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Berks Catholic falls to Uniontown in first round of PIAA Class 4A boys basketball playoffs

matthew knaub, reading eagle, pa.
·3 min read

Mar. 10—Berks Catholic's boys basketball season came to an end on Friday night.

The Saints struggled to contain Uniontown's high-powered offense and ultimately fell to the Red Raiders 81-69 in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs at Wolf Gymnasium.

"We did nothing that we went over in practice," Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly said. "Our weak-side help defense was absolutely atrocious all year, and it showed tonight."

The District 3 champion Saints faltered down the stretch, getting outscored 14-6 over the final 2:30. Uniontown (21-5), the sixth-place team from District 7, shot 12-of-16 from the free throw line during that span to protect its lead.

Berks Catholic (23-5) trailed 67-64 with 2:16 remaining, but was unable to draw closer.

Saints senior Josiah "JayJay" Jordan was called for a technical foul, which allowed the Red Raiders to extend their lead to four. Junior teammate Parker Nein was called for a technical with 34 seconds remaining, which helped Uniontown go up 77-69.

"It should never happen," Esterly said about the costly technical fouls. "We lost our composure."

The lone bright spot for the Saints was senior Ryan Koch, who scored the 1,000th point of his career in his final high school game. Koch finished with a team-high 25 points,10 rebounds and 1,001 career points.

"It's a milestone every kid dreams of," Koch said. "Just hitting it here at home with my family, my friends, my teammates, it's a big accomplishment."

Koch helped Berks Catholic dig itself out of a major hole in the first half. The Saints turned it over 11 times in the first quarter and quickly found themselves trailing. Uniontown scored the game's first seven points and led 21-14 after one quarter.

Berks Catholic scored the final six points of the first quarter and carried that momentum into the second quarter, going on an 11-0 run to get within one possession. With potent shooting, the Saints took the lead and controlled the rest of the half to lead 36-33 at the break.

"We kept fighting," Koch said. "Little by little, (we) chipped (away)."

Koch scored 11 of Berks Catholic's 22 points in the second quarter. He finished with a team-high eight field goals, including a trio of 3-pointers.

"Ryan came to play today," Esterly said. "Ryan was outstanding today, and that's what you need out of a senior. I'm very proud of him getting his 1,000th (point). Means a lot."

The Saints came out flat in the second half. Uniontown started the third quarter with a 16-4 run to retake the lead and take control. The Red Raiders led 51-46 after three quarters.

Uniontown remained in front the rest of the way, thanks in large part to its free throw shooting. The Red Raiders shot 25-of-38 from the line, while the Saints were just 10-for-23.

"We all had the mentality of just coming out and fighting our hardest," Koch said. "It stinks going out like this, (in the) first round back-to-back years."

Berks Catholic was without freshman Kingston McKoy, who was out with an illness. Senior Kevin Lawlor also was out after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the District 3 Class 4A semifinal win over Octorara.

"That killed us," Esterly said about McKoy's absence. "They had three guards who were very explosive to the basket, and Kingston would have covered one of them."

Sophomore Calvin Winfrey led Uniontown with 23 points, while senior Bakari Wallace had 18. For the Saints, Jordan had 11 points and senior Jack Miller and junior Joshua McKoy each had 10.

While the Saints' season ended in the first round of the state playoffs for the second straight year, they did win another district title.

"We had a good year," Esterly said. "We had a lot of adversity, and I think it affected our play at times. Luckily, they came together as a ballclub and we won a district championship."