Cougars qualify for BCIAA playoffs
The Kutztown boys basketball team earned a place in the BCIAA playoffs as the No. 8 seed thanks to an 8-2 finish in Berks III and a 13-9 overall record.
The Cougars’ success gave them the unenviable task of meeting No. 1 and Berks I champion Reading in the quarterfinals on Feb. 13.
Kutztown was also denied a place in the District 3 Class 3A playoffs upon finishing No. 9 in the final power rankings despite carrying a better record than two of the six teams in the field.
Kutztown went 1-1 in the final week of the regular season, taking a 73-51 defeat to nonleague Upper Perkiomen before dropping Antietam 67-44 on Feb. 7.
Lorencz Jean-Baptiste (20 points) and Brady Tucker (11) led the way in the loss to Upper Perk on Feb. 6.
Against Antietam, Brayden Eck scored 19 and Jean-Baptiste had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Dane Fegely added 10.
FLEETWOOD >> The Tigers saw their season come to a close on Feb. 7 in a 50-44 defeat to Twin Valley. Fleetwood finished the season 1-9 in Berks II and 6-15 overall.
The Tigers led the Raiders 29-23 at halftime but couldn’t complete the upset despite 13 points from Tyler Chavoya, nine from Marckens Griffon and eight from Ryan Miller.
Chavoya led the team in scoring this season at 13.6 points per game, followed by Miller (9.0), Griffon (6.9) and Nate Mercuri (6.3).
BRANDYWINE HEIGHTS >> The Bullets concluded the season 4-6 in Berks III and 8-14 overall after last week’s 58-50 win over Tulpehocken on Feb. 7 and 62-52 defeat to nonleague Lancaster Christian on Feb. 10.
Against Tulpy, Drew Miller scored 20 points and Ryan Tavares hit five 3-pointers for 15 points to lead Brandywine. Noah Hermany added eight.
In the season finale, Miller hit for 16, Hermany scored 11 and John Harrison 12 by LC’s Will Sloyer fired in 28.
Girls Basketball
KUTZTOWN >> The Cougars concluded the season 4-6 in Berks III and 7-15 overall after topping Upper Perkiomen 60-22 on Feb. 6 and falling to Antietam 50-40 on Feb. 7 in their final week.
Kutztown had four in double figures against Upper Perkiomen: Rachael McCoach (16), Ashley Donat (11), Syo Sanders (10) and Jillian Siefert (10).
In the season finale, Donat scored 18 and Gretta Bankes added 11.
Kutztown ended the season 10th in the District 3 Class 3A power rankings, missing qualification for the six-team field.
Bankes averaged a team-high 13.0 points this season, followed by Donat (11.2) and McCoach (8.2).
BRANDYWINE HEIGHTS >> Brandywine closed the season last week with a pair of defeats – 50-46 to Antietam on Feb. 2 and 4330 to Tulpehocken on Feb. 7 – and finished 4-6 in Berks III and 9-13 overall.
Hannah Fenstermacher led the team in scoring with 14.4 points per game, followed by MyKalan Mendoza (7.1), Skylar Miller (5.3) and Marley Turbett (4.3).
FLEETWOOD >> Along with advancing to the BCIAA semifinals (story on page 1), the Tigers qualified for the District 3 Class 5A playoffs as the No. 10 seed.
Fleetwood (18-4) travels to No. 7 Dover for its first round game on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
Wrestling
The individual phase of the season begins this weekend for local schools. Hamburg is set to host a District 3 Class 2A sectional on Saturday, Feb. 18. The event will feature wrestlers from host Hamburg, Brandywine Heights, ELCO, Kutztown, Pequea Valley, Schuylkill Valley, Tulpehocken and Wyomissing. Three wrestlers from each weight class will advance to the District 3 Championships, to be held at the Giant Center in Hershey on Feb. 24 and 25.