Tigers keep winning, Jake Karnish keeps coming up big in the clutch
Jack Karnish and Fleetwood continued their incredible start Saturday, fighting back from a small third-quarter deficit to beat East Stroudsburg 73-67 in a non-league game at Fleetwood.
The win was the 11th straight to start the season for the Tigers, their best start in at least 40 years, and perhaps ever.
Karnish matched his career-high with 33 points, 14 coming in the fourth quarter to spark the Tigers’ comeback. They trailed by five points in the third quarter and by 51-49 entering the fourth. They outscored East Stroudsburg 24-16 in the final quarter.
“Jake knows when to pick it up, and he lifts the whole team up,” said Tigers coach Terry Sitler. “In all honesty he didn’t really have a great game in the first half.”
| Tigers scoring leaders | Points | Year |
| Dave Angstadt | 1,201 | 1983 |
| Dave Smith | 1,176 | 1964 |
| Jeff Batturs | 1,162 | 1983 |
| Jake Karnish | 1,124 | 2023 |
| Arlan Burkert | 1,116 | 1957 |
He sure had a great second half, when he scored 22 points in 16 minutes.
Karnish was good on all six of his free throws in the final quarter, and the Tigers made 16-of-19. They led by as many as eight points the fourth quarter, forcing the Timberwolves (5-6) to foul.
Karnish was 10-for-10 from the line in the second half and 12-for-14 for the game. He’s shooting 86.5 percent for the season, second-best in the Berks Conference.
Hunter Svoboda and Nate Herb each had 13 points and Aiden Soumas had nine for Fleetwood.
The Tigers had trouble slowing down the high-scoring Timberwolves, who average 66.3 points per game. Emanuel Kenji, who averages 21.3 points per game, scored a team-high 23 points. Nate Wilder had 18 and Brycen Dobi 17.
“It was like a track meet today,” Sitler said. “They were very quick and athletic. It was a challenge for us to keep in front of them on the defensive end.”
The win was the Tigers’ 14th straight at home. Their last home loss came on Feb. 17, 2021, to Wyomissing, 50-45.
Fleetwood’s game-by-game results
Karnish, a senior forward, leads the league in scoring at 26.0 per game. He has scored 1,124 career points, fourth-highest in program history. He is 77 points away from Dave Angstadt’s program-record 1,201 points.
At the rate he’s going it won’t take him long to get there. Karnish has scored 87 points over his last three games. He has scored 19 or more points in every game and has reached 30 three times. He set his career high with 33 against Red Land Dec. 10.
Last year, when he was an All-Berks pick, he scored 30 points once, against Schuylkill Valley.
Fleetwood plays Wyomissing on Tuesday, at Kutztown Friday and at home Saturday against Manheim Central (8-2). Manheim entered Saturday No. 3 in the District 3 Class 5A power ratings.
Fleetwood began the day No. 3 in the Class 3A power ratings, behind Berks Catholic and Eastern York, both unbeaten.
Manheim Central handed Fleetwood its first loss last season, 66-55, after the Tigers opened 7-0.
