Donovan Gingrich off to big start as Weiser tops Antietam in season-opener
2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
It’s safe to say Donovan Gingrich was ready to go when the ball went up for the first time Saturday.
The Conrad Weiser junior scored 14 first-quarter points and finished with a career-high 31 as the Scouts opened their season with a 65-48 non-league win over Antietam at Mount Penn.
He finished with seven 3-pointers, matching his career high.
His new coach, Mike Dooley, was expecting big things . . . but maybe not quite this big, this soon.
“He’s locked in,” Dooley said last week of the three-year starter. “It’s exciting to see him grow up. From last year to this year he has taken a big jump, in terms of maturity.”
Gingrich had a big sophomore season, leading the Scouts in scoring at 14.3 points per game. He knocked down a team-best 58 shots from beyond the arc, second-most in the league.
The Scouts needed every last one of Gingrich’s points in the early going; in fact, they could have used a few more.
The Mounts were up by as many as eight points in the first quarter and led 26-25 at the half.
Julious Williams scored nine of his 15 points in the first quarter to get the Mounts going.
Gingrich and the Scouts took over in the third quarter, outscoring the Mounts 21-12. Gingrich knocked down four 3’s in the quarter.
James Arnold helped the Scouts close things out, scoring 10 of his career-high 17 points in the final quarter.
Sophomore AJ Scheifly scored a team-high 16 points for Antietam, 10 in the first half. Shawn Raffety hit a pair of first-quarter 3’s and finished with 13 points, and four treys.
Gingrich scored 30 points twice last year, against Schuylkill Valley and Garden Spot. He had seven 3’s against Schuylkill Valley.
The game was played at the Mount Penn Primary Center, the Mounts home and not used for varsity basketball since 1989. Antietam’s home court was damaged during a summer flood. The Mounts will play all of their home games at the Primary Center this season. They’ll play their holiday tournament at Exeter.
Conrad Weiser played without injured 6-4 forward Josh Plummer.
