Exeter shoots down Muhlenberg in Class 5A seeding game
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Brady Murray and his Exeter teammates couldn’t hit a thing from the outside in their District 3 Class 5A quarterfinal last week at Mechanicsburg.
Four nights later they could barely miss.
Murray hit a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 18 points as the 10th-seeded Eagles topped 11th-seeded Muhlenberg 81-58 Monday in a Class 5A seeding game at Reiffton.
Exeter, which leads the Berks Conference with 236 3-pointers, made a dozen 3’s Monday. It was just 3-of-23 from 3-point range in its 57-48 loss Thursday to the second-seeded Wildcats.
The Eagles (17-9) broke the game open with a 27-point third-quarter blitz that pushed them ahead by 30 points and into the district’s fifth-place game Wednesday at Lititz, where they’ll play ninth-seeded Warwick at 7.
The Warriors (19-8) advanced with an 82-61 win over fifth-seeded Manheim Central.
The Muhls, meanwhile, will play at Manheim Wednesday for seventh place.
The top eight teams advance to the PIAA Tournament, which begins next week.
Exeter led 43-37 at halftime Monday before Murray hit a pair of 3’s and Devon Nester hit one in the decisive third period which saw the Muhls outscored 27-3.
All-Berks guard Kevin Saenz scored 15 points for Exeter. Aidan Dauble had 11 and Alex Kelsey 10. The 18 points were one shy of Murray’s career high.
Freshman Justin Armstrong knocked down four 3-pointers and scored a season-high 16 points for the Muhls.
Alex Collado scored 12 and freshman Eli Hemmings came off the bench to knock down three treys and score nine points for Muhlenberg.
It was the fourth time this season that Exeter has scored 80 points or more. The Eagles lead the league in scoring at 69.4 points per game. Muhlenberg allowed 80 points or more just once before this season, in an 83-46 loss at Reading High.
If Exeter beats Warwick to finish fifth in the district it will open the state tournament March 8 against the District 1 runner-up; if it loses and finishes sixth it will open against the District 7 runner-up and could be looking at a lengthy road trip.
If Muhlenberg beats Manheim Central and finishes seventh, it will open against the District 4 or 6 champ; if it loses and finishes eighth it will open against the District 1 champ.
Muhlenberg beat Exeter 59-54 in a crossover game at Laureldale in mid-January.f
