Reading tops Muhlenberg to complete perfect run through Berks Conference (updated)
(This story will be updated later tonight with details and postgame reaction.)
Berks I champion Reading High completed its perfect run through league play with a 66-47 win over Muhlenberg Tuesday night before a packed house at Laureldale.
The division title was the third straight for the Red Knights (11-0, 21-1); they finished unbeaten in league play for the first time in five seasons.
The defending Berks Conference champs will go into the league tournament next week as the undisputed No. 1 seed.
| Berks I | League | Overall |
| Reading High | 11-0 | 21-1 |
| Wilson | 7-4 | 16-6 |
| Muhlenberg | 6-5 | 14-8 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 3-8 | 7-15 |
Aris Rodriguez scored a game-high 18 points to lead Reading. Ruben Rodriguez had 14 and Yadiel Cruz had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Xzayvion Robertson, Josh Alcantara and Jermaine Towles each scored nine for the Muhls (6-5, 14-8).
Reading scored the first eight points of the third quarter to lead 36-20 and maintained a big cushion the rest of the way.
The Red Knights used a 10-0 run early in the first quarter to take the lead and maintained control throughout the first half. They took their largest lead of the half on Ruben Rodriguez’s 3-pointer with three seconds left in the second quarter and went into intermission leadig 28-10.
Aris Rodriguez scored 11 points for Reading to lead all scorers.
The division title is the third straight for Reading. It tied for first with Wilson in 2020-21.
The perfect run through league play is Reading’s first in five years, and fifth overall for Rick Perez, now in his 12th season.
The 21-1 finish is the best under Perez and one of the best in program history.
The Red Knights have finished the regular season unbeaten three times: In 1990-91, when they went 24-0; 2007-08, when they finished 23-0; and 1965-66, when they went 22-0.
They have finished four other regular seasons with one loss, the best of them a 26-1 finish (with 16 league games!) in 1980-81 under Jim Gano.
Perez’s best regular season finish came in the COVID-truncated 2020-21 season, when the Red Knights went 18-1; they didn’t open that season until Jan. 9. They closed it with their second PIAA championship, beating Archbishop Wood. Their only loss in the regular season came to Stevie Mitchell and Wilson.
Perez’s other best regular season was 19-2 in 2015-16, Lonnie Walker IV’s junior season. That team reached the PIAA semifinals.
| Reading’s best regular season records | Season | Coach |
| 24-0 | 1990-91 | Mike Miller |
| 23-0 | 2007-08 | Richard Reyes |
| 22-0 | 1965-66 | Pete Carill |
| 26-1 | 1980-81 | Jim Gano |
| 23-1 | 1982-83 | Rick Binder |
| 21-1 | 1965-66 | Pete Carill |
| 20-1 | 2022-23 | Rick Perez |
| 20-1 | 1972-73 | Jim Gano |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Reading High | 10 | 18 | 16 | 22 | 66 |
| Muhlenberg | 9 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 47 |
| Red Knights (21-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Burdine | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| R. Rodriguez | 4-10 | 5-7 | 1-4 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Grey | 3-11 | 1-3 | 0-4 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Rodriguez | 7-11 | 3-4 | 1-3 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
| Osumanu | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Cruz | 5-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| Chapman | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ortega | 1-1 | 5-9 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Sosa | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rosario | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Burgess | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 23-48 | 18-28 | 2-12 | 10 | 26-33 | 66 |
| Muhls (14-8) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Robertson | 3-13 | 2-3 | 1-7 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Mosquera | 2-14 | 2-2 | 1-6 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Valentin | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Alcantara | 2-4 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| Adonis | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Towles | 3-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Archie | 2-4 | 5-5 | 0-0 | 2 | 8 | 9 |
| Collado | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Branch | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Killen | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 14-52 | 14-16 | 5-23 | 5 | 35-38 | 47 |
Turnovers: Reading High 10, Muhlenberg 15.
