Best game of the year? Here are 10 picks from the Berks regular season
People often post on social media: “That was the best basketball game I’ve ever seen!”
Ever?
Geez, where do you even begin? If you’ve been watching the sport for 20, 30, 40 years or more like some of us you’ve seen countless “great” games.
Heck, just this season alone there were a couple dozen terrific games in Berks boys basketball. We’ll take a look at the most memorable of them, starting today with the best games of the regular season. Later in the week we’ll rank the best 10 games of the postseason.
Here are the 10 best of the regular season, starting with No. 1 and working our way down (click on the score to find a link to the game story and boxscore):
Reading High 68, Cardinal O’Hara 65
There was lots of hype surrounding this one because Rick Perez was in position to become the winningest coach in Reading High basketball history. That’s a pretty heady achievement, considering they’ve had some pretty good coaches in that program: Pete Carill, Jim Gano, Rick Binder, just to name a few.
For a while it looked like that milestone would have to wait for another night as Ruben Rodriguez got in and remained in foul trouble, Aris Rodriguez went scoreless in the first half and O’Hara built a 19-point lead in the second quarter.
“Coming out, they smacked us,” said Reading’s Amier Burdine said. “We weren’t expecting that.”
We found out a lot about the Red Knights that night and got a hint as to what was in store as they came storming back to win it.
The Eagles essentially nailed down their first division title in 40 years on the strength of a courageous performance by Anthony Caccese and a gutsy decision by coach Matt Ashcroft, who left his big guy in the game with three fouls and then four fouls. Caccese dominated, helping the Eagles rally from an eight-point deficit by posting a career-high 27 points to go with 17 rebounds, a true monster game. This was the first indication Exeter had something special going on this season and was part of a 17-2 finishing run by the Eagles.
Muhlenberg 48, Berks Catholic 46
The Muhls survived a wild finish that saw four turnovers in the final minute as Luis Valentin came up with a key steal and layup and Jay’Daniel Mosquera hit both ends of a double bonus with 1.6 left to snap a tie. The loss was the first for the Saints after a 12-0 start.
The Bulldogs scored the first 12 points of the game but didn’t score much after that. They had just five field goals and 12 points in the second half as the Saints slowly overtook them. Josiah Jordan led a balanced scoring attack for BC with 14 points; he also had a game-high nine rebounds.
Cam Jones’ mid-January return after missing the first 10 games due to injury went well – until the Rams’ Zach Zollers’ tipped in a miss at the buzzer to win it. It extended Spring-Ford’s winning streak to 11 games; the Rams carried that momentum all the way to the PIAA Class 6A semifinals, where they lost to Reading High. The Bulldogs never clicked. After a promising start without Jones, their leading return scorer from last season, they went 11-8 the rest of the way and 3-4 in the postseason.
The Bulldogs, leading by one, needed a stop in the final seconds and got one when Seamus Breslin and Ofure Odiale forced a turnover as the Muhls were setting up for the final shot. It wasn’t pretty, especially at the end when there were five turnovers and just one basket over the final four minutes, but the Bulldogs persevered by allowing just 15 second-half points to a potentially explosive Muhls team.
Reading High 58, Devon Prep 50
Once again the Red Knights came out slowly, falling behind 15-2 – to the team that beat them in last year’s Reading Holiday Tournament championship game.
Once again the Red Knights dug out of the hole, and they did it with their relentless, attacking fullcourt defense, one that forced 24 turnovers against the defending Class 3A state champs.
“They know how to win,” Reading coach Rick Perez said of his seniors. “They’ve been there. They know what it takes.”
The Bulldogs used a 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter to pull within two but the Red Knights never gave up the lead. Playing like the playoff veterans they are, the Red Knights turned them back and picked them off, forcing four turnovers in the final 2 1/2 minutes to improve to 11-1.
Reading High 63, Berks Catholic 59
The Red Knights built a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead but the Saints kept coming after them in a battle between two eventual District 3 champs. The Saints started to foul intentionally and the tactic worked as the Knights missed five straight in the final 50 seconds and didn’t score a field goal over the final three minutes.
The four-point margin of victory was Reading’s smallest in league play, but not its only close call: It beat both Exeter and Wilson by five points. Once the Red Knights got to the state tournament the games were much easier (at least until that last one).
The Saints led by 12 early in the fourth quarter before the Shamrocks made a run, pulling within a bucket. They had a chance to take the lead on a 3-pointer in the final seconds but the shot was off the mark.
BC’s Ryan Koch and Josiah Jordan combined for 15 fourth-quarter points to keep the unbeaten Saints ahead down the stretch in this battle between two eventual District 3 champs.
Trinity went all the way to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals.
Others considered:
Antietam 85, Nativity 83 OT
Manheim Central 67, Fleetwood 57
Oley Valley 70, Brandywine Heights 66 OT
Spring-Ford 56, Exeter 48
Bishop McDevitt 75, Conrad Weiser 70
Muhlenberg 67, Dallas 64
