Berks boys field shaken up; Muhls, Tigers move up, Mounts dropped three spots

Reading High has again secured the No. 1 seed in the Berks Conference boys basketball tournament and will be favored to bring home its record 25th league championship.

The Red Knights also entered No. 1 last season but were turned back by Wilson in the championship game, 55-53, as Stevie Mitchell scored a game-high 35 points. It was the Bulldogs’ second straight title.

The Red Knights have not won a title since beating Berks Catholic 33-31 in 2019.

Reading, the Berks I champ, has qualified for the tournament, along with division champs Muhlenberg, Fleetwood and Antietam, Berks I-II runner-up Berks Catholic, Berks III-IV runner-up Wyomissing and wild card entries Exeter and Wilson.

The teams were initially seeded one through eight based on power rated but that order was juggled Thursday evening during a meeting of the qualifying coaches, who voted on the changes.

Muhlenberg, initially the No. 5 seed, won its appeal to move No. 4 and now will host Fleetwood, which won its appeal and moved up from No. 7 to 5.

Antietam dropped from No. 4 to No. 7 and now opens on the road against No. 2 Berks Catholic.

Exeter, which edged Gov. Mifflin for the final wild card spot, opens at Wilson. Wyomissing opens at Reading High.

The quarterfinals will be played Monday night on the home court of the higher-seeded team. There will be a semifinal doubleheader Wednesday at Santander Arena. The championship game will be the back end of a doubleheader Friday, Feb. 18, at Santander.

Here are the first-round match-ups:

1	Reading High	vs.	8	Wyomissing	at Geigle Complex
4	Muhlenberg	vs.	5	Fleetwood	at Laureldale
3	Wilson	vs.	6	Exeter	at West Lawn
2	Berks Catholic	vs.	7	Antietam	at Wolf Gymnasium