Red Knights complete three-peat as Yadiel Cruz comes through in OT
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
HERSHEY — Yadiel Cruz stepped to the foul line with Reading High down one with 2.9 seconds left in overtime in the District 3 Class 6A championship Thursday at Giant Center.
“We just have to win,” Cruz said. “That’s all that was going through my head.”
If you know Cruz’s story, you know stepping to a free throw in a pressure-packed situation isn’t the hardest thing he’s had to face in his young life. It showed as the two free throws dropped to the bottom of the net, no question.
The Red Knights and their fans erupted in celebration as Reading High secured its third consecutive district title with a 55-54 victory, a feat no District 3 program in the largest classification had achieved since 1957, when the Red Knights did it.
“I just felt happy,” Cruz, who came to Reading last spring from his native Dominican Republic, said through a translator, Red Knights coach Ruben Rodriguez Sr. “I did it.”
The Red Knights (27-1) will host District 1’s 12th-place finisher — either Perkiomen Valley or Haverford — in the first round of the PIAA Tournament March 11.
Aris Rodriguez led top-seeded Reading High with 18 points on a night when most of his teammates experienced an off shooting night. Ruben Rodriguez, Berks’ leading scorer, and Myles Grey shot a combined 7-of-24 from the field.
“Ruben can have his off days,” Aris Rodriguez said. “I can have my off days. Myles can have his off days. But there’s never a day where all three of us are off. Our chemistry is too beautiful for that. I feel like we’ve worked too hard for all of us to have off days (at the same time).”
Reading’s shooting numbers — 19-of-54 from the field — can be attributed to Cumberland Valley’s defense; the Eagles deploy big, strong bodies who were able to contest the Red Knights at the rim.
Reading’s poise and defense, the backbones of the program throughout this championship run, prevailed. Despite trailing in the fourth quarter and in overtime the Red Knights were never rattled and stayed the course.
“I knew he was going to make them,” Aris Rodriguez said of Cruz’s foul shots. “I’m confident in him. Same way he would have been confident in me if I would have been on that line.”
The Red Knights counteracted Cumberland Valley’s size and strength advantage with their speed defensively; they forced 26 turnovers while committing half that number.
Aris Rodriguez had five steals, Ruben Rodriguez three, Grey and Nick Chapman two, and Cruz and Amir Burdine each had one.
“Our defense is huge,” Aris Rodriguez said. “Especially if one of us is off (offensively). Then we have to focus on the little things on the other side of the court. That way we can help another teammate be on.”
The second-seeded Eagles (21-4) held the largest lead of the game at six twice in the first half; they led 8-2 in the first quarter and 20-14 with 4:50 left in the second.
The Red Knights finished the first quarter on an 11-5 run, backed by five points from Grey.
Aris Rodriguez got going in the second quarter with three 3’s — including one as time expired to give Reading High a 29-26 advantage; he scored 11 first-half points.
It was needed: Cumberland Valley’s 6-5 senior center, Nolan Gilbert, had 16 first-half points.
Jedaya Ortega’s bucket to begin the third gave Reading its largest at five but the Eagles came back. Gilbert scored four straight points to give Cumberland Valley the lead back with 4:38 left in the quarter.
The teams jostled the lead back and forth three times before Reading took a 42-41 lead going into the fourth.
The Mid-Penn Commonwealth side started the final quarter on a 6-0 run and pushed its lead to five with 5:33 left in regulation. The Red Knights ended regulation on a 7-2 run; Cruz’s foul shot with 29.5 seconds left tied it 49-49.
Cumberland Valley turned the ball over and a missed Hail Mary from the other end of the court by Ruben Rodriguez as time expired sent the game to overtime.
Ruben Rodriguez made two foul shots to begin the extra period before J.D. Hunter drilled a 3-pointer to give Cumberland Valley a 52-51 lead with 3:01 left.
Hunter got fouled and hit both free throws to give the Eagles a 54-51 lead with 55.8 second left. Aris Rodriguez made a floater in the lane with 45 seconds left. Hunter opened the door for the Red Knights when he missed both ends of a double-bonus with 25.1 seconds left.
Reading called a timeout with 10.6 seconds left to set up a play for Ruben Rodriguez. He drove and dished to Cruz, who was fouled.
Cumberland Valley, playing in its first district final since 1995, will face District 1’s seventh-place finisher — either Garnet Valley or North Penn — in the first round of the PIAA Tournament. Garnet Valley and North Penn play Friday at 7.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Final | |
| Reading High | 13 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 55 |
| Cumberland Valley | 13 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 54 |
| Eagles (21-4) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Hunter | 1-3 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Levis | 4-12 | 2-2 | 1-6 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| Buzalka | 2-5 | 4-4 | 1-3 | 4 | 10 | 9 |
| Gilbert | 10-14 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 1 | 8 | 24 |
| Ogunnaike | 1-1 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Snyder | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gottlieb | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Austin | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hatcher | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 18-36 | 14-19 | 4-11 | 12 | 29-32 | 54 |
| Red Knights (26-1) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| R. Rodriguez | 4-13 | 2-3 | 2-5 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| A. Rodriguez | 7-19 | 0-0 | 4-9 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Grey | 3-11 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Cruz | 1-3 | 6-8 | 0-1 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Burdine | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Ortega | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Osumanu | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Chapman | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 19-54 | 10-18 | 7-17 | 12 | 21-25 | 55 |
Turnovers: Reading High 13, Cumberland Valley 26.
