Ruben Rodriguez helps Geigle heat up as Red Knights march past Muhls
By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
The calendar may say January but the atmosphere inside the Geigle Tuesday night felt like March.
With some 1,800 raucous fans helping create a playoff atmosphere All-State guard Ruben Rodriguez scored 26 points to lift Reading High over Muhlenberg 77-60 in a Berks Conference Division I game.
Rodriguez, the Berks Player of the Year as a junior, finished the night with 1,582 career points, passing Reading High legends Stu Jackson (1,563) and Donyell Marshall (1,581) on Berks’ all-time scoring list.
The emotion was real and the fans were ready to go. So were the Muhls (2-2, 7-5). They raced to an 8-2 lead.
The Red Knights (4-0, 12-1) closed the first quarter with a 13-0 run, using tenacious defense and stellar rebounding to keep the Muhls to one shot and done.
A year ago Muhlenberg was the only Berks team to beat the Red Knights, clipping them 63-61 in a late-season match-up at Laureldale.
Just like last season the teams played with emotion, passion and energy, resulting in lots of fouls and both teams being in the bonus in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the Muhls inch closer and outscore the Knights by two points, trimming their lead to 33-28 at the half.
Rodriguez took over in the third quarter, scoring 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He electrified the crowd with a steal and a dunk to start the quarter, then drained a 3-pointer on the next possession.
“I hadn’t been shooting well the last few games,” said Rodriguez, who made just 3-of-11 shots in a win last week at Wilson. “So I worked really hard over the weekend to study my game and improve my shot.
“We knew this would be an emotional game and we would get their best shot. We came out in the third quarter and took control. We took care of business.”
Dominican Republic native Yadiel Cruz was an absolute beast on the boards for Reading. He had 14 rebounds and scored a season-high15 points. Nine points came in the pivotal third quarter to help the Knights pull away.
Reading High coach Rick Perez said that in his native country Cruz is called “La Sencacion,” which translates to “The Sensation.”
Cruz lived up to that nickname.
“Yadiel is the ultimate team player,” said Perez. “His attitude is: ‘What can I do to help the team? He’s only been here (in the United States) since July and has made tremendous progress.”
J’Daniel Mosquera scored 23 points and Xzavion Robertson 19 to keep the Muhls in the game until Rodriguez took over.
Rodriguez played at Muhlenberg as a freshman, scoring 288 points. Over his three seasons with the Red Knights he has scored 1,294 points, which ranks 10th in program history. (He passed Trenity Burdine, who scored 1,281, on Tuesday.)
Overall, his four-season point total ranks 21st in Berks history.
“It is an extreme honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as Stu Jackson and Donyell Marshall,” said Rodriguez. “I am blessed.”
“Ruben spreads his message through basketball,” Perez said, “to mentor and lead. He is a pleasure to coach.”
The emotional night began with a pregame ceremony honoring Perez, who became the winningest coach in program history last month, his 252nd victory surpassing Jim Gano’s long-time record.
Perez was joined on the court by his “brother,” former assistant coach and current Muhlenberg head coach Matt Flowers, along with family members and former Reading players to celebrate his accomplishment.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 12 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 60 |
| Reading High | 19 | 14 | 27 | 17 | 77 |
| Muhls (7-5) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Robertson | 8-12 | 0-1 | 3-6 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| Mosquera | 5-10 | 10-10 | 3-7 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Valentin | 3-5 | 0–0 | 2-3 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Alcantara | 1-3 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Adonis | 0-1 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Collado | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Archie | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Towles | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Le Clair | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miller | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Branch | 1-5 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Totals | 19-39 | 12 – 17 | 10 – 23 | 9 | 16 | 60 |
| Red Knights (12-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| R. Rodriguez | 11-20 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 4 | 7 | 26 |
| A. Rodriguez | 4-10 | 5-8 | 0-5 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| Grey | 2-10 | 5-6 | 0-4 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Cruz | 6-8 | 2-7 | 1-2 | 0 | 14 | 15 |
| Burdine | 1-2 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Osumanu | 4-4 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Chapman | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Samuel | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sosa | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 28-57 | 18-34 | 3-17 | 11 | 34 | 77 |
Turnovers: Muhlenberg 24, Reading High 15
