SAINTS STAY PERFECT
With a packed crowd at Lloyd M. Wolf Gymnasium roaring late in the fourth and Berks Catholic struggling to hold on to what had been a 22-point lead against Exeter, senior forward Parker Nein had more than one reason to take a shot from far behind the arc.
Not only was he trying to preserve the Saints’ perfect start to the regular season and earn a key victory in the race for the division title, he was also trying to silence some familiar faces.
“Well, I knew (Eagles senior guard) Alex Kelsey was covering me and he’s been one of my best friends my whole life, so I knew he wasn’t gonna give me an inch of space,” Nein said. “So when I got just a little bit of space, I was throwing it up for sure.
“I went to Exeter until about eighth grade when I transferred over (to Berks Catholic). So playing against these guys is always a good game and when the student
section is chirping at me, it’s great.”
Much to his former classmates’ dismay, Nein sank the momentum-shifting 3-pointer from what seemed like NBArange to give Berks Catholic a six-point lead with 2:04 to go.
From there, the Saints were able to hang on and secure a 7264 win over the Eagles by completing an 11-9 run down the stretch in the Berks II boys basketball game on Thursday night.
“That was beyond the NBA (line),” Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly said of Nein’s pivotal 3-pointer. “We weren’t moving the ball as well as I liked and when Parker pulled up for that (shot) I’m like, ‘Oh my God!’ But then he banged it home. And that’s just Parker. That’s Parker.”
As Nein alluded, both student sections exchanged cheers and jeers during the final moments, as what had been a one-sided contest got very interesting in the fourth quarter.
A field goal by Exeter senior guard Kevin Saenz made it a one
possession game seconds before Nein’s decisive 3-pointer. The Saints (4-0, 9-0) led 54-37 heading into the fourth quarter and had a commanding 42-20 lead early in the third.
Saenz scored 20 of his gamehigh 29 points in the second half
and had 10 points in the fourth.
The Eagles (3-1, 6-5) went on a resounding 18-4 run during the fourth quarter to make it a 5855 game with seven points coming from Saenz and five coming from Kelsey.