Third time’s the charm as Bulldogs hold off Red Knights for county title
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Tommy Hunsicker, who plays quarterback for Wilson in the fall, knows how to read a developing play.
He saw a disaster unfolding on the final sequence of the Berks Conference championship game Friday night as Nick Chapman inbounded the ball, his Reading High team down a point with 2.3 seconds left.
He saw Chapman make a quick cut to the basket and saw Weshly Rosario – the Red Knights’ deft point guard, who had six earlier assists – whip a bounce pass toward him along the baseline.
“For a second I put my hands on my head,” Hunsicker said, describing a moment of exasperation, “and then Madyx made a great diving play.”
Madyx Gruber, a defensive back, let his football instincts take over in the biggest moment of the basketball season. Chapman had a step on him but Gruber dove to the floor and knocked the pass away with his left hand, delivering a dramatic ending to the Bulldogs’ thrilling 54-53 victory at Santander Arena.
“That just epitomizes how we played all game,” said Hunsicker, “making the winning plays.”
The fourth-seeded Bulldogs (17-8) had trouble coming up with those kind of plays in recent weeks. They saw the Berks I title slip away against the second-seeded Red Knights (17-8) earlier this month when they lost at home, 50-44.
That was their second loss to Reading this season and part of a season-ending three-game slide. Things bottomed out a few days later when they lost by a point to a 6-16 Harrisburg team.
Wilson coach Matt Coldren had some long heart-to-heart talks with his players in the days leading up to the Berks playoffs, and his message obviously sunk in.
The Bulldogs played their best ball of the season in knocking off Exeter, Berks Catholic and Reading in the span of five days.
“We had to look in the mirror,” Coldren said.
The Bulldogs made some changes, played more efficiently on offense, and looked like the team that opened the season 8-1 and beat Central York, the top seed in the upcoming District 3 Class 6A Tournament.
During the last of four timeouts during the tense final minute Coldren told his team: “I believe in you, believe in yourself. You belong here. Do what you know how to do.”
The Bulldogs left the door open when Correll Akings, a 70-percent foul shooter, missed twice at the line with 9.9 seconds remaining in a one-point game.
With fouls to give the Bulldogs intentionally fouled with 5.2 and 2.3 seconds lefts left. The idea was to disrupt the Red Knights’ flow to the basket.
On the final play they were expecting a lob to the basket, maybe to Yadiel Cruz, the league’s scoring leader, who already had a game-high 21 points. They also talked about stopping a backdoor layup in that final huddle.
“I’m just so proud of our guys,” Coldren said, “we didn’t get caught looking on the back door. Reading has caught us before on give-and-go layups.”
The Red Knights almost did again with a well-designed play that saw Rosario roll off a pick and deliver the decisive pass. Chapman was in position for it.
“I knew they were gonna try and get to the basket,” Gruber said. “Nick kind of faked me out a little bit; I was a little behind but I just dove for it and got my hand on it.”
Cam Zullinger picked up the deflection to end Reading’s two-year reign as Berks champs and clinch Wilson’s 12th county title.
The game was tight the whole way, with five ties and nine lead changes – four of them in the final quarter. Wilson took the biggest lead of the game at 41-35 late in the third quarter, when Akings hit a short jumper.
Reading came back to lead 49-48 three minutes into the fourth quarter, when Chapman hit a free throw. The Red Knights took their last lead when Malik Osumanu hit a jumper that made it 51-50 with 3:09 left.
Gruber’s baseline drive with 2:26 gave Wilson the lead for good, and Luke Levan added a pair of free throws with 37 seconds left.
Levan, who finished with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, preserved the lead when he blocked Rosario’s shot with 30 seconds left.
The Bulldogs had trouble stopping Cruz through the first three quarters, but he made a critical error 13 seconds into the final quarter when he picked up his fourth foul some 45 feet away from the basket. He left the game and didn’t score another point.
The Red Knights also hurt themselves with 10 second-half turnovers.
The Bulldogs played a cleaner game, effectively broke Reading’s fullcourt pressure, and patiently waited for good shots.
They got a season-high 12 points and three assists from Tom McFadden. Gruber also scored 12 points. Akings had nine points and eight rebounds, helping the Bulldogs to a 32-26 edge on the glass.
Hunsicker said the first two losses to Reading – each by six points – did nothing to discourage his team.
“We know when we play with confidence we can beat any team,” Hunsicker said. “We beat amazing teams in the beginning of the year when we were moving the ball, shooting with confidence. We knew as long as we got back to that style of play we could beat any team.”
The county championship is the fifth for Coldren during 23 seasons coaching his alma mater. He and the Bulldogs also won titles in 2007, 2014, 2020 and 2021. Two of them – against Berks Catholic in 2014 and against Reading in 2021 – were decided by two points.
This was the closest county final since Wilson beat Reading 33-32 in 1993.
“I don’t know if I’ve coached a team that won a championship that had to play the three tough teams that this team did,” he said. “Exeter, Berks Catholic and Reading – all three of them are great teams.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wilson | 15 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 54 |
| Reading High | 16 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 53 |
| Bulldogs (17-8) | FG | FT | 3s | A | R | Points |
| Gruber | 5-11 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| T. Hunsicker | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| McFadden | 4-11 | 2-2 | 2-6 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Akings | 2-11 | 4-9 | 1-2 | 1 | 8 | 9 |
| Levan | 5-9 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 12 | 12 |
| Zullinger | 1-3 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Etim | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C. Hunsicker | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 19-49 | 12-21 | 4-13 | 9 | 28/32 | 54 |
| Red Knights (17-8) | FG | FT | 3s | A | R | Points |
| Cruz | 9-15 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 8 | 21 |
| Camara | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Chapman | 4-6 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Rosario | 3-6 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| Osumanu | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Burgess | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Beatty | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sosa | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 22-43 | 7-12 | 2-9 | 9 | 21/26 | 53 |
Turnovers: Wilson 15, Reading High 17.Team rebounds: Wilson 4, Reading High 5.
