Exeter looks to regroup as District 3 tourney begins for 5 Berks boys teams
If Exeter can play with the same energy and precision it displayed against Reading High in the Berks Conference championship game the Eagles could find themselves playing for another championship next week.
Matching that performance in Monday’s District 3 Class 5A opener against 14th-seeded Shippensburg, however, won’t be a lay-up.
First, the Eagles spent a lot of emotion and played their best game of the season against the Red Knights; they led by 10 points with 4 ½ minutes to go before things unraveled. It was devastating to come so close to a major win but fall short.
Part of the reason the Eagles couldn’t hold that lead is because they were playing without 6-3 junior Reece Garvin, who suffered a lower leg injury early in the game and couldn’t play in the second half. They missed his length, rebounding and scoring.
They’re not sure if they’ll have him Monday, when they open districts as the No. 3 seed at home.
District 3 schedule for Monday
Exeter is one of five Berks boys team that gets going on the opening night of the District 3 Tournament, along with Muhlenberg, Schuylkill Valley, Brandywine Heights and Oley Valley.
Six other Berks teams open later in the week; the tournament concludes with championships Feb. 28 and March 2 at Giant Center.
The Eagles (19-6) are putting together one of the best seasons in program history. They won the Berks II title, their first division championship since 1984. They reached the Berks title game for the first time since 1974. One more win will give them their first 20-win season in 39 years and send them back to the PIAA Tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1983 and 1984.
They’ve done it with defense, balance and depth. Seniors Anthony Caccese and Zyion Paschall were named to the All-Berks team Sunday. Juniors Kevin Saenz and Garvin were all-division selections.
They are the Eagles’ four leading scorers and average between 9.8 and 12.8 points per game. Garvin, Saenz and Teddy Snyder each have knocked down more than 30 3-pointers.
If Garvin can’t go junior guard Alex Kelsey, who provided terrific play off the bench during the Berks playoffs, will likely take his spot in the lineup.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Exeter coach Matt Ashcroft said after the 70-63 loss to Reading High . “They’re warriors. They’re like a team from the 90’s, in terms of how physical, and tough, and resilient, and hard-nosed they are. This is an old-school, gritty basketball team that does whatever they have to do. They never back down. They’re such an awesome bunch of kids.”
(Tim Macrina photo)
Exeter faces a Shippensburg team that has won eight of its last 10 games. The Greyhounds (12-8) graduated three starters and got a new head coach, Rick Lewis, after reaching the District 3 Class 5A championship game and reaching the PIAA quarterfinals last season. It was the longest playoff run in program history.
The Greyhounds have gotten a boost from freshman point guard Cole Trn, the son of Shippensburg University women’s coach Kristy Trn. They went 9-4 in league play and finished third in the Mid-Penn Colonial, behind Waynesboro and Greencastle-Antrim.
If Exeter wins it’ll play at home against Thursday in a quarterfinal.
Also Monday:
Muhlenberg at West York: The ninth-seeded Muhls (14-9) are looking to snap a two-game losing streak after falling to Reading High in their season finale and Berks Catholic in a league quarterfinal.
The Muhls are also looking for first district win since 2021 after a stinging first-round 55-54 defeat at Cedar Cliff last season.
All-Division picks Xzavion Robertson (14.4) and Jay’Daniel Mosquera (13.0) lead Muhlenberg in scoring and have combined for 90 3-pointers. Mosquera leads the team in steals and assists and is hitting 40 percent on 3-pointers.
The eighth-seeded Bulldogs (17-7) finished first in Section 2 of the York/Adams League and lost to York High in the league semifinals, 47-43. David McGladrie leads the team in scoring at 13.1 point per game.
West York allows 44.0 per game, second-lowest in the league.
The winner advances to play top-seeded Manheim Central in a Class 5A quarterfinal.
Middletown at Schuylkill Valley: The seventh-seeded Panthers (17-5) get their first home district home playoff game since 2017 when they meet the 10th-seeded Blue Raiders (12-10) in a Class 4A first-round game.
The Panthers enjoyed their best regular season in coach Taylor Grim’s 11 seasons; they won as many as 17 games only once in that span, in 2016-17, when they won three games in districts and reached the PIAA Tournament.
All-Division picks Mark Rajnath, who leads the team in scoring at 13.4 per game, and Dominic Giuffre (10.1) lead the way, along with sophomore Cooper Hohenadel, who has 47 3-pointers and averages 12.1 points.
Middletown finished third in the Mid-Penn Capital behind Trinity and Bishop McDevitt; it lost to both twice.
The Blue Raiders beat Wyomissing 44-42; Schuylkill Valley beat the Spartans 57-54 and 62-57 in Berks III play.
The winner plays at No. 2 Fleetwood Thursday.
The top six finishers advance to the state tournament.
Brandywine Heights at Oley Valley: The Berks IV rivals went to overtime the last time they met, the division champion Lynx pulling it out 70-66.
The Lynx won (18-5) the first meeting 63-51 in December but the Bullets (11-11) have the youngest lineup in the league and improved throughout the season.
The third-seeded Lynx are led by all-division picks Jaden Kelly and Keith Neal, and by sophomore Ben DeBalko, who leads them in scoring at 11.3 points per game and with 57 3-pointers. Sophomore Jayden Kantner was an all-division pick and leads the Bullets in scoring at 12.6 per game.
Oley Valley is looking for its first district playoff win since 2007.
The winner advances to the Class 3A semifinals Thursday at Trinity; the loser is eliminated.
The top three finishers in Class 3A advance to the PIAA Tournament.
