Yadiel Cruz leads way as Red Knights bounce back, win home opener

By Mike Drago Last updated Dec 9, 2023

Reading High's Yadiel Cruz. (PhilMarPhoto)

2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

A week ago no one was quite sure who all the key scorers would be for Reading High this season but everyone around the team agreed that Yadiel Cruz would be one of them.

And they were right. The 6-2 senior, who moved to Reading before last season from his native Dominican Republic, scored a career-high 24 points Thursday as the Red Knights bounced back from a tough opening loss with a 74-54 win over McCaskey at the Geigle.

Cruz scored 10 first-quarter points as the Red Knights (1-1) raced to a 25-11 lead.

Cruz had seven second-quarter points and freshman Jeremiah Camara had eight as Reading extended its lead to 50-28.

Camara finished with 11 points before fouling out. Malik Osumanu also scored 12 for Reading.

The victory was the first for head coach Francis Camara, a former Red Knights assistant who took over the program when Rick Perez resigned following a state championship season.

As they did Tuesday in their season-opener at Central York the Red Knights came out fast, with three 3-pointers in the first quarter and five in the first half. This time they defended better in the third quarter, allowing just three McCaskey (1-2) field goals.

Central York turned Tuesday’s opener into a rout by opening the third quarter with 14 straight points, leading to a 19-2 run. Central won 90-73.

Of course, the Red Tornado is not in Central York’s class. The Panthers are one of the favorites to win a District 3 Class 6A title; McCaskey didn’t make the field last year, finishing 11-11. The Red Tornado graduated five seniors from that team.

Xavier Beatty puts up a shot against McCaskey. (PhilMarPhoto)

McCaskey opened its season with a 77-55 loss to Coatesville before beating Chichester 56-53 Saturday.

Reading High took a big graduation hit, too, losing All-Berks picks Ruben Rodriguez, Myles Grey and Aris Rodriguez, their top three scorers.

Cruz, a part-time starter as a junior, is helping to fill replace some of that lost scoring. He had 20 points against Central York.

Thursday’s game was the first at the Geigle for the Red Knights since a 74-43 win over Haverford in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament in March.

It was also Reading’s first game at the Geigle without Perez on the bench in more than a decade. He was Reading’s head coach for the past 12 seasons and was an assistant in the program before that. He won a program-record 281 games, including 32 last season, when the Knights lost just once.

Francis Camara was on his staff the past six seasons.