Saints ‘do it for Kingston,’ complete miracle comeback over Red Knights with top player injured (updated)
2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story will be updated later tonight with a full boxscore, additional details and postgame reaction.)
Berks Catholic rallied from a 14-point deficit, most of it after star player Kingston McKoy went out with an injury, to beat Reading High 61-59 Tuesday night at Wolf Gymnasium and remain unbeaten.
Josh McKoy’s drive and bucket with six seconds left gave the Saints the lead. The Red Knights had two shots at the basket in the final seconds but couldn’t convert.
Kingston McKoy, a 6-2 sophomore and considered by many the top player in Berks County, was taken to the hospital after suffering what appeared to be a lower leg injury with 2:31 left in the third quarter and his team down 10.
He had a clear path to the basket but went down in the lane as his left leg went out from under him. He appeared in great discomfort as he lay on the floor immediately following the fall.
Parker Nein scored a team-high 27 points, 11 in the final quarter, to lead Berks Catholic. Josh McKoy finished with 18, including the Saints’ final five, all in the final minute.
Yadiel Cruz led the Red Knights (4-3 Berks I, 10-7) with 25 points but did not score in the fourth quarter.
Reading led 50-43 entering the final but didn’t score for the first 5 1/2 minutes, allowing Berks Catholic to take its first lead, on a pair of Zach Suski free throws.
The victory allowed the Saints (8-0 Berks II, 14-0) to match the best start in program history. They opened the 2011-12 season with 14 straight wins.
The Red Knights got off to a sizzling start, racing to an 11-3 behind a pair of Cruz 3-pointers. Cruz had 11 points in the first quarter as Reading opened a 19-9 lead and he had 16 by halftime, with Reading up 34-24.
Nein began to find the range in the second quarter for Berks Catholic, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. He had 13 points at the half.
Berks Catholic played nearly half the first half without 6-4 center Josh McKoy, who went out with his second foul with 2:49 left in the first quarter, then left again after drawing his third 5:47 before halftime.
The Red Knights led by as many as 14 points after Nick Chapman’s 3-pointer in transition with 1:10 left in the first half.
The Saints remain the only undefeated team in District 3 and their power rating of .834 entering Tuesday’s game was the highest in the district, well ahead of Class 6A leader Cumberland Valley (.797) and Class 5A leader Hershey (.755).
Reading High had won seven straight in the series, including the 2022 Berks Conference championship game. Berks Catholic’s last win in the series came in the 2018 Berks championship game at Santander Arena. Reading leads the series 10-2; Berks Catholic took the first meeting, in the 2013 BCIAA championship game. The teams have met seven time with the league championship on the line.
The Saints fell behind by 15 points at the half in last year’s meeting at the Geigle before closing the gap to four in the final seconds of a 63-59 loss.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Reading High | 19 | 15 | 16 | 9 | 59 |
| Berks Catholic | 9 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 61 |
| Red Knights (10-7) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Cruz | 9-12 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 2 | 14 | 25 |
| Camara | 4-7 | 0-2 | 2-4 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Chapman | 7-13 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| Rosario | 1-5 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Osumanu | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Sosa | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Beatty | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burgess | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mercedes | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 22-46 | 8-12 | 7-17 | 8 | 27/30 | 59 |
| Saint (14-0) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Dominguez | 3-6 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Nein | 10-20 | 2-2 | 5-12 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| K. McKoy | 2-8 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| J. McKoy | 6-10 | 3-5 | 3-4 | 1 | 7 | 18 |
| Altimar | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Komoro | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suski | 0-4 | 2-4 | 0-3 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Totals | 22-50 | 8-13 | 9-24 | 4 | 24/27 | 61 |
Turnovers: Reading High 13, Berks Catholic 9. Team rebounds: Reading High 3, Berks Catholic 3.
