PIAA Tournament preview: Muhlenberg vs. Unionville (updated)
(Corrected, with second-round opponent for winning team.)
What: PIAA Tournament first round
Classification: 5A
Who: Muhlenberg (17-10) vs. Unionville (22-5)
When: Friday, 7:00
Where: At Unionville High School
About the Muhls: Won final two games in District 3 Tournament, including 79-77 double-overtime game against Milton Hershey to finish fifth. . . Senior Jay’Daniel Mosquera hit six 3-pointers and scored 25 points. . . Trailed by seven in first OT. . . Finished third in Berks I, behind Reading High and Wilson, after winning back-to-back Berks II titles. . . Lead league with 215 3-pointers, an average of nearly eight per game. . . Mosquera leads the team with 55 3’s, averages 13.4 points and shoots 81.5 percent from the foul line. . . Senior Xzavion Robertson, who leads the team in scoring at 13.6 per game, has 45 3’s. . . Five different players have hit 22 or more. . . Team is converting 68 percent from the foul line, third-best in the league. . . Mosquera and Robertson were all-division picks. . . Last made PIAA Tournament in 2020, when they beat Shippensburg and South Fayette before play was suspended due to coronavirus outbreak. . . Overall, 5-4 in state tournament play.
Fast fact: Nine of Muhlenberg’s 10 losses have come against PIAA Tournament qualifiers: Reading High (twice), Wilson (twice), Exeter, Berks Catholic, Manheim Central, Lampeter-Strasburg and Hempfield. Only other loss came to Bonner-Prendergast on Dec. 9.
About the Longhorns: Fell to top-seeded and unbeaten Radnor 61-36 in District 1 championship game. . . Entered tournament as No. 3 seed. . . Knocked off No. 11 Upper Merion and No. 2 Chichester on way to final. . . Sharpshooting squad plays at a similar pace as Muhlenberg and relies on 3-pointers to carry the offense. . . They hit 13’s in a 75-72 district semifinal win over Chichester. . . Senior Robbie Logan hit a pair of 3’s and scored 13 fourth-quarter points in the comeback victory. . . Opened the season by winning 15 of first 16. . . Have lost three of last seven games. . . Young team relies on juniors Ryan Brown, JT Anderson, Charlie Kammeier, 6-6 Nick Diehl and 6-5 freshman James Brenner for the bulk of their scoring. . . Ches-Mont League American Division champs went 9-1 in league play, finishing ahead of Bayard Rustin, Sun Valley and three other teams. . . Lost to Downingtown West in league championship game. . . Last made PIAA Tournament field in 2020, when they went 23-9. . . Have not won a state tournament game since 1981.
Did you know? Unionville switched its mascot from Indians to Longhorns in 2021, retiring the former nickname, which raised disapproval from some in the community.
Winner gets: (12-1) Imhotep Charter (25-3) vs. (1-6) Holy Ghost Prep (14-12), Tuesday, March 14.
