PIAA Tournament preview: Berks Catholic (22-4) vs. Blue Mountain (23-4)
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
What: Class 4A, first round
When: Friday, 7:00
Where: Blue Mountain High, Orwigsburg
About the Eagles (11-2)
Raced through Section 1 of the Schuylkill League with 17-1 record before running into unbeaten Mahanoy City in league championship game, falling 66-51. Top player Isaac Thomas was ill and did not play in league playoffs.
Lost to Allentown Central Catholic in District 11 championship 62-35 after entering tournament as No. 1 seed.
Thomas, a 6-5 senior and Wilkes University recruit, averages team-leading 19.6 points per game and 10.3 rebounds. He’s second on the team in blocked shots (45) and steals (33).
Sophomore guard Tyeirre Meade leads team with 49 3’s, shoots 86 percent from the foul line and averages 14.1 points per game. He leads the team in steals and assists.
Junior point Aidan Grace has 43 3-pointers and shoots 76 percent from the line; senior center Elijah Feisel shoots team-best 42 percent from 3-point range.
Team averages 64.3 points, shoots 70 percent from the foul line, and has combined for 194 3’s.
Have gone 11-0 at home with wins there over Gov. Mifflin (60-48) and state-qualifier Pottsville (41-38). Earned a pair of road wins in Berks County, at Schuylkill Valley (76-56) and at Wyomissing (55-51).
Last state tournament win came in 2006 over Danville, in second round. Have lost five straight first-round games, including last year to Overbrook (75-58).
About the Saints (3-3)
Beat Fleetwood 50-39 in District 3 third-place game after dropping home quarterfinal to eventual champ Eastern York, 51-44.
Return to state tournament for third straight year and 10th time in program’s 13 seasons but the wins have been tough to come by in March.
Have gone a combined 4-9 in states and haven’t won a game since 2018. Lost in the first round last year at Uniontown and at home to Archbishop Carroll in 2022.
Have recorded three straight 20-win seasons and nine overall in 13 years. Averaging 21 wins per season.
Set a program record with 18-0 start but the arc of a promising season was lowered significantly when top player sophomore guard Kingston McKoy was lost for season with broken leg Jan. 23 vs. Reading High.
Have gone 8-4 since his injury and have dropped 4-of-8 over the past five weeks.
All-Berks pick Josh McKoy and all-division pick Parker Nein, both seniors, have stepped up in Kingston’s his absence.
Josh McKoy leads the team in rebounds, averages 17.1 points, has 22 3’s and shoots 72.7 percent from the foul line.
Nein, who had 22 points against Eastern and 21 against Fleetwood, averages 17.1 points, shoots 76.9 percent from the line and leads team with 53 3-pointers.
Snip Esterly, the only coach in program history, has 272 wins at Berks Catholic and 814 overall in his 34 seasons, sixth-most in state history. He has won 48 state tournament games, at Central Catholic and Berks Catholic, and has 199 postseason wins (league, district, and state).
He took Central Catholic to a PIAA championship in 2007 and to the championship game in 1996, 19987 and 2010.
