‘Nobody could stop him,’ says Myles Grey after watching Ruben Rodriguez drop 42
Ruben Rodriguez doesn’t need to look at a calendar; his basketball biorhythms let him know when it’s playoff time.
A special energy overcomes him and he takes his game to an even higher level.
“There’s just something that happens in Ruben’s DNA at this time,” says Reading High coach Rick Perez.
The sinewy 6-2 guard sensed his team needed a little something extra Friday against Chambersburg and he delivered: 42 times.
“Nobody could stop him,” said teammate Myles Grey after the two-time All-State guard scored a season-high 42 points and carried the top-seeded Red Knights to a 69-58 victory in a District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal at the Geigle.
Rodriguez opened the game by hitting his first seven shots, including back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the first quarter. The game was on.
“Everything was feeling good,” said Rodriguez, “and I was just trying to find easy shots and stay in rhythm.”
Rodriguez went 7-for-7 from the field in the first quarter and had 17 points by the first rest. By time he was done he had matched a program record for points in a postseason game and passed the career scoring totals of Reading High greats Stu Jackson (1,563), Dick Nyquist (1,576) and Donyell Marshall (1,581).
He scored in all the Ruben ways: A steal and a dunk, twisting drives through the lane, putbacks, baseline, mid-range jumpers, 3’s.
He was good on 14-of-19 shots from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 11-of-14 from the free throw line.
“That’s a highly efficient game,” said Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler, who tried several different defenders on Rodriguez, to no avail. “It’s not like he was just chucking the ball. He didn’t miss many shots.”
It well may be the best performance of Rodriguez’s unmatched career. Sure, he set a program record last season with 50 points, but that came against a last-place Daniel Boone team, in January. This one came at the start of Reading’s run toward a potential third straight district title – and possible fourth straight for Rodriguez, who also won one as a freshman at Muhlenberg.
They’ll continue that quest Monday at 7 at Geigle Complex against fifth-seeded Waynesboro, a 60-45 winner Friday over No. 4 York High.
Until then you can ponder whether Rodriguez has ever had a bigger game for the Red Knights. He’s had a bunch of big ones: That 24-point effort against Wilson in the make-or-break district final in 2021, his 23-point game last week in the Berks championship against Exeter, and the 35 he dropped last season against a Berks Catholic team headed for a District 3 title of its own.
He’s scored 30 or more 11 times in three seasons at Reading – more than any player in program history – and he’s scored more points in a Red Knights uniform (1,592) than anyone not named Lonnie Walker IV (1,828).
“Maybe, maybe, I don’t know,” Rodriguez said when asked if this was his best game. “This is definitely better than the 50.”
“It’s a district playoff game, and he just dominated,” said Grey. “Nobody could stop him.”
“I did what I had to do for us to get the dub,” Rodriguez said. “It’s what the team needed and I’m glad I was able to contribute like that.”
The Red Knights needed every one of those points. No one else was hitting; his teammates combined for two first-half field goals. Aris Rodriguez starting knocking down some shots in the second half and finished with 10 points. Grey didn’t have a basket until the fourth quarter, but he sure knew who to get the ball to.
“When you have somebody on fire like that, you feed him the ball,” he said of Rodriguez. “Just let him do what he does.”
In the finals seconds of the first half, after the Trojans (14-10) had cut Reading’s lead to 36-35 Grey casually walked the ball up court. He seemed in no hurry, even with the clock ticking down to five, four, three. He saw Rodriguez flash open on the baseline, found him with two seconds left and saw him beat the buzzer.
“I’ve played with him since third grade,” Grey said. “I know where he’s at all the time, I know what he’s going to do.”
Reading built a nine-point lead midway through the third quarter but couldn’t shake the plucky Trojans, who hung in even with several starters on the bench after Rodriguez threatened to foul them all out.
Jacob Bassham, who scored 19 points for Chambersburg, cut Reading’s lead to 56-55 with four minutes to go.
The Red Knights answered, showing what makes them so tough to beat. Rodriguez and Grey have been through it all – they were sophomore starters on the 2021 state championship team – and they know how to come through in the clutch.
Grey hit a 3-pointer for a 59-55 lead, then made a sweet drive and dish to set up a Malik Osumanu basket. A minute later Rodriguez picked off a pass at the top of the foul circle and took it in for a layup and nine-point lead. Game over.
“We stayed strong and made the right plays at the right time,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve happy with the way we finished.”
Rodriguez’s 42 points tied for fourth-most in program history and tied for the most ever in a playoff game.
Only three other Reading players have topped 40 points in a game: Brian D’Amico, who had 42 in a 1986 district playoff game against Wilson; Marshall, who scored 43 against Williamsport in 1991; and Buck Friedman, who scored 48 against Tamaqua in the 1918-19 season.
Rodriguez moved up to No. 9 on the all-time Berks scoring list, with 1,880 points. He passed Conrad Weiser’s Greg Brizek (1,853). Rodriguez scored 288 points as a freshman at Muhlenberg.
“He really turns a corner (this time of the year),” Perez said of Rodriguez. “He just understands the urgency. You could see it in practice, the physicality (he brings).
“He didn’t miss a shot in practice (all week); he’s been on fire. He’s been running his mouth at practice, killing people, just bullying the entire floor. He’s in a different place right now.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Chambersburg | 17 | 18 | 9 | 14 | 58 |
| Reading High | 22 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 69 |
| Trojans (14-10) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Bassham | 7-15 | 3-7 | 2-7 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| Fogal | 0-3 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kelly | 3-8 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Swatsburg | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Vessah | 4-9 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Jones | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Losius | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cornwell | 3-5 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Sarvis | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Brewer | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Snyder | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 22-51 | 7-15 | 7-23 | 9 | 23-27 | 58 |
| Red Knights (25-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Burdine | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| R. Rodriguez | 14-19 | 11-14 | 3-5 | 0 | 5 | 42 |
| Grey | 1-5 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| A Rodriguez | 4-12 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Ortega | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| Cruz | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Osumanu | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Chapman | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Totals | 22-43 | 21-24 | 4-9 | 8 | 28-31 | 69 |
Turnovers: Chambersburg 17, Reading High 15.
