Red Knights ‘just starting to click’ says coach after division-clinching blowout of Muhls
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Nick Chapman didn’t get on the court for Reading High in its double-overtime loss at Muhlenberg four weeks ago. He was recovering from a broken orbital bone and couldn’t play.
Still, he took that loss personally. It burned in his soul as if he had missed a last-second shot or turned the ball over and cost his team the game. He couldn’t wait for a chance to rectify things against the Muhls.
“It’s been on my mind since the day we lost,” the senior guard said.
Chapman spent his down time watching game film, closely studying Muhlenberg’s Shermar Killen, who torched his team for 29 points last month.
When the two teams met again Chapman was more than ready. He led an inspired effort Tuesday that saw the Red Knights run their Laureldale rivals off the court and claim the Berks Conference Division title with a resounding 83-46 victory.
Reading High (8-3, 15-7) will head into the league playoffs next week with a head of steam after its fifth straight win and eighth in nine games. It will be the No. 2 seed – possibly the No. 1 if it challenges Berks Catholic, which lost its best player and then a pair of late-season games.
No matter where they’re placed in the bracket the Red Knights will once again be considered the team to beat – a year after graduating the All-Berks trio of Ruben Rodriguez, Myles Grey and Aris Rodriguez and five months after seeing longtime head coach Rick Perez leave for Muhlenberg, where he’s now an assistant coach.
Francis Camara, the man who replaced Perez, isn’t surprised by his team’s turnaround and constant growth.
Even after that defeat at Muhlenberg – one that left the Red Knights at 6-5 and on the back burner when it came to discussion of Berks Conference contenders – he was confident his young team would be there at the end.
“Everybody wants to write us off,” he said in early January, after a win at Wilson. “Go ahead. Our boys are fine.”
Fine is an understatement. They were at their best in every facet of the game Tuesday, racing to a 12-5 lead after three minutes, a 27-18 advantage after a quarter and a 17-point bulge by halftime.
They ended both the first and second quarters with buzzer-beaters – the first a 3-pointer by Nico Sosa, the second a soft putback by Weshly Rosario – and continued to pour it on in the third quarter.
Ninety seconds before the fourth quarter began they had a 30-point lead that started the running clock – something no one expected in this showdown for first place.
“It’s just starting to click,” Camara said. “I love the basketball that we’re playing.”
What’s not to love?
The Red Knights sprinted past the Muhls (7-4, 13-8) throughout the first half, even after made baskets, beating them down the floor for transition points. Twice Rosario – a sophomore who could be one of the league’s most dominant players this time next year – grabbed defensive rebounds and fired long baseball passes, one to Chapman, one to Yadiel Cruz.
That was part of Rosario’s 10-point, nine-rebound, eight-assist effort.
“He has next-level vision,” Camara said of the young point guard.
Cruz, the league’s scoring leader, had nine points in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 26, to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds. Rosario and Chapman, who had four assists, constantly set him up down low.
The smooth 6-3 senior took advantage of the Muhls’ small interior and inflicted damage throughout.
Chapman aggressively attacked the basket and finished with 18 points, matching his second-highest total of the season.
The Red Knights put up 27 first-quarter points and had 43 by halftime. Their 83 points were easily more than anyone had put up against the Muhls this season.
They did it with sizzling outside shooting at the outset – they had four 3-pointers in the opening quarter – and by sharing the ball. They recorded assists on 13 of 30 baskets.
“We turned down good shots for great shots,” said senior Malik Osumanu.
Reading’s offensive explosion overshadowed its defense, but it shouldn’t have. Only Berks Catholic held the Muhls to fewer points this season.
Chapman was at the forefront of the effort. He took Killen, the Muhls’ leading scorer at 16.4 points per game, right out of the picture. Killen was limited to three points – all from the foul line – through three quarters. His only basket came in the fourth quarter. He was 1-of-10 shooting.
Chapman does that kind of stuff to a lot of people. That’s a large reason why Reading has gone 6-1 since he returned Jan. 20. If he takes the other team’s best player out of the game the Red Knights are likely going to win.
“Nick Chapman is a difference-maker,” Camara said. “Everyone knows it. He’s the heart and soul of our team.”
He wasn’t the only guy out there playing defense, of course. Rosario played a big part, too, covering the Muhls’ No. 2 scorer, Alex Collado. Collado had nine first-quarter points but only six more the rest of the way.
“Our guys want to guard,” Camara insisted. “They took it personally (that) we gave up 87 points (to Muhlenberg). That’s a lot of points.”
To be fair, 22 of those came in the overtime periods. In regulation Muhlenberg scored 65.
“That’s still more points than we want to give up,” Camara said. “They accepted the challenge of wanting to be better defensively.”
The Red Knights, with just one starter back from last year’s state championship team, have been challenged all season. They got knocked down a bunch. They got back up each time.
“The guys heard all week long: ‘Oh, you lost to them last time,’ ” Camara said of Muhlenberg. “We lost to them because they were the better team that night. They were.”
Not this time.
“Our guys have only been worried about getting better day by day,” Camara said. “Now, we’re playing so much better, and I think we’re going to continue to incline.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 18 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 46 |
| Reading HIgh | 27 | 16 | 23 | 17 | 83 |
| Muhls (13-8) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Kantner | 5-8 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| Archie | 3-7 | 4-6 | 1-1 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Killen | 1-10 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| A Collado | 5-10 | 5-5 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| J Collado | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Leclair | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Armstrong | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martinez | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Urbaez | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hemmings | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perez | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 16-45 | 12-17 | 2-8 | 6 | 21/26 | 46 |
| Red Knights (15-7) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Cruz | 10-16 | 4-4 | 2-5 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
| Camara | 2-6 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Chapman | 6-10 | 6-9 | 0-1 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| Rosario | 4-5 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Osumanu | 1-4 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Burgess | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Beatty | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Sosa | 3-4 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Sheriff | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pantaleon | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30-52 | 16-23 | 7-18 | 13 | 33/33 | 83 |
Turnovers: Muhlenberg 15, Reading High 8. Team rebounds: Muhlenberg 4, Reading High 0.
