While it may be a newcomer to Berks I for the 2024-2025 season, the Berks Catholic boys basketball team added even more support for its case as the divisional frontrunner Friday evening at Llyod M. Wolf Gymnasium.
The Saints, fresh off a win against Reading High earlier in the week and the top-ranked team in the District 3 Class 4A power rankings, held off an impressive comeback run by Muhlenberg to defeat the Muhls 65-61 in their second Berks I matchup of the week.
“It (playing in Berks I) is a dog fight every night,” Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly said. “Every night you play somebody (tough) and even the crossovers are going to be tough as well.”
Earning the win proved hard to come by as the Saints (3-1, 6-1) led by as many as 17 at 24-7 in the second quarter before Muhlenberg (2-2, 6-3) charged back in the second half to cut the deficit to three points with 3:50 left in the game.
As was the case throughout the game, Berks Catholic senior Zach Suski’s offensive prowess would not be denied and he ultimately helped put the game away late on his way to finishing with a career-high 34 points.
“It feels great,” Suski said of his career-high performance. “The team played great. Once again, we played great defense. We were moving the ball and my teammates found me under the rim.”
Trailing by seven at 49-42 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Muhls went on an 11-7 run as a result of balanced offense from senior Jayden Kanter, senior Shermar Killen and sophomore Eli Hemmings. The three combined for 48 of Muhlenberg's points.
With his team leading 56-53, Suski was fouled on a driving layup and sank the free throw to complete the three-point play and put the Saints back up six. But a 4-0 run by the Muhls courtesy of four straight points from Kanter put Muhlenberg within two at 59-57 with two minutes to go.
Moments later, Hemmings again put the Muhls within one possession of the lead at 63-61, before Suski closed out the scoring 29 seconds to go.
On Muhlenberg’s ensuing and final possession, the Muhls got several shots off in the paint after making multiple offensive rebounds under the rim, but were unable to convert another bucket.
“They played a heck of a game,” Esterly said. “They kept coming at us and coming at us, and we pulled a 17 (point lead). They came storming back, but we held on, and luckily, the time ran out and they didn't have enough time. But our guys, ever since the Gov. Mifflin (loss) and Halifax (win) games have been coming with more energy.”
Junior Kingston McKoy added 16 points for the Saints.
Suski finished 6-for-6 from the foul line and also made two 3-pointers. He scored 18 points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Suski is coming off a 20-point game against Reading High on Tuesday.
“The last two games he’s really shown what he could do,” Esterly said. “And that's the same kid we saw in the summer time. Because Kingston wasn't playing a lot in the summer, and Zach was really playing well. That’s how Zach can play.”
Kanter scored a team-high 26 points for Muhlenberg and was 10-of-11 from the foul line. He had 14 points in the second half and six in the fourth quarter to help spark the comeback efforts.
In the second quarter, trailing by 17 at 24-7, Kanter scored eight straight points to cut to make it 28-15. He also made the final basket of the first half to make the score 32-22 heading into the halftime locker room.
Hemmings ended the night with eight points and senior Shermar Killen finished the game with a team-high two 3-pointers as well as 14 points. Killen scored seven in the third quarter to help outscore the Saints 20-17 in the third.
“We started to fight,” Muhls coach Matt Flowers said. “If we bring that same energy that we had from the middle third to the end of the game, I truly believe this game is different. I saw our kids not give up. They started to persevere through what we were going through. It just didn't go our way. Four points didn't go our way tonight.
“At any given time, someone can just take over. I thought Eli Hemmings played a phenomenal offensive game in the second half when he started going to the rim. That's going to be his strength because he’s long and lanky. We'll get better and we’ll regroup from this.”
