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Bloodied and bowed, Luke Kennevan was among the last players to straggle out of the locker room in the bowels of the Rutgers Athletic Center. Wearing uniform No. 13 instead of his accustomed No. 12, the Camden Catholic senior straightened up and answered every question.
Kennevan and the Irish had just lost the NJSIAA Non-Public A championship game to Bergen Catholic by a scant three points. Camden Catholic held a nine-point lead heading into the final quarter.
In short, Camden Catholic ran out of gas. The magic never ran out for the Irish.
"The most important thing was our team success and how far we made it," Kennevan said.
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Kennevan led the Irish with a 16.6 scoring average. His 515 points this winter moved him into second place on the Irish all-time scoring charts with 1,694 points. Kennevan made 30 3-pointers to raise his career total to 129.
Those numbers were the least component of his impact on his team.
Kennevan led Camden Catholic to South Jersey's only state championship game this season, very nearly resulting in one of the most unlikely successful playoff runs in history.
To get to Rutgers, Camden Catholic had to survive not one but two double-overtime playoff games, including erasing a 13-point deficit in the final minutes of a road game against Paul VI, a team that had won their first three meetings between the schools.
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The double-overtime win over St. Pete's was an all-time thriller.
"I will remember the sectional championship, for sure," Kennevan said. "That game could have caused us our careers. It ended up coming out our way so that was just a great feeling. My teammates picking me up, and us, winning this for our whole school.
Even in the state final, Kennevan was Camden Catholic's biggest constant. Only a blood-spattered uniform that forced him into a sideline quick change could briefly keep him from leading the team.
For leadership that never wavered, Kennevan is the 2024-25 Courier-Post South Jersey Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
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Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Email him with story ideas at [email protected] and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier-Post.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: HS boys basketball: Kennevan earns 2024-25 SJ Player of the Year
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