At 7-3, No. 8 Shawnee already has lost more games this season than last year, when it went 24-2.
Still, the game is at Shawnee, where the Renegades are 3-0 this year and were unbeaten last season.
It is not often that Shawnee is an underdog at home, but that will be the team's status tomorrow in what could be a Group 4 championship game preview.
PRIME TIME EVENT
RANCOCAS VALLEY AT SHAWNEE
BOYS' BASKETBALL
Time: 1 p.m. tomorrow
Records: Rancocas Valley 9-0 (through Wednesday), Shawnee 7-3.
Coaches: Rancocas Valley, Jeff Coney (first season); Shawnee, Joe Kessler (11th season, 249-65).
Probable starters
Rancocas Valley
F Ken Greb, 6-5 Sr., 10.1 ppg.
F Marcel Grant, 6-4 Sr., 16.0
G Mike Van Kline, 6-1 Jr., 6.5
G Tim Ferguson, 6-3 Sr., 14.3
C Jarius McCollum, 6-5 Jr., 11.1
Shawnee
F: Mark Medvetz, 6-3 Jr., 8.3 ppg.
F: Anthony Strachan, 6-4 Sr., 10.1
C: Zach Martin, 6-6 Fr., 11.6
G: Sean Mulholland, 6-1 Jr., 14.7
G: Ben Gibson, 6-2 Jr., 2.3
Outlook: Shawnee suffered a serious setback when 6-foot-5 senior Chris Altenburger suffered a badly sprained ankle Tuesday in a 57-42 victory over Cherokee. Altenburger is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Without Altenburger, Shawnee must shoot well from the outside to remain competitive. Mulholland scored just three points against Cherokee, but when he is hot, he is among the top long-range shooters in South Jersey. Martin averaged 16.3 points in his last three games. Both players likely will have to score above their season averages for the Renegades to be competitive. Rancocas Valley probably will try to get the ball inside, especially with the emergence of McCollum, who averaged 18.6 points in his last three games before yesterday. The game offers a contrast in styles, RV's inside game against Shawnee's perimeter offense. If Shawnee can control the boards and hit some three-pointers, this could be a tightly contested game.
