The week ahead in Berks boys basketball
Here’s a look ahead at the week in Berks boys basketball:
Monday, Jan. 9
Just one game on the schedule — Conrad Weiser at Berks Catholic — but it’ll be worth watching for several reasons.
Just two weeks ago the rebuilding Scouts nearly pulled off the upset of the season, building a nine-point third-quarter lead before Ryan Koch’s hot-shooting bailed the Saints out. He scored 13 fourth-quarter points to secure a 63-57 Berks II victory.
The Scouts, don’t forget, are the only team to beat the Saints in Berks II play. Berks Catholic is 91-1 with 61 straight wins in Berks II games.
Also, Berks Catholic’s Josiah Jordan enters the game 20 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
Tuesday, Jan. 10
Several key division battles, including an always interesting rivalry game between between Gov. Mifflin and Wilson at Shillington and a Berks III match-up between a pair of playoff-bound squads, Hamburg and Muhlenberg, at Leesport. The Mustangs pulled off the upset last season, with the game-winner in the final seconds.
The marquee game is Muhlenberg at Reading High.
The Muhls have been inconsistent and don’t have the balance they did a year ago, when they were the only Berks team to knock off the Red Knights. Still, they’re dangerous.
The rivalry reached a new level last season when long-time Reading High assistant Matt Flowers, who helped Rick Perez develop the Red Knights’ winning formula, became the Muhls’ head coach.
Friday, Jan. 13
Two of the highest-scoring teams in the Berks Conference meet when Berks Catholic plays at Muhlenberg. The Saints are averaging 66 points a game, the Muhls 64.8; only Reading High (69.8) is averaging more.
Berks Catholic won a shootout last season, 80-64 at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium, as a pair of All-Berks picks went off: Josiah Jordan had 25 points for the Saints, Edwin Suarez 27 for the Muhls.
Two streaking teams meet at Wyomissing, where the Spartans host Antietam. The Mounts enter the week with six straight wins, the Spartans with three straight after a 1-4 start.
At Kutztown it’s Hall of Fame night as the Cougars looks to slow down the red-hot, Berks III-leading Fleetwood.
Saturday, Jan. 14
Reading High heads to Downingtown West where the Whippets are 9-2 with wins over Chester and Coatesville. They’re ranked No. 5 in the District 1 Class 6A power ratings. The Red Knights are two-time defending District 3 Class 6A champs and the favorite to win a third straight.
Fleetwood faces its last major test of the regular season when it hosts Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 leader Manheim Central (8-2). The Barons, ranked No. 3 in the District 3 Class 5A power rankings, ended the Tigers’ unbeaten start last season. If the Tigers get this one they could make a run at a perfect regular season.
There’s a key game in Berks IV, where division co-leaders Antietam and Oley Valley meet at Oley. Those two battled it out for the Berks IV title two seasons ago, with the Lynx beating the Mounts in double-overtime in the final game of league play.
