Now, it’s the guys guarding Myles Grey who should feel anxious
Myles Grey didn’t show his nerves during Reading High’s run to a state championship last season. The sophomore looked as smooth and poised as any veteran player during tense playoff battles against Wilson, Upper St. Clair and Archbishop Wood.
Inside, it was a different story. He was churning. He understood the magnitude of the situation and felt the pressure.
No longer.
“Now, I’m never anxious,” he admitted after scoring a career-high 19 points Monday as the Red Knights brushed aside Berks Catholic 67-51 in a Berks Conference Division I game at the Geigle. “I feel very comfortable playing out there.”
The Red Knights (3-0, 7-1) were again playing short-handed, down three key players, two of them starters.
Again, they pretended not to notice. They defended as usual, forced 19 turnovers, and were aggressive on the glass, coming up with 18 offensive rebounds.
They pulled away in the final quarter, building a 20-point lead as they handed the Saints (2-1, 6-1) their first loss and reminded everyone — again — that they’re far out front in the race for the Berks title.
Daniel Alcantara was an All-State pick a year ago, and Joey Chapman’s a three-year starter, but the Knights showed they can beat anyone in Berks without them.
“They’re a big part of our team, obviously,” Grey said of MIA’s Alcantara, Chapman and key backup Aris Rodriguez, “but I feel like our foundation is very, very solid.
“While those guys are gone, other guys are coming off the bench and able to step up for us.”
Grey was one of those guys a year ago. He opened the season as maybe the eighth man and steadily worked his way into more and more minutes.
Finally, around midseason, he moved into the starting lineup, and stayed there. That wasn’t in the blueprint Rick Perez laid out before the season but Grey forced some changes in the original design.
“He just stayed ready,” said Perez, “and any time you put him in a practice, anytime you put him in a game, he was effective. It came (to) a point where (I said): ‘OK, enough is enough, you’ve got it.’ “
Grey didn’t light it up on offense. He scored more than nine points just once. He totaled 13 points in three PIAA Tournament games. But he did everything else well: Handled it, passed it and defended. Perez trusted him to guard anyone.
With their leading scorer, Alcantara, missing from the lineup Grey took it upon himself to be a little more offensive-minded Monday. He buried a pair of 3-pointers in the first half, then took over during a key stretch in the third quarter when he scored seven straight Reading points, came up with a steal and fed Ruben Rodriguez for a dunk and 48-29 lead.
“When I go out there, I’m out there to have fun and do it for my teammates, do whatever my team needs,” Grey said. “Tonight, I just kind of felt it from the 3-point line, felt it in general. My teammates kept feeding me the ball and that’s what led to my 19 points.”
He had never scored more than 13 points in a game but from the look of things Monday he could regularly put up 15 or more, when needed. He’s strong with the ball, gets to the basket and has a nice stroke. And he’s aggressive around the boards. Though just 5-11 he had a team-high eight rebounds.
“Myles can score it at any point,” Perez said. “(Before) the season I felt he could hit 60 3’s for us. He’ll be open often; he knocks them down at a high rate. His ballhandling is exceptional, he’ll get the shot he wants, he knows how to get in the paint. His strengths are not a surprise to me.”
Reading’s Ruben Rodriguez was on his game, as well. The junior guard, a first-team All-State pick last year, scored a season-high 24 points, had six rebounds and three assists.
Josiah Jordan had 19 points for the Saints, who led by a point after one quarter and were down just four late in the second quarter. They never could come up with enough offense to make a serious run. They were just 3-for-14 from 3-point range through three quarters and shot 37 percent from the floor overall. Shooting is their strength but like most Reading opponents they had trouble making shots.
Perez isn’t saying when Alcantara and the others will be back. He’s not saying the players are suspended, just that they’re not currently meeting “Red Knight expectations.”
Each of the three was with the team Monday, but not dressed. The Red Knights won’t need them against most teams on the schedule, though winning without them at Chester next week will be a challenge.
“I feel like we’re still playing poised (without them),” Grey said. “When your foundation’s solid like we have right here, (when) we stay close to our habits, you tend to play very, very well.”
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 14 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 51 |
| Reading High | 13 | 21 | 14 | 19 | 67 |
| BERKS CATHOLIC (2-1, 6-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Sands | 2-9 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Jordan | 7-16 | 5-10 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 19 |
| Koch | 3-10 | 3-3 | 1-5 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Miller | 3-6 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Givens | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Rinehart | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Nein | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Geddio | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Diaz | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 18-49 | 9-14 | 6-19 | 5 | 25/28 | 51 |
| READING HIGH (3-0, 7-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Burdine | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| R. Rodriguez | 9-21 | 4-6 | 2-3 | 3 | 6 | 24 |
| Grey | 7-16 | 1-3 | 4-6 | 4 | 8 | 19 |
| Davis | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Walker | 2-8 | 4-4 | 0-1 | 0 | 7 | 8 |
| Osumanu | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Wilson | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Sosa | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Garcia | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 25-60 | 11-15 | 6-12 | 14 | 40/41 | 67 |
Turnovers: Berks Catholic 19, Reading High 14.