Archbishop Carroll has easy time of it in second round

A poor first half may have cost Berks Catholic an extended run in the state tournament.

Archbishop Carroll, which took out the Saints 68-61 in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A Tournament Tuesday, had an easy time of it in the second round: The Patriots ripped District 4 runner-up Athens 83-38 Friday.

Sophomore standout Moses Hipps scored 31 points to lead the District 12 fifth-place Patriots (14-10); he also had 31 against Berks Catholic.

The District 3 champion Saints fell behind Archbishop Carroll 16-7 after one period and trailed 29-11 midway through the second quarter. They trailed by 27 points in the second half. The Saints came up with a huge fourth-quarter rally, twice pulling within six points, but got no closer at saw their season end.

After the game, Saints coach Snip Esterly said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Carroll make a run all the way to the state title game March 24.

Carroll advances to play District 7 runner-up Montour in a Tuesday semifinal. Montour defeated District 6 champ Penn Cambria 71-48.

Archbishop Carroll entered the state tournament with a 12-10 record after finishing in ninth place in the Catholic League. It didn’t realize it would be in the state tournament until a few days before the start of the tournament and more than two weeks after it thought its season had ended.

Trinity, the only District 3 team to advance past the first round in Class 4A, was eliminated Friday by West Philadelphia 80-77. The Shamrocks finished third in the district tournament.