Andrew Heller: Ruben Rodriguez hits milestone as Reading High beats Vertical Academy in boys basketball [updated]

Jan. 22—Ruben Rodriguez scored his 1,000th career point on Friday during Reading High's 71-66 victory over Vertical Academy in a non-league boys basketball game at Santander Arena.

Rodriguez hit the milestone on a driving layup early in the fourth quarter.

A packed crowd was on hand to see Reading take on the prep school based out of Charlotte, N.C.

Vertical Academy star Mikey Williams, the No. 13 recruiting prospect in the Class of 2023, according to 247Sports, scored six in the opening quarter.

A back-and-forth first quarter ended at 20-20 with Rodriguez scoring five.

Fastbreak play opened up for the Red Knights (14-2) in the second quarter when short-handed Vertical Academy played on the perimeter and missed several 3-pointers. Vertical Academy only had seven players on their roster.

Reading won the rebound battle on several possessions and the fastbreak points helped the Red Knights take a 39-31 lead into halftime.

Vertical Academy had fewer turnovers in the third quarter and cut it to 52-45 after three.

After a short celebration for Rodriguez's milestone, the scoring slowed for Reading in the fourth.

Strong all-around play by Williams helped pull Vertical Academy into a 63-63 tie with less than two minutes to go.

Although the Red Knights were being outscored in the fourth, Reading High coach Rick Perez credited Reading's team-first mentality for the ability to pull out the win.

"Purpose prevails," Perez said. "We had a lot of purpose throughout the game. We were able to play emotionally and we were able to play tactfully. Everybody had major contributions and I think the difference in the game was us being able to make the small plays."

Vertical Academy was up 66-65 when a steal by Myles Grey led to breakaway layup from Rodriguez that gave Reading a 67-66 lead.

Rodriguez was undeterred by the pressure around him and referenced former Reading High great Lonnie Walker IV when asked how he kept his composure throughout the game.

"Just stay calm," Rodriguez said. "After our last loss Coach P used Lonnie as an example and said that any time there was problems Lonnie would say 'Stay calm, relax, and we'll be good.' So I used that today and made sure everyone knew that we would be fine."

Reading High made all four of its free throws down the stretch.

Williams, a 6-2 guard, finished with 18 points and missed two free throws in the fourth quarter.

Rodriguez, coming off a school-record 50-point game against Daniel Boone, made the final two free throws to close out the scoring. He finished with 22 points.

"Ruben is a winner," Perez said. "A born winner; he wins at every phase of his life and its because he's a very humble young man and he approaches everything vulnerably. He's had games where he had seven points and seven assists and he's had games where he's had 50 points. He'll do whatever it takes for his team to win and that is why you have to respect the athlete he is."

After the game, Rodriguez talked about how much the win meant for the city and what coming together as a team can accomplish.

"It means a lot to show that us kids from Reading can beat people like this from all over the country, especially great players like Mikey," Rodriguez said. "It shows that when we play together we can do anything."