By Wayne Witkowski
New Egypt High School’s boys’ basketball team had the lead for nearly the entire Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL) Freedom Division showdown in what would have been a signature victory over Florence Township Memorial High School — a team it had beaten in its season opener.
However, Florence, which won the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group I championship last year, rallied back for a 41-40 victory Jan. 21 at New Egypt. Jabril Emmond hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 19 seconds left, and New Egypt center Quinn Kimmick’s contested jumper off the right side of the lane bounded off the rim in the closing seconds.
New Egypt was in foul trouble down the stretch and played the final three minutes without high-scoring Ryan Devine, who fouled out. Devine averages 11.6 points, which is second only to Owen Rabb’s 13.2 points per game.
“Both teams played very good defense, which is why it was that score, and we struggled to score,” Devine said, who finished with 10 points. “They had a size advantage, and we did not do a good job of boxing out. I think we’ve been boxing out well [this season], but we made a few mental errors on it this game.”
Anthony Burr led New Egypt with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Rabb, who is a hot scorer of late, was held to five points.
“We’ve been in every game [we lost], and there were a couple we’d like to have back that we let get away. We have to be better at closing games,” coach Mick Hughes said. “We had opportunities. We just did not capitalize.”
New Egypt had hoped to make it a two-horse race in the BCSL Freedom Division, but now it has to chase Burlington City High School and Florence, which are both 6-1. New Egypt is 5-2 and has a home game Feb. 3 against Burlington City. The Warriors are 9-4 overall.
Florence had beaten Burlington City, 59-49, Jan. 17, and the two teams meet again Feb. 16.
New Egypt and Florence also were pitted in a gritty defensive battle in the Warriors’ season opener when they rallied with a 14-4 run in the fourth quarter for a 40-35 victory. Rabb also was held to five points in that game.
They took command of this one at the start with an 11-2 lead. Florence came back to take its only other lead of the game briefly at 15-14, but New Egypt took the lead back and held it from there despite Florence shooting the ball much better until the closing minutes.
Florence rallied back early in the fourth quarter on an 11-1 run to pull to 38-37. Matt Dempsey answered with a basket for New Egypt before Florence closed out the game with four unanswered points.
Both 40-point games by New Egypt against Florence were its lowest scoring games of the season.
Devine felt his team could bounce back from the loss and stay in the division race.
“We’re fine. We all know there are big games coming up with power points,” Devine said. “[The division championship] is not out of reach.”
The game generated a lot of fanfare around the school for the program that’s been on an upswing the past two seasons after it won only one game two seasons ago. Devine said the team’s offseason work helped many returning players come in ready when preseason workouts began in late November.
“There are a number of guys we’re confident in,” Hughes said. “On any given night, anyone can step in and make a great contribution. It’s nice to have reserves [on the bench] to bring in and feel confident [about].”
Rabb scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots when New Egypt had lost prior to its showdown with Florence to Doane Academy, 68-55, Jan. 19. Kimmick added 12 points, but the Warriors couldn’t stop the school from Burlington from pulling away to a 20-point lead entering the final quarter.
Devine scored 20 points and Rabb and Dempsey each dropped in 10 points in a 51-41 division victory over Riverside High School Jan. 17.
The Warriors looked to bounce back from the two-game slump when they played at Bound Brook High School Jan. 23. The Warriors host Camden County Technical School Jan. 26.