SPORTS

Hunterdon Central boys basketball falls to Shawnee in Group IV semifinal

Mark Trible
@Mtrible
Hunterdon Central forward Sam Johnson (11) goes up for a shot against Shawnee during their Group IV semifinal on March 9, 2017 at Egg Harbor Township High School.

EGG HARBOR TWP. - It stood tied through a half and again after another eight minutes of play.

Shawnee and Hunterdon Central’s high school boys basketball teams showed little disparity until the final act of Thursday’s NJSIAA Group IV semifinal. That’s when the difference appeared in the Egg Harbor Township gym – all 6 feet, 5 inches of him.

Dylan Deveney scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter and led the Renegades (29-2) to a 54-49 triumph and spot in the state championship.

“He’s always there to make the big shot,” Shawnee point guard Dean Noll said.

It came roughly 90 seconds into the last frame.

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With his Renegades up 36-34, Deveney walked the ball up the court and let teammate Daevon Robinson stand in a defender’s path.

“I knew he was getting hot and I just wanted to screen for him to see what he’d do – either go to the hole or pull up,” Robinson said. “I was hoping he’d take the three. He did.”

Deveney calmly released and his fluid 25-foot, 3-pointer forced a Red Devils (26-4) timeout. A layup off his hands came after the break and made it 41-34.

That made for the largest lead of the nip-and-tuck affair since a 21-14 Shawnee advantage evaporated into a 21-21 deadlock at intermission.

“As a shooter, I think every shot is going in,” Deveney said. “I was off in the first half, but the coaches told me to keep shooting and don’t think about it.”

The junior big man also notched his 1,000th career point just 51 seconds into the second period. He finished with a team-high 18.

“It’s amazing to get to it, especially as a junior,” he remarked of the milestone. “Someone told me in the first half I got it but I didn’t want to think about it. I told them, ‘It doesn’t matter if we don’t get the win.’”

Deveney hit each of his four free throws in the fourth. His teammates added to the final touches with a 7-of-8 mark from the charity stripe to close it out.

Prior to the spurt to open the final eight minutes, neither team assumed control. Only the South Jersey representatives possessed a shot at it with that early edge. When it vanished, Shawnee coach Joe Kessler grew frustrated with his bunch.

“We told them we were dribbling too much and we had a few unforced turnovers,” Kessler said. “We had a good talk at halftime.”

Hunterdon Central forward Tucker Richardson (33) drives to the paint against Shawnee during their Group IV semifinal on March 9, 2017 at Egg Harbor Township High School.

“He told us we needed to stop being selfish,” Noll, who chipped in seven points, revealed of the locker-room speech.

That came to fruition down the stretch, notably through the press break that led to a few layups and trips back to the line. In fact, the unselfish play got so fine that Deveney himself earned a trip to the coach in a late stoppage.

“I knew what he was going to say but I had to go over there and listen to it,” Deveney said. “He said he wanted me to come get the ball and hold onto it.”

On the biggest stage, Shawnee’s biggest man came through.

“Anytime we get in a situation where we know they will start fouling, we want Dylan with the ball,” Kessler adamantly explained.

For the team that spreads it around with ease – Sean Heine and Pat Kernan added 10 while Robinson scored nine – it’s no secret who stars in crunch time.

“They made a couple plays early in the fourth to get up five and then we were playing catch up,” Hunterdon Central coach Mike Falco said. “They’re 29-2 for a reason.”

A large part of that reason is that soft-spoken 1,000-point scorer.

“We’ve been working for this for four months,” Deveney said. “I’m just glad the journey is still continuing.”

It will proceed in Sunday’s 12 p.m. title game at Rutgers University against Linden, 56-50 winners over Bloomfield.

Mark Trible; (856) 486-2424; mtrible@gannettnj.com