Berks County basketball has not had a shortage of thrillers in recent days.
On Friday night, it was Berks Catholic’s turn to keep fans on the edge of their seats at Garden Spot High School.
The Saints (25-2) defeated Bishop McDevitt 58-52 in overtime to capture the Class 4A championship, fueled by a dominant 35-point double-double from Berks County Player of the Year, Kingston McKoy.
The Colgate University commit continues to raise the bar every time he steps on the floor, leading the Saints to back-to-back District 3 titles and their fourth in the past five seasons.
“He’s just tremendous, because the kid has to do everything. He rebounds, he covers the other team’s best offensive player, and then we ask him to score,” Saints coach Snip Esterly said of McKoy. “He does everything on the court, and yet he gets his teammates involved, which is absolutely unbelievable.”
On Thursday night, the Wilson girls needed overtime before beating Dallastown 42-37 to win the district 6A championship.
McKoy finished with 35 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter and overtime, along with 10 rebounds and six assists in a game that could have gone either way down the stretch.
“Coach Snip says every day at practice, ‘We want to win three this year.’ We won the first two, (counties and districts),” McKoy said of the team’s goals. “We have to go back to work. And now, if you lose, your season’s over. So it’s my senior season, as well as some other seniors on this team as well. So, we just have to keep going.”
Bishop McDevitt’s Tommy Jones fouls Berks Catholic’s Kingston McKoy during the Saints’ 58-52 overtime District 3 Class 4A victory over the Crusaders on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, at Garden Spot High School in New Holland. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Entering the fourth quarter, the Saints led 37-33, but right out of the break, Bishop McDevitt’s Kenyon Portee converted an and-one over McKoy to cut the deficit to one.
Midway through the quarter, Patrick Denisco buried a deep 3-pointer from the right wing, followed by a basket from Ethan Hammer that gave the Crusaders (21-4) the lead.
The teams traded punches until Denisco drained another clutch three, from the exact same spot on the floor to put the Mid-Penn squad ahead 48-46.
“I knew they had three fantastic scorers, and at the end there, we switched Kingston over to No. 1 (Denisco) which I thought was one of the keys to the game,” Esterly said of the defensive switch.
Denisco went cold from that point on, even missing a tough look from his usual sweet spot late in crunch time.McKoy tied the game at 48 with 1:19 remaining on a strong drive to the basket.
With 45 seconds left, the Crusaders regained the lead when Dom Baker grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on the putback, swinging the momentum once again.
The Berks Catholic Saints celebrate their 58-52 overtime District 3 Class 4A victory over Bishop McDevitt on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, at Garden Spot High School in New Holland. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
But despite not facing many tight, late-game situations this season, the Saints stayed composed as McKoy had the ball in his hands.
The senior attacked the paint, as he had done all quarter, and drew the whistle.
“They were fouling all game. We told the refs, but once we got into the bonus, I just knew if I got downhill, they’re going to have to call it down to the stretch,” McKoy said. “I missed three today, but my free throw is pretty much automatic, and I trusted it.”
An 83% free-throw shooter, McKoy went 15-for-18 from the line, getting there at will throughout the night.
In the fourth quarter and overtime alone, he sank 11 of 12, including two clutch shots in the final seconds to force overtime.
The Crusaders ran a give-and-go to Portee, who drove downhill, but a good contest from Johnny Giesa forced the layup off the back iron as the buzzer sounded.
McDevitt opened overtime with a turnover, and, fittingly, it was McKoy who capitalized, scoring back-to-back baskets in the paint to give the Saints a 54-50 lead with 1:30 to play.
From there, Berks Catholic went into keep-away mode, forcing the Crusaders to foul. The Saints closed it out at the line to secure their seventh district title in school history.
Berks Catholic’s Johnny Giesa fights for a rebound in a 58-52 overtime District 3 Class 4A victory over the Crusaders on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, at Garden Spot High School in New Holland. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
“It feels great,” Esterly said. “It’s a new group, new kids, different personalities, but it’s always special when you win gold with these guys.”
Even after a huge win and another piece of hardware to bring back to Reading, Berks Catholic stayed even-keeled, fully aware the job isn’t finished just yet. They have their sights set on one more championship.
The Saints will begin their state title pursuit on Friday, March 6, against the fifth-place finisher from District 12 (Philadelphia).
Last season, Berks Catholic cruised past Eastern York 67-44 in the district final before making it all the way to the PIAA championship game, where they fell to Devon Prep.
Bishop McDevitt will open its state playoff run against the third-place team from District 4.
For the Saints, Brady Altimar added eight points, while Carmelo Harper chipped in seven. Johnny Giesa also grabbed seven rebounds.
For the Crusaders, Ethan Hammer led the way with 16 points, doing most of his damage from mid-range. Kenyon Portee and Patrick Denisco each added 10 in the loss.
Early on, the Saints came out firing, jumping to an 18-8 lead behind scoring outbursts from three different players.
Carmelo Harper set the tone with a pair of early buckets before Brady Altimar drilled a 3-pointer and followed it up with a steal and a layup through contact.
McKoy then closed the quarter with nine straight points, including two from beyond the arc.
Leading 22-13 early in the second, the Crusaders finally found their footing on offense, leaning into an old-school approach.
The Berks Catholic Saints are the District 3 Class 4A champions on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, at Garden Spot High School in New Holland. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Their mid-range game was a sight to see as Ethan Hammer and Kenyon Portee each buried smooth pull-up jumpers that touched nothing but net.
McDevitt rode that momentum on a 12-0 run to take a 25-22 lead, but Altimar eased the crowd just before halftime with a clutch 3-pointer to tie it up.
In the third quarter, the Saints gave up a quick five points defensively, but quickly answered.
They responded with three straight triples, from Harper, McKoy, and Gavin Welker, to retake the lead before heading into the fourth.