Reece Garvin delivers a championship performance no one could have expected

HERSHEY — Momentum swung toward Exeter in its District 3 Class 5A championship game against Manheim Central Wednesday morning – about 30 hours before tipoff.

That’s when Eagles junior Reece Garvin got a phone call. He wouldn’t stop smiling the rest of the day.

Garvin, the Eagles’ second-leading scorer and rebounder, sat and watched as his team advanced to the title  game. He wore a boot on his right ankle when Exeter opened the tournament with a resounding 72-47 win over Shippensburg Feb. 20.

He was in streets clothes a few nights later when it sprinted past Milton Hershey by 22 points, and was still a spectator Monday when the Eagles punched their ticket to the final by beating a tough Hershey squad.

He hadn’t played since the first half of the Berks Conference championship game Feb. 17 when he sprained his ankle and didn’t play in the second half.

That momentous phone call, the one that put Exeter over the top in Thursday’s championship game, came from Garvin’s doctor: After nearly two weeks of being idle he was cleared to play.

“My mood just completely changed,” said Garvin.

He began firing off text messages to share the good news.

Matt Ashcroft got one, all of three words:

“Coach, I’m back.”

Garvin was a surprise starter against Manheim Central. No one expected that. He had about half of a practice Wednesday to prepare. He hadn’t done any basketball activities for nearly two weeks. He was told not to shoot the ball. He probably hadn’t gone that long without putting a shot since he was 4 or 5.

Other than doing strength tests on his ankle with trainers he hadn’t done any running or jumping, either.

During Wednesday’s brief practice he didn’t do any hard cutting or running, or participate in full contact drills.

Ashcroft, the Eagles coach, admits he had no idea what to expect Thursday when he sent Garvin out there.

“He said he was good (to go),” Ashcroft said. “We thought maybe adrenaline could carry him through.”

Garvin didn’t spend time thinking about how he might play; he was just excited to have the chance.

“It would’ve been horr-i-ble (to not play in the championship),” he said.

“I mean, in the county ‘chip, when I got hurt, I tried to play through it, but eventually I had to come out. Having to sit on that bench for the rest of that game, it was devastating.”

Without Garvin on the floor at the end things spiraled out of control. Exeter led by 10 points with 4 ½ minutes left. Then Reading High went on one of those runs, scored 18 straight points, and won going away.

Would the final score have been different with Garvin playing in the second half? No one can say for sure.

Garvin was anxious to soothe the pain of that loss, at least a little; he was determined to have an impact on the Eagles’ second swing at a championship.

Boy, did he.

No one would’ve ever known he had been hurt or missed significant time after seeing him score 11 points and grab 10 rebounds in Exeter’s 67-53 victory. He was a big factor in the Eagles turning what should’ve been a close game against the top-seeded Barons into a one-sided affair.

He got off his feet and attacked the boards with his typical aggressiveness, helping Exeter out-rebound Manheim by a 2-to-1 margin. His shooting touch showed no rust: He was 3-for-5 from the field and hit all five of his free throws.

His decision-making was sharp, too; he had four assists, most of them to center Anthony Caccese, who scored a game-high 22 points. In all Garvin played about 26 minutes before fouling out with two minutes left, the game well in hand.

It was a strong performance by any account; given the circumstances, it was downright miraculous.

“Everything just settled in, and I was fine,” Garvin said. “As soon as I got out there I didn’t even think about everything that’s happened the past two weeks.”

The Eagles experienced all kinds of emotional ups and downs over the past two weeks: Beating Berks Catholic to reach their first league championship game in 40 years . . . losing that big lead to Reading High . . .  losing one of their best players . . . then winning three times in districts without him.

“The last two weeks felt like six months,” Ashcroft said.

Through it all, neither the coach nor his players dwelled on the obstacles. Down a man? Everyone just had to play better, that’s all. They were determined not to let anything get in their way.

“Sometimes in life, you have to go through the fire in order to see what’s on the other side,” Ashscroft said. “To be able to take that gut punch that we took (against Reading) and win four straight games against four really good opponents, it just says what’s in that locker room in terms of intestinal fortitude and mental toughness.”

“We never wanted to feel how we felt (after losing to Reading) again,” said Eagles junior Kevin Saenz. “That gave us fuel for this.”

Exeter’s basketball program has spent decades in the shadows of Reading High, Wilson, Berks Catholic and before that Central Catholic and Holy Name. Even their head coach isn’t old enough to remember the last time the program won anything of significance. That would be 1974, when they last won a league championship.

The trophy they collected Thursday fills a void. For years there’s been a big empty spot on the championship banner that hangs in the gym. Now they have something to put there: 2023 District 3 champs.

“I told coach this was gonna happen when I came into high school,” Garvin said. “I knew we were gonna put a new number on that banner. It’s been way too long since we won a championship.”