Confident Paschall, Eagles shoot down Muhls in key Berks crossover battle
A season ago at this time Zyion Paschall would’ve never taken the shot that gave Exeter the lead for good Monday in a key 57-50 Berks Conference crossover victory over visiting Muhlenberg.
Paschall would’ve certainly passed off; he didn’t trust himself to knock down a shot in a big situation.
This time there was no hesitation. He drove the right baseline, saw a defender on the low block, went past him and under the basket, then curled around and dropped in a short jumper for a 44-43 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to go.
“I’m not thinking about what I’m gonna do,” the senior guard said, “I’m just doing it. I have confidence in myself now.”
Paschall was a top defender and ballhandler as a junior; now he’s a difference-maker on the other end of the floor, too. He scored a game- and career-high 17 points Monday, including eight in the final quarter as the Eagles (4-2 Berks II, 8-4) gradually pulled away down the stretch.
He made six free throws in the final quarter, including back-to-back one-and-ones during a pivotal stretch.
“He’s our best decision-maker, so we want the basketball in his hands at all times,” Exeter coach Matt Ashcroft said of Paschall. “We’re confident with him with the basketball in his hands. No matter what the defense throws at us, we want Zyion to be front and center. He’s been unbelievable for us.
“I know it’s cliche, but the game has truly slowed down for him, and you can see it with every passing day: Practice, game, it gets slower and slower for him. I think that’s the best compliment you can give a kid.”
It was an important win for Exeter as it remained one game back of Berks II leader Berks Catholic, which lost to the Muhls (3-3 Berks I, 8-6) just three days earlier.
“This was an extremely important game for — you name it,” said Ashcroft. “Divisional rankings, Berks and district seedings. We knew what was on the line.”
The Eagles won it with their trademark defense, holding the Muhls a dozen points below their scoring average. They focused in particular on the explosive backcourt duo of Xzayvion Robertson and J’Daniel Mosquera, who combine for about 29 points per game. They got just 11, and none in the fourth quarter.
“(We wanted to) lock down Robertson and Mosquera,” said Paschall, who went head-to-head against Mosquera in an intense battle. “We did our jobs. I feel like I’m one of the best defenders in the county. Kevin (Saenz), he did a wonderful job (on Robertson).”
Robertson made just 2-of-12 shots. Mosquera couldn’t get a thing to drop; he finished 0-for-11.
Josh Alcantara kept the Muhsl close, hitting 5-of-9 from 3-point range to finish with 15 points, but no one else was finding the botton of the net. Alcantara’s teammates combined to shoot 22 percent.
“We were just all over (them),” said Exeter junor Reece Garvin. “We had them rattled. We prioritized their tops scorers and made other players shoot the ball, and they weren’t hitting.”
Muhlenberg, which trailed by seven at intermission, came out fast in the third quarter, scoring the first eight points. A minute later Saenz picked up his fourth personal foul and went to the bench. Thirty seconds later 6-7 Anthony Caccese, who had a game-high 11 rebounds, picked up his fourth and took a seat.
The Eagles were vulnerable but never wavered. They got a huge lift off the bench from freshman Aidan Dauble and senior Devin Sheerin.
Dauble grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Eagles dominate the boards to the tune of 46-24. Sheerin, who goes 6-6, came up big over the final four minutes of the third quarter when he grabbed three rebounds and hit a pair of free throws that extended Exeter’s lead to 41-36.
“Dauble came in, worked very hard,” Garvin said. “Devin Sherin came in, doing the same thing, just working. That’s all coach asks for: Just get out there, put in the effort.”
“Just because we lose one guy doesn’t mean we have to stop playing the way we play,” Paschall said.
The Muhls took their final lead at 43-42 lead with 6:43 remaining on a 3-pointer from Alex Collado. The Eagles answered with an 8-0 run and came up big at the free throw line, where they hit eight straight free throws, the last two by Seanz for a 54-50 lead with 1:55 left.
Muhlenberg didn’t score on it’s final six possessions.
Teddy Snyder, who scored 12 points for Exeter, clinched it with a transition basket that pushed the lead to six points with 17 seconds left.
The Eagles hit 10-of-13 free throws in the fourth quarter and 13-of-17 for the game.
“These are the games you want to play,” Ashcroft said. “Highly contested battles against well-coached teams and really skilled teams, that what Muhlenberg is.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 13 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 50 |
| Exeter | 11 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 57 |
| Muhls (8-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Robertson | 2-12 | 3-4 | 1-4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Mosquera | 0-11 | 3-5 | 0-5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Valentin | 2-5 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Adonis | 4-8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Alcantara | 5-9 | 0-0 | 5-9 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Branch | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Collado | 3-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Archie | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Towles | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miller | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zabala | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 16-58 | 9-17 | 9-26 | 3 | 19-24 | 50 |
| Eagles (8-4 ) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Paschall | 5-9 | 6-9 | 1-2 | 4 | 6 | 17 |
| Saenz | 3-8 | 3-4 | 0-3 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Snyder | 6-14 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Garvin | 4-5 | 2-2 | 3-4 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| Caccese | 1-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 11 | 2 |
| Dauble | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Sheerin | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Totals | 20-44 | 13-17 | 4-13 | 9 | 41 | 57 |
Turnovers: Muhlenberg 8, Exeter 18.
