By Lauree Padgett / Special to Haddonfield[dot]Today
February 11: Senior Night
This week’s write-up is just going to focus on two things: the game last Tuesday, 2/11 between Haddon Heights and Haddonfield, which was Senior Night, and the Dawgs’ lone senior this year, Jake Dewedoff.
Although the Camden County Tournament started on Saturday, 2/15 (if you can’t stand the suspense and didn’t find out another way, yes, the Dawgs took care of Gateway to advance to the next round), I am going to do a whole wrap-up of those games, which will post next Monday, 2/24. Tonight, the Dawgs host KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy (how do they fit that on the back of the player unis?), who they played in mid-January in the Paul VI Showcase. In that game, the Dawgs won by 18, 54-46, but since that was a month ago, I’m going to try not to have any assumptions about how tonight’s game will end. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
February 11, 2025: Haddon Heights at Haddonfield
Fairly frequently, Senior Night, which is almost always the last home Colonial Conference game of the sesaon, features a match between the Dawgs and one of their biggest conference rivals, the Garnets of Haddon Heights. This year was one of those times. Unlike other years, however, I was not there in person to pay tribute to the cheer squad members, assistants to the team, and team members who are graduating in June. It was a really tough call, but I just didn’t want to deal with driving in snow and/or sleet, which for some reason started much earlier in Voorhees where I (and also my main driving buddy) live. When my driving buddy texted that they weren’t going to drive either, I took it as a sign that I should just watch the game on HUDL in the safety and warmth of my own home. That plan didn’t work out quite the way I was expecting, but more on that later.
What follows here is my game summary. Scroll down to find my sidebar highlighting Jake Dewedoff, which includes comments from his coach Paul Wiedeman.
As for the game itself, when the Dawgs traveled down the highway in January to the Garnets
Territory, you may recall that Heights jumped out to a 7–0 start and that the Dawgs’ first points came from the foul line. You may also remember that after it was 9–4, Garnets, the Dawgs went on a 14–0 run, and, when the first quarter was over, were ahead 18–9. The Dawgs would go on to win the game by 23 points. Anyone expecting that kind of easy victory again would be in for a big surprise.
This go-round, the Garnets also garnered the first points of the game, off a trey, at the 5:57 mark, after both teams had missed their first shot attempts. After the Dawgs failed to score again, Heights got 2 off a ball that decided to roll into instead of off the rim to go up 5–0. Sophomore Ryan Guveiyian hit a 3 off a pass from Dewedoff, who, realizing he was trapped in the paint, had found the open man behind the arc. That made it 5–3, Garnets, with 4:52 on the clock.
The teams exchanged missed shots again, and then on Heights’ next possession, Dewedoff stole the ball, this time passing it to junior Michael Douglas, who went up and in for 2 and got fouled in the process. His shot from the foul line put the Dawgs up by 1, 6–5, with 3:33 to go in the quarter. A Dawg foul put the Garnets at the line, and one shot of two went in, tying the game at 6 with 3:33 to go.
There were some missed shots, blocked shots, and fouls the next few trips up and down the court before Heights broke the tie with a field goal at the 2:04 mark. The Dawgs did not score; the Garnets did not score, even on a second-chance shot; the Dawgs didn’t score again; and then picked up a foul with 1:10 showing on the scoreboard. Again, both teams could not get their shots to drop. With less than 25 seconds to go in the 1st, junior John Scipione, who had just come into the game, fed the ball to junior Chase Stadler, whose shot ahead of the buzzer knotted the game at 8.
In the second, the Dawgs started the scoring on a basket by Douglas, which put the Dawgs up 10–8 with about 35 seconds having ticked off the clock. John Scipione pilfered a pass, but the Dawgs couldn’t capitalize on it. After a bad pass by the Garnets gave the ball right back to the Dawgs, the Garnets stole back possession, but good “D” kept Heights from scoring. A shooting foul sent Douglas to the line, and he very uncharacteristically missed both attempts, keeping it 10–8, Haddonfield, with 6:32 left in the half.
