20-point game by Aidan Dauble helps West Reading remain unbeaten
Aidan Dauble enjoyed an impressive freshman season at Exeter, providing steady play off the bench as the league’s top sixth man and coming up big in a playoff run that saw the Eagles win a district championship and reach the PIAA title game.
He has continued his big play with the West Reading All-Stars on their Cultural Exchange swing through Northern California. The rising sophomore scored 20 points as West Reading remained perfect with a 67-57 win over Franklin Friday.
That was the second win of the day for West Reading at the Franklin Tournament and fourth in four games this week.
In West Reading’s first game Friday, an 86-47 win over Ponderosa High, recent Fleetwood grad Jake Karnish had 16 points and recent Wilson grad Aidan Melograna scored 13. West Reading used a 22-5 third-quarter spurt to put the game away.
Ponderosa, of Shingle Springs, Ca., went 22-10 last season and was unbeaten in winning the Foothill Valley Conference.
West Reading is 4-0 with two games scheduled Saturday, against Johansen High of Modesto and Edison High of Stockton. Edison went 22-6 last season.
Karnish and recent Berks Catholic grad Josiah Jordan are West Reading’s co-captains. Karnish will play basketball at King’s College; Jordan will play football at Wilkes University.
The 10-player West Reading team includes two other recent grads –Jovan Hollis of Antietam and Mark Rajnath of Schuylkill Valley — as well as rising juniors Andrew Galantuomo of Gov. Mifflin, Reece Garvin of Exeter and Madyx Gruber of Wilson and rising sophomore Danny Fleischood of Wyomissing.
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 program last summer when Franklin High visited Berks County for several games.