Staff Report
Just three years ago, the Absegami boys basketball team was a sub-.500 group that lost its last three games of the year and saw the season end with a blowout loss against Burlington Township in the opening round of the state playoffs.
The following year, the Braves started turning things around and it’s no accident that current senior center Jamaal Davis has been part of a big-time turnaround in Galloway Township. When he was a sophomore, he played in 14 games and started getting his feet wet on varsity, helping Absegami to an 18-win season that included a trip to the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals.
Last year, Davis really started to come into his own as he averaged nearly nine points per game, was the team’s third-leading scorer, grabbed nearly 200 rebounds and added 21 blocked shots while leading Absegami to a 20-win season.
Davis has been a huge inside and scoring presence for the Braves this season, leading the team by about 100 points, averaging more than 15 points per game while adding better than eight rebounds per game, too. He also shoots nearly 75 percent from the foul line and is good for an assist per game. With the 6-foot-5 Davis leading the way, the Braves are currently 20-3, their only losses coming against St. Augustine Prep, Holy Spirit and Delsea. Davis has scored in double figures in all but three games, with a season-high 26 in a five-point win over Lindenwold in late December, and he’s racked up nine double-doubles.
Absegami takes on Egg Harbor Township tonight in the second round of the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament.
— Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
