The Burlington City senior has vaulted onto the South Jersey stage as one of the region's most prolific scorers. Not bad for a kid who didn't play organized basketball until the seventh grade.

"I was always football, football, football when I was younger," said Corry, who is averaging 26 points per game. "But then I became taller than everyone, and the coaches were like, 'You need to play basketball.' "

After transferring from Burlington Township to Burlington City his sophomore year, the 6-foot-3 swing forward has been a three-year contributor for a Blue Devils team that captured the South Jersey Group 1 title last season and was runner-up in 2006.

Admittedly, Corry did not have to do as much with those teams as he does now.

"We had three, four, five guards who had been through the wars," Corry said. "I just had to relax, spot up, do my thing. Before, I was getting the easy layups. It's not like that now."

This winter, the Blue Devils have struggled. The perennial small-school power dropped to 7-8 for the season after yesterday's 66-56 loss to Eastern in the Jeff Coney Memorial Scholarship event at Rancocas Valley. Corry, the Devils' only returning starter, poured in 31 points (he is averaging 34.3 points per game in the last week), but it was not enough against the hot-shooting Vikings.

"Kris has had to put this team on his shoulders, at times, to keep us in hunt for the playoffs," Blue Devils coach Jim Flynn said. "We ask so much of him, with his play on the court and his leadership off it. His attitude has been marvelous."

Corry's repertoire was on full display against the Olympic Conference foes. He slashed to the basket and drew fouls while running the point. He followed up teammates' misses while playing in the lane. He made one acrobatic layup on a drive, was fouled and converted the three-point play. He showed a smooth jumper from behind the three-point arc.

Corry's defensive game - Flynn said it's underrated - was hampered due to foul trouble in the first half.

For much of yesterday's game, Corry involved his teammates, but with Eastern's lead stretching to double figures in the fourth quarter, the senior tried to take over. At times he was spectacular, but the Vikings, led by scrappy defender Quavon Burrell, neutralized the Blue Devils' standout.

"One of the biggest things I stress with Kris is to keep his head up and not get frustrated," said Julian Corry, Kris' father and a varsity athlete at Burlington City in his day. "His mentality isn't to be a score-first player. He wants to be a facilitator, but this year he has to score."

The scoring roles fits Corry well. He posted 45- and 35-point games earlier this week, claiming he's just "finding his groove" after spending the fall as a quarterback/linebacker on the football team.

"I always tell him when he puts his mind to it, there's no one who can guard him with how strong he is and how talented he is," said Rancocas Valley senior Andre Byrdsong, not a bad scorer himself at 19.2 ppg. and one of Corry's best friends. "He's the best player in the county. You can't guard him with one player, because he can play 32 minutes and still go strong."

Corry, who wants to play both football and basketball in college, said he hopes to attend Valley Forge Military Academy next year. After that, he and his coach believe the sky is the limit. Right now, though, the focus is on the playoffs.

"This is Burlington City. We don't miss the playoffs. It would be embarrassing," Corry said. "We have the talent to do it. We just have to make it happen."

Notes. Eastern used a 21-4 second-half run to overcome what had once been a seven-point deficit. Shumeek Scott, a transfer from Gloucester Catholic who became eligible this week, had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Vikings. Bobby Harris added 16 points and Burrell 14 for Eastern, which improved to 8-7.

Burlington City 20 12 10 14 - 56

Eastern 20 10 22 14 - 66

BC: Kris Corry 31, Alphonso Bradford 8, Shaquille Butler 8, Shaquan Hall 6, Ayo Adedeji 2, Bradley Chapman 1.

E: Shumeek Scott 26, Bobby Harris 16, Quavon Burrell 14, Mike Newman 3, Rodney Blount 3, Alex Law 2, Vince Shaw 2.