Reading High's season ends with loss to Central York in PIAA Class 6A boys basketball semifinal

Mar. 20—LITITZ — Another strong showing in the state playoffs came to an unfortunate end for Reading High, as the defending champion Red Knights fell to Central York 79-65 in a PIAA Class 6A boys basketball semifinal on Tuesday night at Warwick High School.

Looking to return to the state final for the third time in four years, Reading High, the fourth-place team from District 3, could not overcome the offensive strength of the Panthers and their multiple scoring threats.

"I'm just disappointed that the season had to end right now," Red Knights coach Francis Camara said. "The boys earned everything that they got and we deserved to continue to keep playing. Obviously, it's a tough loss. We lost to a very good team.

"Coach (Jeff) Hoke does an amazing job with his guys and they deserve to be in the state championship and kudos to them. They were just a little bit better than us today."

6-8 junior forward Ben Rill, who recently reached 1,000 points over his career, scored a game-high 28 for Central York and 6-7 senior forward Greg Guidinger, the Panthers' all-time leading scorer, had 22 points.

Reading High senior and Berks Player of the Year Yadiel scored a team-high 21 points for the Red Knights (22-11), and in the process, eclipsed 1,000 points over his career. Cruz, playing in just his second season at Reading High, needed 11 points heading into the matchup to reach the milestone.

"How about Yadiel Cruz?" Camara said. "My goodness. Scoring 1,000 points in two years is amazing."

Guidinger scored 14 in the first half and Rill had 11 to help the Panthers (28-3) establish a 37-31 lead at halftime. With the score 34-31 in the closing moments of the second quarter, Guidinger was fouled on a 3-point attempt and converted all three foul shots to close out the first half.

The Red Knights trailed by no fewer than eight points in the second half, as the Panthers scored the first two points of the third quarter before outscoring Reading High 20-12 in the quarter.

With the win, Central York advances to the state final for the first time in program history. The Panthers will face Parkland on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Giant Center in Hershey.

"We had to match their energy because, since (former) coach (Rick) Perez changed the whole culture, Reading is fierce and they just keep coming at you," Panthers coach Jeff Hoke said. "And we knew it wasn't over until it was over tonight, but our guys just matched their energy and we executed as best we could.

"Kudos to them. What a great season they had. They're a great, classy program and that's what we were trying to emulate when we started the season."

Senior and All-Berks guard Nick Chapman scored 16 points for the Red Knights. He also had two rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Chapman scored the last four points of the first quarter for Reading High to help cut the deficit to 20-19 heading into the second. He finished the first half with 14 points.

In addition, Reading High senior Malik Osumanu scored four points and had four rebounds and fellow senior Nico Sosa had four rebounds.

"Nick Chapman played with his heart on his sleeve," Camara said. "The way Nick Chapman was able to bring this team together as a leader is amazing. Nick Chapman and Malik Osumanu are the leaders of this team. They were the reason we were able to get to this point.

"Nico Sosa and Daquan Burgess had amazing seasons as role players."

Sophomore Weshly Rosario scored 13 points for Reading High and also had four assists and five rebounds. Freshman Jeremiah Camara scored six points, including the Red Knights' first 3-pointer of the night, which gave them a 9-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Red Knights had a 15-10 lead with 3:18 to go in the first quarter. Guidinger gave the Panthers a 17-15 lead — which they would keep for good — following a Reading High turnover with 1:55 left in the first.

"You got a sophomore in Weshly and a freshman in Jeremiah within the rotation and they just responded to the leadership from those guys," Francis Camara said. "I'm most proud of the boys and their fight, which I'm not surprised about. I've seen this from them since I started coaching some of these kids when they were in elementary school.

"So that's what I'm proud of. I'm proud of the fight."

The Red Knights began their season with a 90-73 loss to Central York on the road before winning eight of their last 10 regular season games to claim the Berks I title.

In the PIAA quarterfinals, Reading High earned a redemptive 62-44 win over Coatesville after falling to the Red Raiders 69-51 in the regular season.

After winning championships at the county, district and state level in 2023, the Red Knights graduated four starters, including three All-state selections and the Class 6A Player of the Year, Ruben Rodriguez.

According to first-year coach Francis Camara, Reading High found success through its persistent resilience during the 2024 season.

"I'm proud that the boys were able to stick together through all the adversity and all the ups and downs throughout the season," Francis Camara said. "I continue to say this: They've been doubted all year long and all they did was respond and continue to respond. And then when they got down again, they responded again.

"These kids are born and raised in the city of Reading where everything's hard. Nothing is easy for them. They have to fight every day from when they wake up to when they put their head on the pillow and go to bed. So it's in their blood — it's what they do."