Berks Catholic clinches No. 2 Berks seed with decisive win over Wilson

Berks Catholic is ready for the postseason.

The Saints showed that Tuesday night, turning back a late Wilson rally to register a 56-43 victory at Wolf Gymnasium in a Berks Conference Division I game.

The win secures second place for the Saints (9-3, 17-3) and should lock up the No. 2 seed in the BCIAA Tournament next week. It also provided a measure of satisfaction for the Saints after a 51-48 loss to the Bulldogs (7-4, 14-6) at West Lawn earlier this season.

“I think we’re playing pretty darned good right now,” said Saints coach Snip Esterly. “This was a big game for us.

“(It was) for the No. 2 seed in the county, and we think we’re going to end up playing them again if we take care of what we have to do, and they take care of what they have to do.”

If Berks Catholic and Wilson each win their Berks quarterfinals on Monday they’ll meet in the league semifinals.

The Saints got 20 points apiece from Aidan Sands and Ryan Koch.

Jack Miller’s 3-pointer gave the Saints a 38-23 lead midway through the third quarter but the Bulldogs battled back, pulling within seven at the end of the third and within 48-43 on Aidan Melograna’s basket with 3:36 remaining.

That was the last the Bulldogs would score. The Saints ended the game with an 8-0 run.

“We took care of some things (against Wilson’s late pressure),” Esterly said. “They tried to double us, and we hit the right person and got some easy layups off it.”

Koch started the 8-0 finishing run with a drive and ended it with a breakaway dunk with nine seconds left.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Wilson, which entered having won 10-of-11. The Bulldogs close their regular season schedule with a game at Reading High Wednesday.

Defense was the key for the Saints, who blocked eight or 10 shots, kept second shots to a minimum, and held the Bulldogs to their second-lowest point total of the season. They scored fewer points only against Reading High in a 64-36 loss Dec. 21.

“I thought we did a better job of keeping them out of the paint,” Esterly said. “I thought that was a big key, to keep their guards out of the paint so the big guys didn’t have to help out and get out of position for rebounding.”

Foday Sillah led Wilson with 12 points, half of them in the first quarter. Cleveland Harding scored eight and Cameron Jones seven.

The Saints have clinched the No. 1 in the District 3 Class 4A Tournament, which begins Feb. 21.