Kingsway wins first sectional hoops crown

When Kingsway entered the fourth quarter with a four-point lead over Deptford in yesterday's South Jersey Group 3 boys' basketball final at Eastern, Dragons coach George Passante felt confident, and for good reason.

Kingsway had enough experience winning close games this year, and it showed in its 58-42 win over Deptford, which gave the Dragons their first sectional title.

Top-seeded Kingsway (23-6) advanced to tomorrow's 7 p.m. state Group 3 semifinal against Central Jersey champion Neptune (a 72-44 winner last night over Princeton) at Winslow Township.

"We said before the game, if it was a close game, then we liked our chances," Passante said.

Entering the game, the Dragons were 10-3 in games that were decided by five or fewer points or that went into overtime.

Kingsway outscored the Spartans by 23-11 in the final period, winning the rubber game after the Tri-County Royal Division rivals split during the regular season.

Sophomore guard Rondell Gilmore scored seven of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and senior guard Jared Flynn had five of his seven points in the final period.

Kingsway also received 12 points from senior guard Ryan Juhring, including four in the final quarter.

Second-seeded Deptford (22-7) simply didn't hit shots, The Spartans were 5 for 15 in the fourth quarter and 20 for 65 for the game.

"We didn't make shots, but a lot of that has to be attributed to Kingsway," Deptford coach Bill Hoskins said. "They have been holding teams in the 40s all year."

Deptford 11 10 10 11 - 42

Kingsway 10 9 16 23 - 58

D: Dan Brodie 4, Erv Ezell 15, John Lewis 5, Ellwood Clement 2, Jared Winningham 10, Dexter Fowler 6.

K: Rondell Gilmore 19, Ryan Juhring 12, T.J. Pratt 4, Tom Dickson 4, Stephen Pigford 10, Jared Flynn 7, Melvin Rowden 2.