Tulpehocken knocks off Fleetwood, moves into Berks IV lead
With less than two weeks to go in the regular season the Tulpehocken Trojans are in first place. That, says Trojans coach J.D. Ricapito, is not a surprise — at least not in his locker room.
“We were thinking big things coming into this year, for sure,” he said Saturday after the Trojans upended Berks Conference Division III leader Fleetwood 59-51 in a crossover game at New Schafferstown.
The win moved the Trojans (6-2, 13-3) into a first-place tie in Division IV with idle Antietam, which has dropped a pair of league games this week.
| Berks III | League | Overall |
| Fleetwood | 6-2 | 12-4 |
| Wyomissing | 5-2 | 8-6 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 3-6 | 6-10 |
| Hamburg | 2-5 | 5-12 |
The Trojans got 20 points from David Bednarczyk and a huge fourth quarter from Bryce Mellen to hold off the Tigers (6-2 Berks III, 12-4).
Fleetwood took its only lead of the second half on Jake Karnish’s steal and layup with 6:30 remaining. The Trojans responded with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes, with Mellen scoring three straight baskets and eight of those 10 points. He finished with 19 points.
| Berks IV | League | Overall |
| Antietam | 6-2 | 14-3 |
| Tulpehocken | 6-2 | 13-3 |
| Oley Valley | 5-3 | 11-4 |
| Kutztown | 3-7 | 7-9 |
| Brandywine Hts. | 1-8 | 5-11 |
“You can definitely lean on him,” Ricapito said of his senior scoring leader. “He wants the ball in his hands when it’s game-time. That’s the type of attitude you want from a kid. You want a kid to say: ‘I want the ball; I’m going to knock down these free throws.’ “
Mellen ended the game with 936 career points.
Fleetwood pulled within four, at 50-46, on a three-point play by Karnish with 1:30 left, and again with 36 seconds left when A.J. Knoll hit a 3-pointer to make it 55-51.
Tulpehocken’s Nolan Sweitzer answered by hitting both ends of a double-bonus with 30 seconds left. After a turnover Bednarczyk scored off a steal to push the lead to eight with 15 seconds left.
The Trojans hit 11-of-14 free throws for the game and 9-of-11 in the fourth quarter.
Will Ryan led the Tigers with 16 points; Karnish had 13.
Tulpehocken led by as many as 11 points in the first half and was up 32-23 at the half.
The loss puts Fleetwood’s division title hopes in jeopardy. Wyomissing, which beat Oley Valley Saturday, now is tied in the loss column with the Tigers. The two teams meet Monday in Fleetwood. The winner likely will go on to win the division title.
As for the Trojans they’re locked in a battle for the Berks IV title. They’re tied with Antietam and one game ahead of Oley Valley. They have home games remaining against both the Lynx and Mounts. They won at Oley 62-51 on Dec. 17 and lost at Antietam 40-48 on Jan. 6.
Tulpehocken hasn’t won a division title since 2007.
“A lot of people didn’t (think we could win this division),” Ricapito said, “and we’re still viewed as underdogs, and some people think this is a fluke. I think all along our guys knew we had something special this year.”