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MEDFORD—A late fourth-quarter run helped lift host Shawnee past Hammonton 64-59 as both boys basketball teams tuned up for the upcoming South Jersey playoffs on February 17.
Junior guard Kenny Smith scored 18 points to lead Hammonton, while Azzir Smith-Bey and Ta’Vonne Barber each added 11.
The game wrapped up the regular season for the Blue Devils, who were coming off a 65-57 win against Vineland in their Cape Atlantic League finale.
In that win on February 15, Hammonton used a 14-9 third quarter run to break open a close game and pull out a win.
Smith-Bey led the way for the Blue Devils with 17 points, Greg Smith had 13 and Barber added 11 in the win.
Hammonton, the ninth seed in the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs, will play at eight-seeded Delsea on February 22 at 5:30 p.m.
The Blue Devils slumped at the end of the regular season and enter the postseason having lost three of their last four games. Delsea has also struggled down the stretch, dropping three-of-five to end the regular season.
Smith sets the pace for Hammonton offensively, averaging 17.7 points per game. He leads a balanced backcourt that also features Greg Smith (7 ppg) and Jake Edwards, who has connected on 33 3-pointers this season and averages 8.4 points per game.
Up front, Smith-Bey is scoring at a 15 point per game clip, and has hit 48 3-pointers this season while averaging seven rebounds.
Delsea’s top scorer is senior guard Chase Ambrosius, who averages 15.9 points. Luke Van Auken, a sophomore center, is tough inside, averaging 13.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.
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