PIAA Tournament preview: Muhlenberg (16-11) vs. Selinsgrove (17-7)
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
What: Class 5A, first round
When: Friday, 7:00
Where: Selinsgrove High, Selinsgrove
About the Seals (4-1)
Defeated a pair of District 6 programs, Central Mountain (60-37) and Hollidaysburg (54-52), to win the District 4/6 subregional and qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2017.
(Photo courtesy of Rob Inglis/Daily Item)
Have just two PIAA Tournament wins in program history, the most recent against Nanticoke in 2001.
Graduated seven seniors from a team that finished 14-9 and got off to a slow start this season; were 4-4 at one point. Finished in a rush, with 10 wins in final 13 games, to claim Heartland Conference Division I championship ahead of Shamokin and Shikellamy. Last loss came Feb. 15 to Loyalsock 53-40 in conference semifinals. (Loyalsock is 26-1 and the District 4 Class 3A champ.)
Top player is 6-4 senior Reis Naugle, who averages 21.8 points, has a team-leading 48 3’s and shoots 71.0 percent from the foul line. He scored 25 points against Hollidaysburg and had 23 against Central Mountain in districts.
Junior Gavin Bastian, who averages 10.5 points and has 32 3’s, scored 18 in the win over Central. Freshman Xavier Jackson adds scoring balance, averaging 9.9 points per game; he has 32 3’s.
Lost at West York 44-37 Feb. 3. (Muhlenberg won district opener at West York 42-37). Lost 55-45 at Mechanicsburg, a team that beat Exeter 57-48 in district quarterfinal. (Muhlenberg split a pair of games against Exeter, losing most recently 81-58 during districts.)
Went 9-1 at home, 8-6 on the road or at neutral sites.
About the Muhls (3-7)
Held off Manheim Central 62-58 on the road in the District 3 seventh-place game. Back in state tournament for second straight season and fourth time in the last six seasons. Opened tournament with 64-54 win at Unionville last year before losing to eventual champ Imhotep Charter.
Were 11-6 at midseason but have dropped five of last 10, four of them to PIAA qualifiers: Reading High (twice), York Suburban and Exeter. Have four wins against state qualifiers: Manheim Central, Fleetwood, Exeter, and Reading.
All-Berks forward Shermar Killen was slowed in four district games, averaging 10.7 points after scoring a team-leading 16.1 going into districts. The junior shoots team-best 47.6 percent, makes 40 percent from beyond the arc and 70.5 percent from the foul line. He averages team-best 6.2 rebounds.
All-Division forward Alex Collado has also seen his scoring dip in the postseason, with two points each in losses to Reading and York Suburban and six in a win over West York. He had six 20-plus games earlier in the season, including a season-high 26 against Conrad Weiser and 20 vs. eventual Berks champ Wilson.
Junior point guard Jayden Kantner leads team in steals (2.0 per game) and assists (2.3) and shoots a team-best 76.4 percent from the line. He averages 8.7 points.
Got a lift in districts from freshman Justin Armstrong, who scored 16 points against Exeter, and freshman Eli Hemming, who hit three 3’s against Exeter and scored eight in the win at Manheim. Armstrong is shooting a team-leading 43.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Have gone 10-7 on the road, four of the wins against district qualifiers.
