Exeter holds off Prep, heads to PIAA championship for first time since 1974
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
ALTOONA — Two months ago, when his Exeter basketball team was just a few games over .500, Matt Ashcroft told his players they would be playing in the PIAA championship game come late March.
No one could’ve predicted the wild twists and turns that awaited the Eagles but their coach’s prediction came true Monday evening after Kevin Saenz sank four straight free throws in the final seconds to hold off Erie Cathedral Prep 51-47 in a Class 5A semifinal at Altoona High School.
Saenz, who hadn’t scored since the first basket of the game, hit twice at the line with 7.2 seconds left and his team leading by three, then clinched it with two more shots with under a second to go.
That punched Exeter’s ticket to a state final for the first time since 1974.
The District 3 champion Eagles (27-6) again had a harrowing journey to the finish line, watching an 11-point lead with 4:17 remaining nearly evaporate. The Ramblers (24-4) closed within 45-43 with 33 seconds left when Jake Sambuchino hit the front end of a two-shot foul.
When he missed the second the Eagles broke Cathedral Prep’s troubling press and freshman Aidan Dauble found Anthony Caccese for a layup and 47-43 lead.
Dauble came up huge, scoring nine points, grabbing five rebounds and recording a pair of assists as he remained cool down the stretch despite seeing the Eagles turn it over seven times in the final quarter.
“He’s not a freshman (any longer,” said Saenz of Dauble, who also came up with several key plays in overtime Friday in Exeter’s win over Peters Towship.
Exeter advances to play the winner of the other state semifinal between District 12 champ Imhotep Charter and District 12 third place Archbishop Ryan. The championship game is Friday at 8 at Giant Center, where the Eagles beat Manheim Central for their first district title.
The Eagles played the final 7 1/2 minutes without All-Berks point guard Zyion Paschall, who picked up his fifth foul on a charge with Exeter leading 35-28. He finished with eight points.
Reece Garvin scored a team-high 14 points for Exeter, hitting three 3-pointers. Caccese finished with seven points, all in the second half, and eight rebounds.
Exeter led 22-19 at the half despite seeing leading scorer Caccese go scoreless. The Eagles’ 6-6 center, who has dominated smaller players throughout the postseason, saw his first two shots blocked by 6-8 Zion Barksdale and ended the first half with just one rebound.
Garvin hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half to help keep Exeter aloat and Dauble came off the bench to contribute a pair of key plays to give the Eagles the lead just before halftime. He picked off a pass and took it in for a layup to cut Prep’s lead to 19-7, then scored on a drive and completed the three-point play for a 20-19 lead.
Garvin’s basket with 42 seconds left in the half gave Exeter a three-point lead at intermission.
The Eagles have done some special things this season, winning their first division title since 1984, their first District 3 championship and reaching the PIAA semifinals for the first time since 1974.
Cathedral Prep had lost just once to a Pennsylvania opponent this season. That came in league play against Erie McDowell, 43-37 in mid-February. Its other losses came in a January out-of-state tournament against Chicago’s De La Salle High School and Buffalo’s Canisius High.
The Ramblers have a rich basketball history. They won their third PIAA championship in 2021, beating Archbishop Ryan for the Class 5A title. They won titles in 1980 and 1993 and reached the title game in 1984, 1994 and 1996.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Cathedral Prep | 7 | 12 | 9 | 19 | 47 |
| Exeter | 9 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 51 |
| Ramblers (24-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Barksdale | 1-4 | 0-1 | 1-10 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Sambuchino | 4-10 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
| Spencer | 2-5 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Pickens | 6-13 | 3-4 | 1-5 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Lofton | 5-15 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Spence | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Roberts | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rahama | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 18-51 | 9-15 | 2-8 | 4 | 23-28 | 47 |
| Eagles (27-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Paschall | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Kelsey | 2-5 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Saenz | 1-6 | 4-6 | 0-3 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Snyder | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garvin | 5-8 | 1-4 | 3-5 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| Caccese | 3-7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 8 | 7 |
| Dauble | 4-6 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Totals | 19-37 | 10-17 | 3-11 | 9 | 25-29 | 51 |
Turnovers: Cathedral Prep 14, Exeter 19.Fouled out: Pickens, Paschall.
