Everything falls just right for Saints as they capture district championship
HERSHEY – After a district semifinal win over Littlestown Monday night a bunch of Berks Catholic players went out to have wings and celebrate reaching the championship game.
Jack Miller didn’t join them. He took his basketball and went to Albright College to put up some shots. He was upset with his performance, after going 0-for-6 from the field, so he spent two hours at Bollman Center trying to regain his shooting rhythm.
“I was just frustrated, because that’s my job, to make shots,” said the junior guard.
Miller found his stroke, and so did his teammates. He and the Saints knocked down a bunch of early 3-pointers and turned their District 3 Class 4A championship game against Middletown Thursday afternoon into a rout. They scored the final 17 points of the first quarter and went on to a 60-37 victory at Giant Center for their fourth district title in 11 years, and first since 2018.
The best shooting team in Saints history had struggled from beyond the arc in two Berks playoff games at Santander Arena last month. Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly thought the depth perception in the big building threw them off, and he was concerned about the same thing happening at Giant Center, and against a defensive-minded Middletown team.
Those concerns faded quickly as Aidan Sands and Ryan Koch knocked down early 3-pointers to fuel a fast start.
“Just being in the (Santander) arena, being in that atmosphere, you learn (from) it,” said Koch, who finished with 16 points. “We couldn’t be in our heads. We just had to come out and know we could make our shots, and we did. It fell early.”
Everything clicked from the start for the top-seeded Saints (23-4), who played their best all-around game of the season. Their defense was brilliant, especially in the first period when they shut out the third-seeded Blue Raiders (20-4) over the final six minutes.
Middletown’s only basket of the quarter came on a putback by 6-4 center Tajae Brodie.
“They were focused,” said Esterly. “We told them what we thought was the best (defensive) plan, and they perfected it. They did a great job. I was worried about the quickness of their guards, and that they can shoot; we took care of that. I don’t think their guards hit a 3. That’s the best game we’ve played.”
The Blue Raiders shot just 25 percent for the game and were 2-of-14 on 3-pointers. They had just 21 points through three quarters. They had not been held below 48 points in a game this season.
“I thought our defense was amazing,” said Miller. “We moved the ball. Jay-Jay kicked out to us for 3’s. It was incredible.”
Jordan, a junior guard, set the tone early. He scored Berks Catholic’s first two baskets, had eight first-quarter points and a game-high 17 overall. He played under control, making 7-of-12 shots, and with aggressiveness on the boards.
“They had no answer for him,” Esterly said. “He was fantastic tonight.”
The Saints led 19-4 after one period and 32-12 at intermission, after Koch hit three straight free throws with time expired after being fouled on a 3-pointer.
“My teammates were on, I was on,” said Jordan. “It was a good day. This is something we waited on, and the energy showed. We showed out today.”
Miller stuck a pair of 3’s early in the third quarter to push the lead to 26; it reached 28 when Koch scored on a backdoor off a pass from Aron Reinhart.
The Saints open the PIAA Tournament Tuesday at home against the still-to-be determined fifth-place finisher out of District 12.
The Blue Raiders open state play Tuesday against the third-place finisher from District 2.
Berks Catholic didn’t even qualify for the district playoffs a year ago. It finished with a losing record for the first time in program history. Now the Saints are back on top.
“Going from 6-11 to a district championship is incredible,” said Miller. “It just shows how much better we got during the offseason.”
“I was on the bench saying: ‘Six and 11, who?’ ” said Jordan. “You see the trophy? You see the score? We’re loving this feeling right now. We’re going to keep going.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Middletown | 4 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 37 |
| Berks Catholic | 19 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 60 |
| Blue Raiders (20-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Batts | 0-6 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ta. Leach | 1-8 | 5-6 | 0-2 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Ty. Leach | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Appleby | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | – | 2 | 6 |
| Broadie | 5-16 | 4-4 | 1-6 | 0 | 13 | 15 |
| Huber | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Souders | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Stains | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dupes | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Smith | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 11-43 | 13-15 | 2-14 | 3 | 21/23 | 37 |
| Saints (23-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Sands | 2-8 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 | 9 | 8 |
| Jordan | 7-12 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 3 | 5 | 17 |
| Koch | 6-12 | 3-3 | 1-5 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| Miller | 3-5 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Givens | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Reinhart | 3-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Cacchione | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Nein | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Geddio | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaffney | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Diaz | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lawlor | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 22-42 | 8-9 | 8-17 | 8 | 26/29 | 60 |
Turnovers: Middletown 12, Berks Catholic 13.