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What to know about Roman Catholic, Reading High's opponent in PIAA Class 6A boys basketball final

brian smith, reading eagle, pa.
·4 min read

Mar. 24—When the final game of the PIAA's basketball championship weekend has concluded, six of the last seven times, either Roman Catholic or Reading High has cut down the nets.

This year will be no different.

The only wrinkle this time is that the two powerhouse programs will be facing each other with a chance to win the state title in the PIAA's largest classification on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Hershey's Giant Center.

The defending champion Cahillites (27-3) will be looking for their fourth state title. They also won Class 4A championships in 2015 and 2016; the PIAA went to six classes in 2017.

The Red Knights (31-1) are going for their third title. They also won in 2017 and 2021.

Only Kennedy Catholic in 2019 has broken that string. The tournament was not completed in 2020 due to COVID-19, but Roman Catholic and Reading High had reached the quarterfinals.

So, this has the chance to be something special.

"They're good," Reading High senior guard Myles Grey said, "a very good team. You gotta respect them."

The District 12 champion Cahillites are led by Xzayvier Brown, a 6-1 point guard who has committed to play at Saint Joseph's.

He comes in averaging 16.8 points per game, but has really stepped it up in states. He scored 27 in a 60-56 overtime win over Lower Merion in the second round and 29 in a 66-56 win over Archbishop Wood in the semifinals, including 15 in the fourth quarter. He is averaging 21.8 points in four PIAA games.

"They have an outstanding point guard," Reading High coach Rick Perez said of Brown. "He has a great basketball pedigree."

Roman Catholic's second-leading scorer is 6-7 sophomore forward Shareef Jackson, who averages 10.7 points per game. He is the son of former Temple star and Philadelphia 76er Marc Jackson.

Also giving the Cahillites more size is 6-6 senior forward Anthony Finkley, another Saint Joseph's commit who is averaging 8.5 points per game. He had 12 points and eight rebounds against Archbishop Wood.

"He's outstanding," Perez said. "A very smart basketball player."

Roman Catholic has had to adjust to the loss of two starters in the postseason. Seniors Erik Oliver-Bush and Jermai Stewart-Herring are ineligible due to PIAA transfer rules as both joined the program for this season.

That has pushed 5-11 junior guard Robert Cotrrell (9.0 points per game in states) and 6-1 sophomore Will Felder (5.8 in states) into the starting lineup and forced coach Chris McNesby to turn to underclassmen who didn't see much playing time previously, such as freshmen Bryce Hillman and Sammy Jackson (Shareef's brother), and sophomore Sebastian Edwards.

"You got a lot of guys who are just proud to be in their roles," Perez said. "A lot of experience and they play in the Philadelphia Catholic League, so they're going to war every day."

The Cahillites opened states with a 70-31 win over Perkiomen Valley. They beat Parkland 53-35 in the quarterfinals.

Roman Catholic likely will try to use the height of Shareef Jackson and Finkley to its advantage. Reading High's tallest players are guard Aris Rodriguez, and forwards Malik Osumanu and Jedaya Ortega, all listed at 6-5.

"Our speed has to prevail," Perez said. "They got size and we just got to be smart."

So far, Reading High's speed and relentless pressure have eventually overwhelmed opponents. The Berks and District 3 champion Red Knights have won their four state games by an average of 25.8 points.

Reading opened with a 74-43 win over Haverford, then beat Upper Darby 83-58, New Castle 72-48 and Spring-Ford 55-32.

Ultimately, this could come down to Reading High's quickness vs. Roman Catholic's height.

"We're very athletic," Reading High senior guard Ruben Rodriguez said. "Nothing's going to be easy in the paint for them. We just gotta make shots harder for them.

"At the end of the day it's nothing we haven't seen before," Grey said. "We're ready to go out there and compete. If you're a competitor, you like to play against the best. We're going to go out there and play against the best. They've got some great players over there. We're excited. I'm excited, I know that."