Berks boys quarterfinal preview: No. 4 Wilson vs. No. 5 Exeter
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
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No. 4 Wilson (14-8) vs No. 5 Exeter (15-7)
When, where: Monday, 7, at West Lawn.
Head to head: Wilson won 64-63 on Jan. 26.
*Berks playoff records: Wison 41-24, Exeter 6-9.
The Bulldogs
(Tim Macrina photo)
Were headed to first division title since 2021 before late collapse and losses in three of their final four league games. . . Were 8-1 in late December and 13-5 after beating Exeter with 10 days left in regular season. . . Enter tournament as the Berks I runner-up and with five losses in last eight games. . . Soph G Correll Akings leads team in scoring at 11.6 per game, and with 29 3’s; he’s averaging 14.8 points over last five games. . . Junior G Madyx Gruber averaging 10.4 points; leads team in assists and steals. . . Junior C Luke Levan shooting team-best 63.6 percent from the field; leads team in rebounds (6.7 per game) and with 26 blocked shots. . . Third in league with 125 3’s; five players with 15 or more. . . Akings scored 15 points and Luke Levan 14 in win over Exeter. . . Outscored Eagles 24-5 in opening quarter, only to see Exeter rally to make it a one-possession game. . . Recorded key wins over expected district playoff qualifiers Warwick, Muhlenberg, and Central York. . . 2-4 vs. Berks playoff field.
The Eagles
(PhilMarPhoto)
Enter postseason with three straight wins and six in the last seven. . . Lone loss in that stretch came against Wilson. . . Scoring a league-leading 70.5 points per game; shooting 71.5 percent from foul line. . . Just the seventh team in Berks history to knock down more than 200 3-pointers in a season. . . Have 208 in 22 games, an average of 9.45 per game; only Muhlenberg, in 2019-20, averaged more 3’s per game. . . Senior Kevin Saenz, an all-division pick as a junior, leads team in scoring (17.4), assists (6.1) and 3-pointers (40) and is making 41.1 percent of his 3’s. . . He is one of five players with 20 or more 3’s. . . . Senior Reece Garvin, an all-division pick as a junior, leads team in rebounds (7.1 per game) and blocked shots, is averaging 10.6 points and has 38 3’s. . . Junior Brady Murray has 39 3’s and is shooting a team-best 46 percent from beyond the arc. . . . Recorded key wins over expected district playoff qualifiers Reading High, York High and Berks Catholic. . . 2-3 vs. Berks playoff field. . . Has beaten Wilson twice in three Berks playoff meetings.
Winner advances . . . to play either No. 1 Berks Catholic or No. 8 Antietam, Wednesday at Santander Arena, time TBD.
Championship: Friday, Santander Arena, 8.
*Since expanded Berks playoffs in 1982-83
