The Reading Rebels’ 2023 season came to a conclusion on Tuesday evening, as they were
defeated by the Albany Patroons in the first round of the Northeast playoffs by a score of 111-
96 at the Washington Avenue Armory.
After opening the game with an early lead, the third-seeded Rebels were no match for the
second-seeded Patroons, who held the lead for nearly the final 42 minutes of the game.
Anthony Lee scored seven of Reading’s first nine points of the game over the first four minutes
to give the Rebels a 9-4 lead, which was the largest lead for Reading in the game. Albany scored
the next nine points of the game to take a 13-9 lead, which the Patroons would never
relinquish.
The Rebels would cut the lead to one point at 13-12, but Albany ended the first quarter with a
13-6 run to take a 26-18 lead heading into the second quarter. Lee scored 13 of Reading’s 18
points in the quarter, while Shadell Millinghaus paced the Patroons with seven first-quarter
points.
Albany scored the first two points of the second quarter before the Rebels scored the next
seven points, five of which were by Evan Hinson, to cut the lead to three points. The Patroons
slowly pulled away after that, increasing the lead to 15 points by halftime, 51-36. Hinson scored
seven points in the quarter.
The second half didn’t get any better for Reading, as the Rebels never got closer than 13 points
the rest of the way. Albany outscored Reading 27-23 in the third quarter to take a 78-59 lead at
the end of three quarters, before the Rebels won the fourth quarter 37-33 to close the final
margin to 15 points.
Lee, who played 45 of the 48 minutes in the game, led Reading with a game-high 27 points,
while Aquille Carr chipped in with 25 points. Hinson finished the game with a season-high 12
points, while Richard McCalop added 10 points in the loss. The Rebels shot 40.2% from the
floor, 37.5% from three-point range and 63.6% from the foul line.
Arsenio Arrington led the way for the Patroons with 26 points, while Trevis Wyche and
Millinghaus scored 23 and 15 points, respectively, for Albany. The Patroons shot 45.5% from
the floor, 20.0% from three-point range and 81.0% from the foul line. Albany won the
rebounding battle 64-51.
Reading finished the season with a 17-8 record overall, including the playoffs, and third place in
the Northeast Division. Carr led the team in scoring this season with an average of 18.7 points
per game, while Emmanuel Egbuta averaged 17.8 points per game. The Rebels had seven
players who averaged over 10 points per game this season. Egbuta nearly averaged a double-
double this season, as he led the way with 9.1 rebounds per game, while Carr was the leading
assist man, averaging 6.2 assists per game. Five players shot over 50% from the floor this
season for Reading, led by James Butler, who shot 56.6%. Tarojae Brake led the way from
downtown, as he shot 40.0% from beyond the arc this season, while Lee was the leader from
the foul line, making 80.4% of his free throws.