Hoop Notes: Red Knights back on top, showdown looming, Lynx streaking
Reading High finally ascended to the No. 1 spot in the District 3 Class 6A power ratings after Cumberland Valley took its first loss Friday.
The Eagles won their first 14 games before falling at Chambersburg 43-41. One month earlier the Eagles beat the Trojans 55-37.
Cumberland Valley’s loss means there is just one unbeaten team remaining in District 3: If you knew that it was Linville Hill Christian, which is 13-0 and atop the Class 1A power rankings, you may be spending too much time surfing the web.
The Red Knights, who have won the last two Class 6A titles, are unbeaten according to the District 3 power ratings, which do not count non-PIAA opponents. Reading’s lone loss came Dec. 29 against Washington D.C. powerhouse Gonzaga College, 80-55. Other than that the Red Knights are 17-0 after beating Harrisburg Saturday in the Geigle Classic.
Cumberland Valley’s toughest game lies directly ahead, Tuesday at home against State College. The Little Lions are 14-1 and are now alone in first place in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth.
State College, which will play in the District 6 Tournament, took it’s only loss against Erie McDowell in mid-December. It will play Cumberland Valley twice in the regular season.
No matter where they’re ranked heading into the District 3 Tournament, which tips Feb. 20, the Red Knights — with three starters back from last year’s championship team — will be the favorite. They own wins over No. 5 Central York and No. 7 Wilson, as well as Chester, Hazleton and three Philadelphia Catholic League teams: Cardinal O’Hara, West Catholic and Devon Prep.
Reading High owns a record 24 District 3 titles but has only pulled off one three-peat, in 1955, ’56 and ’57.
Leading scorer Ruben Rodriguez will be going for four in a row: He won one as a freshman at Muhlenberg.
Berks showdown
Reading High’s biggest threat to an unbeaten run through the Berks Conference comes Tuesday when it plays Berks II leader Berks Catholic at the Geigle.
The Saints are 15-1, matching the best record in program history at this juncture; their lone loss came 48-46 at Muhlenberg.
The Saints and Red Knights met three times last year, Reading winning each, by 16, 17 and 16 points, the last for the Berks Conference championship.
Berks Catholic is ranked No. 1 in the District 3 Class 4A power ratings; Reading High is No. 1 in 6A.
The Red Knights hav had several close calls so far. They trailed Exeter by eight before winning 65-60 Jan. 3. They went down to the final minute at Wilson before winning 44-39.
This seems to be the kind of Reading team that needs to be pushed to be at its best. The Red Knights showed that when they came back from 19 points down to beat Cardinal O’Hara, 68-65.
The Red Knights lead the series 9-2 since the Saints debuted in 2011-12. Seven of those meetings have come in Berks Conference championship games, with the Red Knights taking five.
Streaking Lynx
Oley Valley won its sixth straight game Saturday, beating Pequea Valley, and could carry its winning streak into the postseason.
The Lynx, now 13-4 and leading Division IV of the Berks Conference, should be favored to win their remaining five games: Tulpehocken, Hamburg, Brandywine Heights, Antietam and Kutztown. They’ve beaten all but Hamburg this season.
They could clinch the Berks IV title this week; it will be their second title in three seasons after going a decade without one.
They Lynx are off to their best start in head coach Matt Barrell’s 10 seasons. Their 13 wins last season were their most under Barrell.
They last won as many as 14 games in 2012-13. Their last 20-win season came in 2004-05, when they finished 22-5 and reached the Berks Conference championship game.
Oley Valley’s lone league loss came to Berks III leader Fleetwood, 59-50 at Oley Jan. 3.
Strength in numbers
Muhlenberg has six losses but remains in contention for a home-opener in the District 3 Class 5A Tournament for one key reason: strength of schedule.
The Muhls, currently No. 7 in the unofficial power rankings, have the second-highest strength-of-schedule rating among the 29 Class 5A teams at .651. Only Elizabethtown (.655) is higher. Only four of 26 Class 6A teams have high SOS ratings: Carlisle, Central Dauphin, Gov. Mifflin and Harrisburg.
The Muhls’ losses have come to Reading High (17-1), ranked No. 1 in Class 6A; Hempfield (13-2), the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 leader; Lampeter-Strasburg (12-3), the L-L Section 3 leader; Bonner-Prendergast (9-5) of the Philly Catholic League; Wilson (12-4) and Exeter (10-5). They have wins over L-L Section 5 leader Columbia (14-2), which is ranked No. 1 in the district in 3A, and Berks II leader Berks Catholic, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.
The Muhls are the only team to beat Berks Catholic or Columbia.
The top two seeds in Class 5A get first-round byes; seeds 3-8 get home-openers.
The Muhls still have hurdles to clear. Friday they host Wyoming Valley Conference leader Dallas (14-1); Saturday they play at Liberty (11-5). Next week they have games at Wilson and vs. Reading High.
Club 2000
Chester joined Reading High as the only Pennsylvania boys basketball teams with 2,000 victories when it beat Chambersburg 49-47 Jan. 14.
The Red Knights became the first when they beat Gov. Mifflin 72-62 at the Geigle Dec. 20, 2013. Freshman Lonnie Walker IV made his first start and scored 19 points.
The win over Harrisburg Saturday was No. 2,216 for Reading.
The Red Knights had a head start over the Clippers — and almost everyone else. They debuted in 1901-02 and won five games. Chester didn’t play it’s first game until 1911-12 season.