‘X’ marks the spot as Red Knights turn back Clippers in wild PIAA opener
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Xavier Beatty is an all-league defensive back and star on the football field for Reading High. He’s a role player in basketball but an invaluable one for the Red Knights, as he showed Saturday.
The 6-3 junior, inserted into the game moments before following a timeout with 5.5 seconds remaining, saved the Red Knights in their PIAA Class 6A Tournament opener by blocking a shot in the final second to preserve a pulsating 65-63 victory over Chester at Fred Pickett Gymnasium.
“ ‘X’ can guard 1-thru-5,” said Reading coach Francis Camara. “He can do anything we ask him to do. He’s a big, physical kid.”
When sophomore Weshly Rosario missed the back end of a two-shot foul he left the door open for the Clippers (21-5) with 5.5 seconds left.
Chester’s Dallas Thompson found an opening on the baseline and pulled up for an 8-footer but Beatty came from behind and swatted the ball out of bounds as time expired, sending the Red Knights (20-10) to the second round.
The defending PIAA champs will meet Eric McDowell Wednesday, site and time to be determined. McDowell, the District 10 champ, advanced with a 61-45 win over District 7 runner-up Baldwin.
Beatty scored just two points and played but a handful of minutes but his presence on the court at the end was critical in the battle between the two winningest basketball programs in state history.
“We spoke about that all week long,” Camara said. “Every link is just as important as the next.”
Camara also prepared his team for a wild atmosphere at the Clip Joint and the fact that the Clippers would be relentless, no matter what the score was.
Beatty’s clutch play halted a wild comeback that saw the Clippers rally from an 18-point second-half deficit and pull into a 58-58 tie with 3:08 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Yadiel Cruz gave Reading a 64-63 lead with 1:03 remaining. Chester had pulled within 64-63 when Dominic Toy hit the second half of a two-shot foul.
Reading’s Nico Sosa forced a jump ball, and a turnover, on Chester’s next possession with 10.7 seconds left, setting up Beatty’s game-saving scenario just before the buzzer.
“We (said) they’re gonna make their run, and that gym was gonna go absolutely crazy,” Camara said, “and the only way we were gonna get out of that gym successfully was by staying together and staying composed. We just continued to fight.”
That fight was made even more difficult when All-Berks guard Nick Chapman, a senior and leader on the team, fouled out with 1:33 left and his team ahead 62-58.
“Obviously, you don’t want to be in that situation without your leader, your best defender, one of your most composed player,” Camara said. “As soon as it happened, all of his teammates looked at him and said: ‘We got you.’ Once I saw that I knew we were good.”
Yadiel Cruz scored 17 points for Reading, eight in the final quarter; he also had a game-high nine rebounds. Malik Osumanu scored 17 for Reading, 12 in the first half.
The Red Knights bolted to the lead in the first quarter, scoring the first seven points on the way to a 16-3 lead. The Clippers closed the quarter with an 11-0 run and tied it 16-16 early in the second quarter.
Cruz and the Red Knights repeatedly burned Chester’s trapping defense and scored in transition; they finished the first half on a 15-2 run to lead 33-20.
“We knew that they’re very aggressive in their trap and in their press,” Camara said, “so we knew we had opportunities to hit the middle and get downcourt right away. Weshly just showed his amazing vision being able to throw those fullcourt passes, seeing things that other people may not be seeing.”
Reading’s lead grew to 52-34 on Jeremiah Camara’s basket with 2:12 left in the third quarter. The Clippers closed the quarter on a 12-0 run.
Dante Atkinson-Payne led Chester with 16 points, including a pair of 3’s and 10 points in the final quarter. Dallas Thompson scored 14 and Toy 12.
The win gives Reading a 22-21 lead in the storied series.
Chester beat Reading five time in state semifinals – 1955, 1957, 1966, 1973, and 1983 — denying the Red Knights a chance to play for a state championship. Overall, the Clippers enjoy a 6-3 lead in state tournament games. Saturday’s win is believed to first on the Clippers’ home court during the postseason.
The Red Knights won the last state tournament meeting, in 2016, when Lonnie Walker IV, then a junior, scored 30 points in a 73-64 state quarterfinal at Temple’s Liacouras Center. Reading lost its next game to Allderdice and ended the season with a 28-4 record.
The following season, when the Red Knights went to capture the Class 6A championship, Chester was playing in Class 5A.
Before Saturday Reading had won only twice at Chester over the last 30 years, the most recent coming in the 2021-22 season.
Reading had taken the last three meetings against Chester, in 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23. The Red Knights won 71-57 last year at the Geigle.
Chester dropped Reading from its regular season schedule before this season, adding a pair of smaller schools to its schedule instead, Lancaster Mennonite and La Academia Charter.
Chester has won eight PIAA championships, the most recent in 2012, when it completed a 32-0 season. It also won state titles in 2011, 2008, 2005, 2000, 1994, 1989 and 1983.
The Clippers were also state runners-up 10 times.
