Burlington City runs over Keyport, 9941

If an NJSIAA committee ever thinks about adopting a "mercy rule" in boys' basketball, it should watch a tape of last night's Group 1 state semifinal and present it as Exhibit A:

Burlington City 99, Keyport 41.

Three-point-happy Burlington was nearly flawless as it trounced the Central Jersey champions at Pennsauken and earned a berth in Sunday's intriguing Group 1 state final against powerful Bloomfield Tech. The 7:30 p.m. game will be played at Rutgers in Piscataway.

State semifinals usually aren't so one-sided, but the Blue Devils jumped out to leads of 12-2, 29-11 (quarter) and 55-18 (halftime), as they secured a spot in their seventh state final.

Burlington (23-5), which won state titles in 1966 and 2002, caused 31 turnovers and converted them into 43 points.

"This was par for the course for us," City coach Bryan Warrick said. "This was nothing out of the ordinary."

Andre Lewis (19 points), Michael Morris (15), Adam Crawford (14) and Najee Lane (11) reached double figures for the Blue Devils, who hit 18 of 48 three-point shots (37.5 percent).

Eleven players scored for the Blue Devils.

"We've gotten balanced scoring all year," Warrick said. "They don't care about individual stats. They're happy if they get 10 points and we win and, in this day and age . . . that's not always the case."

Added Warrick: "When we play Group 1 schools, we're very confident because of the tough schedule we've played. And now we'll have the battle of all battles on Sunday."

Burlington will be the underdog against Bloomfield Tech.

"They're good - very good," Warrick said. "They're big and well-coached, and it'll be our biggest battle of the year."

On Sunday, senior Dijon Thomas will return to the Burlington City lineup. The 6-foot-5 power forward, Burlington's second-leading scorer, with an average of 13.5 points per game, has missed the last two games because of school-related disciplinary reasons.

"He's a big factor, because he gives us a presence in the post," said Lewis, a 6-3 senior forward who hit 5 of 12 three-point shots last night.

"He draws double-teams and gives the perimeter shooters more room to shoot."

Notes. Keyport, which won the Central Jersey title despite being a fifth seed, finished with a 17-10 record. . . . Burlington's trapping man-to-man defense harassed Keyport into a 14-for-58 shooting performance. . . . Burlington City committed 13 turnovers.

Keyport9 9 7 16 - 41

Burlington City 29 26 19 25 - 99

K: Kenny Cattouse 5, Sahabi Singh 7, Pete Czech 10, Keith Carnacion 9, Ken Spears 9, Shawn O'Reilly 1.

BC: Andre Lewis 19, Gamar Johnson 6, Andre Thomas 9, Najee Lane 11, Derrick Price 7, Adam Crawford 14, Michael Morris 15, David Broach 9, Matt Marshall 2, Vince Anthony 4, Jessie McGrath 3.

Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi

at 215-854-5181

or scarchidi@phillynews.com.