HERSHEY — A band of brothers solidified its legacy on Saturday night as Reading High defeated Roman Catholic 63-56 in overtime in the PIAA Class 6A championship game at Giant Center to claim its third state title since 2017.
Aris Rodriguez, who scored a team-high 16 points for the Red Knights, foretold at the start of the season that playing his senior year with his lifelong friends was going to be like a movie.
The scene Saturday night proved that he was right.
“I told you it was gonna be a movie,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a blessing, especially doing it with my brothers. I’m speechless at this point.”
With Reading High down two in overtime, like something out of a blockbuster script, Yadiel Cruz came up clutch.
Cruz made both ends of a one-and-one with 1:24 left to tie it at 56-56. He then made the front end of a one-and-one with 1:05 left to give the Red Knights (32-1) the lead for good.
Nick Chapman capped it with a steal in the final seconds and Rodriguez’s picturesque dunk as time expired cued the credits.
FINAL
Reading High 63
Roman Catholic 56The Red Knights are your 2023 PIAA Class 6A boys basketball champions. #Berksgameday pic.twitter.com/3lp78rt0eJ
— Andrew Heller (@aHellerReading) March 26, 2023
After adding a state title to its county, district championships, Reading High blissfully stormed the court in celebration.
“I don’t even know; it doesn’t feel real,” said guard Ruben Rodriguez, who finished with eight points and nine rebounds. “You know, it’s just a blessing to be here and beating a team like that. They’re the Catholic League champions and we took them down; it goes to show what Berks County is about.”
For Ruben Rodriguez, the two-time Berks Player of the Year, four-time District 3 gold medalist and two-time state champion, the night was a storybook sendoff for himself and his fellow seniors.
“I’m done man, I’m done,” Ruben Rodriguez said. “My high school career is over and I’m happy it ended like this.
“It feels unreal (winning with the senior class) because, literally, in third grade we were talking about when we get to be seniors, we’re going to win states. And to finally do it, it doesn’t feel real.”
A dreamlike end almost turned into a nightmare late in the fourth quarter.
With the Cahillites (27-4) down by one and less than 10 seconds to go, Aris Rodriguez missed the front end of a one-and-one. Roman’s Xzayzier Brown, a Saint Joseph’s commit, was fouled by Amier Burdine with 1.7 seconds left while driving the lane.
Brown had made 9-of-11 foul shots to that point, but with the largely pro-Reading High crowd roaring, he missed the first, but sank the second to tie it. Brown finished with a game-high 23 points, including going 12-of-15 on free throws.
“God was here, I felt God,” Red Knights coach Rick Perez said on Brown going 1-for-2. “God came in. He already told me, He said ‘Listen, I need you for four more minutes, like faith over sight.’ No.1 (Brown) on the line, you think, you know, God was here. He just wanted a little more entertainment.
“God is just saying something and I just need to continue to listen, all these young men need to continue to listen. God has taken us to beautiful places, so He’s doing things that you can’t see and then you know, sometimes we don’t listen and we don’t pay attention but He shows you that He’s at work and that was on display today.”
The relentless defense that propelled Reading High throughout the season was on display all night. Up by three after Aris Rodriguez sank two from the line to make it 59-56 with 24 seconds left in OT, senior All-Berks guard Myles Grey came up with a steal before being fouled.
Grey calmly made both shots with 11.4 seconds left to all but put the game away. He finished with 14 points, three assists, four rebounds and was 4-of-5 from the line.
“Everybody was confident on the bench,” Grey said of the play down the stretch. “We work on free throws all the time so it paid off.
“This is wonderful, man. I’ll tell everybody, we’re giving all the glory to God right now. We’ve been praying, talking to Him throughout the whole game, without Him none of this possible. I’m just so thankful.”
In addition to his steal in the final seconds of overtime, Chapman came up big in the fourth quarter as the junior drained a corner 3-pointer to put Reading High up 49-47.
Brown had completed a three-point play on the Cahillites’ previous possession to give Roman Catholic its first lead since early in the second quarter. Reading High led 23-19 at the half and 43-39 at the end of the third.
Chapman, the younger brother of 2021 state champion Joey Chapman, finished with nine points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and made two free throws that put the Red Knights up 53-52 with 26.8 seconds left.
“You hear Nick Chapman, you hear Joey Chapman,” Aris Rodriguez said, “They run in the same blood, we knew Nick Chapman was going to come and do his thing.”
Though this senior class will surely be missed by Perez and company, the Red Knights are confident in the underclassmen to successfully defend their numerous crowns.
“Don’t think because we’re leaving, Reading is going to stop being a powerhouse; we’re always gonna be that powerhouse,” Ruben Rodriguez said. “And you know, everybody, shoot, they’re coming back with state champion experience. So you know, when you have that much experience, it makes the game easier.”
“We have a great junior class and a great sophomore class,” Grey said. “We got a lot of great underclassmen to come up who will play a huge piece next year. And I have no doubts in my mind; they already have all the time in the world. As long as they pull it together and continue to play hard and continue to buy into Coach P’s culture, they’ll be great.”
With no more minutes to be played, Reading High can ride off into the sunset knowing that a golden generation of Red Knights achieved the greatness they always imagined.
“Ruben told me in the beginning of the year, he said, ‘Are you ready to coach your greatest basketball team ever?’ ” Perez said. “I said, ‘Okay, well you’re going to have to do some crazy stuff to be the best ever.’ “
Thirty-two wins later, Perez had a profound message for his team to take away from a glorious season.
“Remain selfless, remain humble, remain vulnerable,” Perez said, “God is always at work.”
