statements about a guy who was strictly a role player off the bench a year ago.
On the eve of the Red Knights’ season-opener Ruben Rodriguez said his teammate was capable of dropping 25 or 30 points at any time.
His coach, Rick Perez, said he could be a first-team All-State pick.
Pretty heady stuff about a guy who had only cracked double figures a few times as a junior.
Aris answered with a few bold strokes of his own Tuesday against Central York. He dropped four 3-pointers in the first quarter and went on to score a career-high 30 as the Red Knights posted an emphatic 87-68 victory over the Panthers at the Geigle.
Aris Rodriguez, a 6-5 senior, knocked down his first five 3-point attempts and had 22 points at halftime, helping Reading to a 48-34 lead.
Ruben Rodriguez, a two-time All-State selection, picked things up after a slow start and overcame early foul trouble to score a game-high 31 points, including 18 in the second half. He also had five assists.
The two Rodriguezes — not related — combined to hit 8-of-11 shots from beyond the arc.
Aris finished 10-for-15 from the field, 6-for-8 from 3-point range and 4-for-5 from the foul line.
Ruben hit 12-of-20 shots from the fied and all five of his free throws.
Aris Rodriguez’s game-opening 3-pointer gave Reading the lead for good. It led by 11 points late in the first quarter, by as many as 15 in the second quarter and took its first 20-point lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when Aris Rodriguez hit his final 3-pointer to make it 68-48.
The lead grew to 24 at one point.
Ben Rill, a 6-8 sophomore, scored a team-high 24 points for the Panthers. Junior Greg Guidinger scored 16.
Central York had a 38-25 rebounding advantage against a Reading team with only one starter taller than 6-2. The Panthers were hurt by their 23 turnovers, eight in the first quarter.
Ruben Rodriguez scored 30 or more three times last season, including a modern-day program record 50. He led the league in scoring at 19.8 points per game.
Reading plays again Friday against Cardinal O’Hara in the second game of a double-header at the Geigle. In the first game, which tips at 6, Muhlenberg faces Bonner-Predergast.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Central York | 14 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 68 |
| Reading High | 20 | 28 | 17 | 22 | 87 |
| Central York (0-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Natel | 3-8 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Dodson | 4-12 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Guidinger | 5-14 | 5-6 | 1-3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| Rill | 9-14 | 7-11 | 0-1 | 0 | 5 | 24 |
| Parker | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Marsh | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Succhanic | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Brown | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nace | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodward | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Amaker | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 24-60 | 17-24 | 3-10 | 7 | 33-38 | 68 |
| Reading (1-0) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Burdine | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Cruz | 1-5 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| R. Rodriguez | 12-20 | 5-5 | 2-3 | 5 | 3 | 31 |
| Grey | 3-9 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Rodriguez | 10-15 | 4-5 | 6-8 | 2 | 2 | 30 |
| Osumanu | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chapman | 2-3 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Sosa | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rosario | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 32-59 | 14-17 | 9-17 | 13 | 20-25 | 87 |
Turnovers: Central York 23, Reading High 13.