Two division titles, four playoff match-ups come down to final night of league play
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Going into the final night of Berks Conference play Tuesday only one of the eight playoff seeds is set for next week’s tournament, and each of the four quarterfinal match-ups remains unsettled.
Berks II champ Berks Catholic (10-1, 18-2) should be the No. 1 seed and open the Berks playoffs at home Feb. 12 against the as-yet-determined Division IV champ. Even that isn’t certain since all qualifying coaches can challenge the Saints’ top seed – and some might in light of them losing two straight games after seeing Kingston McKoy lost for the season with an injury.
Reading High, Muhlenberg and Wilson from Berks I, Exeter from Berks II and Fleetwood, the Berks III champ, have clinched spots in the eight-team field. Schuylkill Valley is in strong position to as the Berks III runner-up.
The Berks I and Berks IV titles remain up for grabs.
Antietam (8-3, 11-10) has a one-game lead over Oley Valley (7-4, 11-10) and can clinch the Berks IV title by winning at home Tuesday against Brandywine Heights (3-8, 5-16). A loss would cost the Mounts the title if the Lynx win at Kutztown (4-7, 5-16).
The biggest game of the night comes at the Geigle where the Muhls (7-3, 13-7) and Red Knights (7-3, 14-7) will decide the Berks I title. Muhlenberg took the first meeting in double-overtime.
The Red Knights have gone 9-2 since, their only losses at Coatesville and at Berks Catholic. They are playing their best ball of the season right now, with senior guard and defensive stopper Nick Chapman back in the lineup after an injury sidelined him a month. They are 6-1 since he returned Jan. 18 and they nearly knocked off the Saints, unbeaten at the time, a few days later.
With just one full-time starter returning, center Malik Osumanu, and with long-time head coach Rick Perez gone, this was considered the year to get the Red Knights – and many teams have. They were 6-5 at midseason, after that loss at Laureldale.
They have grown since then. Their young backcourt – sophomore point Weshly Rosario and freshman Jeremiah Camara – continues to develop, and senior Yadiel Cruz has become the league’s premier scorer.
Cruz dropped 37 points the other night against Cheltenham and is averaging 22.4 points – that’s more than Ruben Rodriguez, Lonnie Walker IV, Wesley Butler, or Trenity Burdine ever averaged.
The Muhls are also playing some of their best ball right now, with five wins in their last six games. They won a key crossover game against Exeter 59-56 on Jan. 15 and beat Wilson 61-56 last week. They also dropped a game to Gov. Mifflin, which cost them sole possession of first place right now.
No matter. Even with a win against the Mustangs they would still need to beat the Red Knights in the finale to win the division. A first-place tie in that scenario would’ve been broken by power rating, and Reading has the lead there.
If Reading wins Tuesday, is should maintain its razor-thin power ratings lead over Fleetwood (10-0, 18-2) for the No. 2 seed. If the Red Knights get that, they’ll likely open the playoffs against Schuylkill Valley (7-3, 14-5).
If Muhlenberg wins Tuesday, is should snag the No. 4 seed and a quarterfinal home game; there’s a chance, depending on results of other games, the Muhls could move up to No. 3 or even No. 2. Each team’s power rating is affected by each of its opponents’ wins and losses, so it’s impossible to predict how things will shake down.
As if there won’t be enough intrigue at the Geigle, this game marks the first time Perez – who piloted Reading to three PIAA titles in the past seven seasons – returns as an opposing coach. He’s now an assistant at Muhlenberg with Matt Flowers, a former Red Knights assistant.
Wilson (6-4, 13-8), which had been in line for the No. 2 seed, has dropped three straight and likely will finish no higher than fourth (with a Muhlenberg loss). The Bulldogs can’t win the Berks I title; they were eliminated with a 50-44 loss to Reading last week in West Lawn.
Wilson will be a wild card entry into the Berks playoffs, as will Exeter. If Wilson loses its finale at Gov. Mifflin and Exeter closes with a win over Cedar Cliff Monday and wins at Twin Valley Tuesday the Eagles could move up to the No. 5 seed.
The No. 6 seed will open on the road against the No. 3 seed.
Wyomissing made a big late-season push for the runner-up spot in Berks III, winning seven of eight games – including one over Schuylkill Valley – but it appears that bid will come up short.
To secure a Berks playoff spot Wyomissing will need to win at Fleetwood Tuesday, see Schuylkill Valley (7-3, 14-5) lose at home to Hamburg (2-8, 3-18) AND see Antietam win the Berks IV title. If Antietam finishes second in Berks IV it holds the tiebreaker over Wyomissing, which it defeated 65-52 in overtime on Jan. 12.
The Spartans have dropped two league games in OT; they also lost to Fleetwood Jan. 9 at Wyomissing. Those have proven costly.
