Three outta five ain’t bad, either
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Paunchy rocker Meatloaf is known for his classic rock ballad “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad.”
If we can agree the math behind that is correct, then how is Three out of Five?
Even better?
All things considered, it was a pretty good opening weekend for Berks Conference basketball teams, which saw three of its five PIAA Tournament qualifiers advance to the second round.
That was probably better than expected, considering the uphill climb each of those five teams faced. All five played on the home court of their opponents. Berks Catholic, Exeter and Reading High advanced, the Red Knights most impressively of all, winning at Chester – something they had never done before in the postseason.
Muhlenberg lost at Selinsgrove and Fleetwood at Scranton Prep.
Three wins on the opening round of the state playoffs may not seem like much but it’s as good as the Berks Conference has ever done. Never have more Berks teams won their state-openers, not even when six teams qualified in 2019, nor last year when a record seven made states.
Last season was an extraordinary one for Berks hoops – one of the greatest. Reading High, Exeter and Berks Catholic won District 3 titles, with the Red Knights adding a state title and the Eagles an appearance in the PIAA Class 5A championship game.
Berks teams won a record 10 PIAA Tournament games last March. Only one other time, when both Central Catholic and Holy Name made state finals in 1998, did Berks teams win as many as nine state playoff games in a single month.
That record is safe. Even with three teams still alive you can’t expect too many more victories, what with Berks Catholic and Exeter each facing gigantic hurdles.
The Saints (23-4) play District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti (23-3) in a Class 4A game Tuesday at Coatesville at 7:30.
Goretti is loaded, as usual. It tied with Roman Catholic for the Philadelphia Catholic League regular season title, one year after reaching the PIAA Class 4A championship game. The year before it won the state championship.
The Saints of Neumann-Goretti are ranked No. 3 in the state by maxpreps.com and No. 1 in Class 4A by the Pittsburgh Tribune.
Exeter (19-9) has it even tougher. The Eagles play District 12 champ Imhotep Charter (25-3), the defending PIAA champ, in a Class 5A game Tuesday at 6 at Coatesville.
Imhotep, led by Player of the Year Justin Edwards, blasted Exeter 78-40 last year. Edwards is now playing at Kentucky but the Panthers remain formidable. They’re ranked No. 20 in the nation by USA/Today, No. 2 overall in the state by maxpreps.com and No. 1 among Class 5A teams by the Tribune.
Reading High (20-10) appears to have the best chance of the three to survive and advance.
The Red Knights meet District 10 champ Erie McDowell (21-5) in the second round of the Class 6A tournament Wednesday at Altoona at 6.
McDowell features 6-6 swingman Tyler Grove, who averages 22.8 points per game. He’ll be one of the biggest defensive challenges the Red Knights have faced this season.
A win will send the Red Knights to the state quarterfinals for the third time in four years, something the program hasn’t accomplished since the late 1970’s under Jim Gano.
Actually, it would be the fourth time in five years for the Red Knights except for the fact that there were no quarterfinals in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Reading won its first two state playoff games that season but the tournament was suspended immediately after and not resumed.
Only three times in the last 70 years have Berks boys teams gone 3-0 in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament.
In 1998 Central Catholic, Holy Name, and Tulpehocken each won openers. In 1976, Reading High, Wyomissing, and Brandywine Heights advanced to the second round. In 1961 it was Reading, Kutztown, and eventual champ West Reading winning openers.
