PCN to broadcast 2017 basketball title tilt between Pine-Richland, Reading

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Monday, March 30, 2020 | 6:54 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Led by Miami recruit Lonnie Walker, Reading High came into the 2017 PIAA Class 6A basketball finals with a caravan of fired-up fans hoping to see the school win its first state title.

Led by Notre Dame football recruit Phil Jurkovec, Pine-Richland’s plan was to silence the crowd and claim some gold of its own.

As part of its ongoing PCN Sports Classics series, which replays dramatic state title events from the recent past, the Pennsylvania Cable Network will broadcast the showdown between the Rams (28-1) and Red Knights (29-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Other recent installments in the series included the 2017 Class AAA wrestling championships, which saw Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee suffer his only high school loss, the 2019 Class 6A boys basketball final between Kennedy Catholic and Pennridge and the 2003 Class 3A football title game between Mt. Carmel and Pine-Richland.

Spoiler alert: Reading won the 2017 championship game, 64-60, in front of a packed house of 9,531 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Walker led Reading with 22 points. Jurkovec had 14 points and six rebounds for Pine-Richland.

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

Tags: Pine-Richland