Hoop notes: Red Knights all-in, Saints all alone, Eagles all out, and more
2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by
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There’s a new head coach and four new starters at Reading High, but the basketball culture established by former head coach Rick Perez remains.
“All-in, 365” is one of Perez’s mantras. The last digit means: “Any five can get it done.”
The Red Knights proved that last week when they rallied to overcome Wilson 54-48 despite playing without senior guard Nick Chapman.
Chapman has missed the last three games and will miss several more after suffering an orbital fracture Dec. 27 against Bethlehem Liberty, when he took an elbow to the face. He will be re-evaluated later this week and could remain out for an extended period.
Chapman is the Red Knights’ best on-ball defender and their second-leading scorer at 10.9 points per game. He was invaluable off the bench during Reading’s run to a PIAA Class 6A championship last season and had a huge performance in the 63-56 victory against Roman Catholic, with a 3-pointer in overtime and a clinching steal in the final seconds.
“Obviously Nick is a huge piece to our team,” said head coach Francis Camara. “But you know what? Our boys are inspired and they’re playing for him right now. They had Nick’s back today.”
Chapman’s absence has meant more court time for senior Nico Sosa, who had eight points off the bench against Wilson.
Camara doesn’t have a precise timetable on Chapman’s return.
“If it was up to Nick he would’ve played this game,” Camara said following the Wilson game. “The one thing we know: Chapman equals toughness. Nicks gonna be fine.”
Chapman will likely miss a key Berks I game Tuesday at Muhlenberg.
Last unbeaten
Roughly halfway through the regular season there is just one unbeaten team in District 3: Berks Catholic.
The Saints are 8-0 and have had just one close game, a 77-73 overtime win at Trinity.
The Saints became the district’s lone unbeaten when Manheim Central was taken down by Ephrata 41-37 Friday after opening the season with nine straight wins.
Octorara has more wins (11) than any team in the district and would be unbeaten if not for Berks Catholic. The Saints handed the Braves an 80-47 loss Dec. 12 at Atglen.
Berks Catholic is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A; Octorara is No. 2. Trinity is No. 1 in 3A.
The Saints’ .834 power rating is easily the highest of any team in the district, in any classification, boosted by wins over Octorara, Trinity (8-2), Cedar Crest (7-2) and Allentown Central Catholic (10-3).
Up next for the Saints: Their biggest game of the season to date, against Berks II rival Exeter Thursday at Wolf Gymnasium.
It’s a three-for-all
Exeter is playing at a much faster pace this season, as first-year head coach Jeff VanGorder had hoped.
The Eagles aren’t utilizing the same grind-it-out style of last season, when defense was their No. 1 priority and their offense revolved around 6-6 All-Berks center Anthony Caccese.
They’re out and running and shooting more 3’s than ever.
Exeter leads Berks with 106 3-pointers and is averaging a Berks-leading 73.0 points per game, up from 61.5 last year.
The Eagles are giving up more points, too: Their games are averaging 136.9 combined points, up 26 from last season.
The Eagles are averaging 10.6 3-pointers per game, nearly double last season, when they hit a program-record 190.
They’re slightly ahead of Muhlenberg’s Berks-record pace of 10.4 3’s per game, set in 2019-20. That’s the only team in Berks history to average more than 10 3’s per game.
The Eagles showed off their shooting ability Tuesday at the Geigle when they knocked down 13 3’s – on just 24 attempts – in a 79-55 win over Reading High. Twice this season they’ve hit 14 in a game.
They already have six players with 10 or more 3’s and could finish with seven players with 20 more; no one in Berks has ever done that.
There’s balance in their 3-point arsenal, too: Reece Garvin leads with 20, followed by Brady Murray (17), Aidan Dauble (15), Kevin Saenz (14), Jayden Ware (11), Devon Nester (10) and Alex Kelsey (nine).
Ware hit five off the bench in a win over Manheim Township. Murray also had five in that game. The Eagles finished with 14 in the 93-70 win.
Dauble never hit more than two in a game last season; he had three in three straight games recently.
Lynx marksman
Ben DeBalko, who set Oley Valley’s single-season record for 3-pointers last season as a sophomore, is on the way to capturing the Lynx’s career mark as well.
The 6-foot wing is tied for second in Berks with 30 3’s in 11 games this season and has 102 in his career. The Lynx’s record in 162, by Joe Murphy from 2001-05.
DeBalko smashed the program record of 54 3’s last season when he made a Berks-leading 65 in 26 games.
He’s been remarkably consistent from behind the arc with at least one 3-pointer in 30 straight games and 36 of his last 37.
Tripling down
Twin Valley needed to go three overtimes to beat Solanco 68-66 in the consolation game of the Solanco Holiday Tournament.
The Raiders outlasted the Mules by hitting 10-of-16 free throws in the third overtime period.
Surprisingly, the Raiders saw just one player foul out; the Mules lost three players, including a pair of starters.
It was a significant game for the Raiders: They earned their fourth win, matching last season’s total.
Free Throws
Berks Catholic will honor coach Snip Esterly for his 800th win with a ceremony Thursday before its game against Exeter at Wolf Gymnasium. The girls tip at 6:30, the boys to follow. . .
Exeter and Reading High are among 40 teams taking part in the Hoops for Harmony Shootout at two York County locations next weekend. The Eagles face York High Friday at 8:30 at York Tech. The Red Knights play Harrisburg Sunday at 8:30 at York Tech. There are eight games at each of those locations each day. There are also games being played at York High. . .
The final score in Wyomissing’s win over Tulpehocken Thursday looks like a misprint, but it wasn’t: 53-10. Even more remarkable is that all of the Trojans’ points were scored by the same player: Aidan Schwalm. That’s gotta be a first. Not only did no other Tulpy player score but none went to the foul line, either.