Antietam’s title-clinching helps clear up Berks playoff picture — somewhat
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Julious Williams and Shawn Raffety combined for 11 fourth-quarter points as Antietam pulled away from visiting Brandywine Heights for a 49-39 victory Tuesday to clinch the Berks Conference Division IV title.
The Mounts (9-3, 12-10), who entered the final night of league play with a one-game lead over Oley Valley, needed a win to secure their second division title in three seasons. Had they lost, they would’ve ended tied with the Lynx for first and likely lost the tiebreaker, which is based on power rating. Oley ended its regular season with a 59-44 win over Kutztown.
Antietam’s victory, along with Reading High’s win over Muhlenberg, clears up the Berks playoff picture, with quarterfinals set for Monday.
The Red Knights (8-3, 15-7) clinched their fourth straight Berks I title with an 83-46 win over the Muhls (7-4, 13-8).
Berks Catholic (11-1, 19-2) and Fleetwood (11-0, 19-2) went into the final night of play with the Berks II and Berks III titles, respectively, clinched.
Those teams will be joined in the playoffs by Berks I runner-up Wilson (7-4, 14-8) and Berks III runner-up Schuylkill Valley (8-3, 15-5), each of which won Tuesday, and Exeter (9-3, 15-7), which will enter as a wild card.
Unofficial power ratings on the District 3 website indicate that Berks Catholic will be the No. 1 seed for the eight-team tournament, followed by No. 2 Reading High, No. 3 Fleetwood, No. 4 Exeter, No. 5 Wilson, No. 6 Muhlenberg, No. 7 Schuylkill Valley, and No. 8 Antietam.
Those power rating figures could change, altering the opening-round match-ups and home courts. Exeter, Wilson, and Muhlenberg are tightly bunched in the 4-5-6 slots and Reading High has a slim lead over Fleetwood.
The first-round match-ups could also be altered by coaches’ challenges at the league seeding meeting Thursday.
It’s possible Reading High could challenge Berks Catholic for the No. 1 spot, making a case that the Saints aren’t the same team they were before top player Kingston McKoy was lost for the season with an injury late last month. Berks Catholic, which won its first 18 games, has lost twice since McKoy’s season ended.
Wilson could choose to challenge Exeter, based on its head-to-head win on the Eagles’ home court. Muhlenberg could challenge Exeter, which it beat in their only meeting.
Fleetwood could be challenged by any of Exeter, Wilson or Muhlenberg, each of which has a higher strength-of-schedule rating.
All first-round games will be played Monday on the home court of the higher-seeded team. The semifinals will be played as part of a Quadrupleheader Feb. 14 at Santander Arena. The championship is Feb. 16 at Santander.
Reading High beat Exeter 70-63 in last year’s championship game.
