Muhls sprint past Tigers to set up rematch against Reading High in semifinals
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
The old adage “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” does not apply to Muhlenberg basketball.
The sixth-seeded Muhls used tenacious defense to create a fast pace that led them to a 60-46 Berks Conference quarterfinal win over third-seeded Fleetwood Monday night.
“Everything we do is a sprint,” said Muhlenberg coach Matt Flowers. “We condition hard. We want to set what we do in seven seconds. We train with that pace, we practice with that pace, and we play with that pace.”
Muhlenberg (14-8) used a variety of defenses — fullcourt man, halfcourt man, three-quarters court zone trap and a fullcourt zone trap — to create 17 Fleetwood turnovers.
Those turnovers were only part of the story. Fleetwood (19-3) shot 7-of-22 from the foul line, with many of those misses due possibly to fatigue.
The Muhls came out hot from the outside against Fleetwood’s 3-2 zone. Shermar Killen and Alex Collado combined for five first-quarter 3-pointers. Killen and Collado combined for 26 first-half points to carry them to a 32-22 lead at intermission.
“In the first half we were playing inside-out, which is what we do when we are firing on all cylinders,” said Flowers. “The inside-out play led to open looks and we hit them early.”
In the second half the Muhls utilized their athleticism and got the majority of their points off of turnovers, drives to the baskets, and free throws. They did not make any 3-pointers.
“We talked at halftime that the middle of their zone was open,” said Killen, “so we took advantage by driving hard to the basket in the second half.”
Killen led all scorers with 23 points, on 8-of-13 shooting. Collado had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Kyle Archie had 10 points for the Muhls.
For the Tigers, Aiden Soumas scored a team-high 17 points and collected 11 rebounds. Hunter Svoboda had 13 points to go with a game-high 12 boards. Nate Herb dished out a game-high eight assists for Fleetwood.
The Berks III champion Tigers were within 42-35 heading into the final quarter before being outscored 18-11. Killen had six fourth-quarter points. The Tigers were 1-for-8 from the foul line in the final quarter.
Fleetwood will not play again until the District 3 Class 4A Tournament on Feb. 23. They are currently No. 2 in the power ratings and are in line for a first-round bye and quarterfinal home game against the winner of the 7-10 game. Brackets will become official until later this week.
The Muhls advance to the semifinals Wednesday at 8:30 at Santander Arena to take on a familiar foe in Reading High. Just six days ago the Red Knights avenged a double-overtime loss to the Muhls with a 37-point drubbing.
“This isn’t Reading High-Muhlenberg Part Three,” Flowers said. ‘This is whoever wins goes to the Berks County championship.
“They celebrated at the Geigle last week,” he said. “Now let’s take it to Penn Street and see who celebrates there.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 19 | 13 | 10 | 18 | 60 |
| Fleetwood | 14 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 46 |
| Muhls (14-8) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Killen | 8-13 | 5-6 | 2-2 | 2 | 10 | 23 |
| A Collado | 7-16 | 0-2 | 4-10 | 2 | 10 | 18 |
| Archie | 3-8 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Kantner | 3-7 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| J Collado | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Armstrong | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Le Clair | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Martinez | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 21-49 | 12-19 | 6-17 | 8 | 38 | 60 |
| Tigers (19-3) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Soumas | 8-20 | 1-6 | 0-4 | 2 | 11 | 17 |
| Herb | 1-5 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| Svoboda | 5-11 | 2-6 | 1-1 | 1 | 12 | 13 |
| Hilburt | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Musitano | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Senna | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Totals | 17-41 | 7-22 | 3-9 | 11 | 35 | 44 |
Turnovers: Muhlenberg 8, Fleetwood 17. Team rebounds: Muhlenberg 1, Fleetwood 0.
