Aidan Melogana leads West Reading to win in California opener
Wilson’s Aidan Melograna led a balanced scoring effort as the West Reading All-Stars opened their Cultural Exchange trip in California with a 62-47 win over Sacramento High Wednesday night.
Melograna, a 2023 grad who will play at Arcadia next season, scored 11 points. Josiah Jordan, a recent Berks Catholic grad, had 10 points as did Madyx Gruber, a rising junior at Wilson.
West Reading led 35-20 at the half and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
West Reading plays Thursday against Elk Grove.
The West Reading stars will take part in a 60-team tournament at Franklin High in Elk Grove this weekend, playing four games.
Melograna was named the Most Improved Player in the Ron Krick Memorial League last summer and went on to lead the Bulldogs to a 19-10 record and in scoring at 10.0 points per game. His 62 3-pointers were second-most in the Berks Conference.
The West Reading team includes three other recent grads – Jake Karnish of Fleetwood, Jovan Hollis of Antietam and Mark Rajnath of Schuylkill Valley — as well as rising senior Reece Garvin of Exeter, rising junior Andrew Galantuomo of Gov. Mifflin and rising sophomores Aidan Dauble of Exeter and Danny Fleischood of Wyomissing.
Karnish and Jordan were selected as co-captains. Karnish will play basketball at King’s College; Jordan will play football at Wilkes University.
Jordan was named Most Valuable Player in the Ron Krick Memorial League last summer, leading Berks Packing to the championship. He shared the scoring lead as a senior at Berks Catholic, helping the Saints go 23-5 and win a second straight District 3 Class 4A championship.
Hollis was named Defensive Player of the Year last summer in the Ron Krick Memorial League and led the Mounts to the District 3 Class 2A championship game and the PIAA Tournament. He averaged a team-high 13.2 points for the Mounts.
Former Holy Name coach Tony Balistrere is the head coach; his staff includes Wilson assistant coach Jeff Ebner and Ron Krick Memorial League co-director Randy Hinsey.
As part of the trip the players and coaches will see sites throughout the Sacramento and San Francisco areas during their week-long stay in California.
The West Reading Summer League celebrated the 50th anniversary of the cultural exchange last summer when Franklin High visited Berks County for several games.