Bulldogs’ nearly perfect opening month is ‘all about getting stops’
Wilson has enjoyed an incredible opening month. Considering the competition it has faced and the fact that it has played without its top player, Cam Jones, an 8-1 record seems remarkable.
Just don’t try telling that to Matt Coldren or his players; they’re still grousing about the one game that got away.
“We should be 9-0,” Coldren insisted after the Bulldogs’ latest win, a 62-41 beatdown of Muhlenberg Tuesday in a Berks Conference Division I game at Laureldale. “I’m disappointed in the Warwick loss.”
The Bulldogs lost 53-50 in overtime.
“That was my fault,” said senior guard Cleveland Harding, who failed to block out properly on a missed free throw in the final seconds, allowing a tip-in that sent the game to OT. “I was supposed to pinch (in); I just let him go and he went right over me.”
Other than that Bulldogs’ season has been close to perfect. They’ve made up for the loss of Jones, who suffered an injured groin playing football, by playing together, sharing the scoring load and playing defense. Plenty of defense.
Among Berks teams only Fleetwood has allowed fewer points per game than the Bulldogs, who were at their best against the explosive Muhls. They limited Muhlenberg to 14 second-half points and to its lowest scoring total in nearly three years. They held the Muhls’ five starters to a combined 23 points and each of their players — save for Luis Valentine — below his scoring average.
“The last three games have been district-caliber games,” Coldren said of wins over Central York and Hempfield in the Hempfield Holiday Tournament and Muhlenberg in the first game back after the holiday break. “The reason we were successful in all three is we’ve decided to guard people.
“We’re holding teams under their averages, we’re holding players under their averages. We’re doing a great job defensively. (Before that) we’ve had spurts (where we let up but) the last three games we’ve done a really, really good job of limiting that.”
The Muhls (1-1, 6-4) enjoyed a bit of a run in the second quarter, getting a combined 10 points from the backcourt duo of Xzayvion Robertson and J’Daniel Mosquera, their top two scorers. They were within six at the half after Mosquera dropped a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the second quarter.
The second half was a different story. The Bulldogs scored the first nine points out of the break to push their lead to 15; Muhlenberg missed its first seven shots and went scoreless for over five minutes.
Valentin, who scored a team-high 13 points, was the only Muhlenberg player to score in the quarter.
Things went from bad to worse when Mosquera picked up his fourth personal foul with 1:16 to go in the quarter.
The Muhls’ backcourt duo scored just two points in the second half; Robertson, their leading scorer, took just one shot and sat out the final quarter.
The last team to hold Muhlenberg to fewer points was Reading High, in a 63-40 win at the Geigle on Jan. 31, 2020.
Jones, an all-division pick as a junior, has been Wilson’s defensive stopper the past two seasons. He’s as good an on-ball defender as there is in the league.
Even without him the Bulldogs haven’t missed a beat. Junior Seamus Breslin has stepped into Jones’ spot in the lineup and has emerged as the defensive stopper in his absence.
“Seamus has done a fantastic job,” Coldren said. “He held (Miguel) Pena from Hempfield way under his average. He held a great player from Central York (Greg Guidinger) under his average.
“Robertson got some shots tonight, but (Seamus) made him work for everything. And that’s what we need from him. He’s accepted that role that he wants to guard the other team’s best player.”
The strong start has Wilson tied with Reading High for first place in Division I and ranked third in the District 3 Class 6A power ratings, behind only Reading and Cumberland Valley.
“It’s all (been about) defense, really,” said Harding, “getting stops.”
Coldren said Jones could’ve played Tuesday but the Bulldogs’ coach wants to be cautious with his return. He said Jones won’t be used Thursday against Reading or Saturday against Pioneer Athletic Conference leader Spring-Ford.
“We’re looking at the big picture,” Coldren said.
That big picture could include as many as four games against the Red Knights this season — with potential meetings in the league and district playoffs. No need, Coldren figures, to play Jones in the first of them.
In addition to playing defense and sharing the ball one thing the Bulldogs have done exceptionally well is not dwell on Jones’ absence. They haven’t gotten hung up on that.
“We’re getting better every day, so that’s good,” said senior center Ofure Odiale, who had 12 points and eight rebounds against the Muhls. “When he gets back, he’ll be another piece for us.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wilson | 23 | 10 | 12 | 17 | 62 |
| Muhlenberg | 11 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 41 |
| Bulldogs (8-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Gruber | 3-6 | 4-4 | 0-1 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Harding | 6-9 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| Melograna | 4-9 | 2-2 | 4-7 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| Odiale | 5-10 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| Breslin | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Hunsicker | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Pena | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Cieniwicz | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| McFadden | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Crocona | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 22-41 | 11-14 | 7-12 | 13 | 30-32 | 62 |
| Muhls (6-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Robertson | 4-7 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Mosquera | 4-11 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Archie | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alcantara | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Adonis | 0-5 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Valentin | 5-13 | 1-2 | 2-7 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Branch | 1-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Towles | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Collado | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 16-49 | 3-10 | 6-20 | 3 | 25-26 | 41 |
Turnovers: Muhlenberg 11, Wilson 11.