Heights tied the game again on its next trip up the court, Haddonfield lost the ball out of bounds, and to the dismay of Dawg fans, the Garnets went ahead by 2, 12–10, after pulling down three offensive boards. The Dawgs did not score, but the Garnets did, and now with 4:49 on the clock, were up by 4, 14–10. A drive by junior Chris Beane got the Dawgs back to within 2, 12–14. A Guveiyian pickoff led to a bucket by John Scipione, and at the 3:54 mark, the game was tied for the fifth time, with the score knotted at 14.
Seconds later, Heights’ field goal broke the tie and put them back on top 16–14. A Haddonfield timeout was called a few seconds later. After play resumed, Heights was called for a non-shooting foul, again pausing play. When the clock started ticking again, the Dawgs did some passing around, which ended with Guveiyian feeding the ball to Douglas, who fired from behind the line to swoosh in a 3, giving the Dawgs a 1-point edge, 17–16, with 2:54 left in the half.
A blocked shot kept Heights from scoring, and Beane followed that with a basket, which made it 19–16, Haddonfield with 2:33 to go. After a defense board by Douglas, Beane was fouled attempting to go up and in. He made 1–2, pushing the Dawgs’ lead to 4, 20–16, with 2 minutes and change to go in the quarter. Heights lost the ball out of bounds twice in between a missed shot by Haddonfield. The Dawgs got the ball back with 1:21 on the clock and did some more nice passing to set up a play for Douglas, who drove in the lane for 2, giving the Dawgs their biggest lead of the game, 22–16, with 51 seconds remaining.
John Scipione stole the ball and scored, upping that advantage to 8, 24–16, to the delight of Dag fans. However, a few seconds ahead of the halftime buzzer sounding, the Garnets would steal the ball off a Haddonfield inbounds attempt and hit a 3. When the half ended, the Dawgs were still ahead, but only by 5, 24–19.
The second half got off to an interesting start. Guveiyian stole the ball after Heights inbounded, but the Dawgs didn’t score. Then Douglas did the same, which led to a jump ball, with the possession arrow favoring the Dawgs This time, Guveiyian drove in the paint, scored, and was fouled. Although his shot from the line did not go in, the Dawgs were now ahead by 7, 26–19, with a little more than a minute gone in the third.
Heights got a basket back after an offensive board, was also fouled en route, and also missed the foul shot, making it a 26–21 game with 6:22 on the clock. The Dawgs got a few offensive boards off missed baskets but could not score, only to have Heights hit a 3, bringing the Garnets back to within 2, 26–24, with about 1:35 gone in the quarter. This time, the Dawgs answered with a 3 of their own by Douglas off a feed from Beane, giving the Dawgs back a 5-point, 29–24, edge with 5:26 to go.
The two teams traded fouls, with Dewedoff taking an offensive charge, before Douglas drained his second 3 in a row, putting the Dawgs on top by 8, 32–24, at the 4:43 mark. Some sloppy play at both ends kept points off the board during the teams’ next possessions, but Heights’ 3 with 4:05 brought the Garnets to within 5 again, 32–27. After a Heights timeout, Haddonfield did not score, then Heights did. Now the Garnets had whittled the Dawgs’ 8-point lead down to 3, 32–29.
Down at the Dawgs’ end, Douglas picked a good time to get a 2 off an assist from Beane, which gave Haddonfield a little more breathing room again. However, that breathing room was very short-lived, as Heights got fouled and made both shots from the line. Now, with 2:29 to go in the third, it was a 3-point game again, with the Dawgs ahead 34–31. The Dawgs shot did not find the net, and with 2:06 left in the period, Height’s field goal got them to within 1, 34–33.
Haddonfield managed to get a second-shot basket as Douglas pulled down the board and dished it to John Scipione, who drove in the paint for 2, pushing the Dawgs’ advantage back to 3, 36–33, with 1:37 on the clock. Haddonfield committed it’s fifth foul of the quarter, automatically sending Heights to the line. The first dropped in, the second missed, but Heights got the rebound and scored, so with 1:10 left in quarter 3, the game was tied once more, this time at 36.
The tie was untied after a Dawg unwittingly passed to the wrong color uni with 49.1 on the clock, then committed a foul. The Garnets got 1–2 to go up by 1, 37–36. In less than a minute, things got uglier for the Dawgs. They missed a shot, then after Guveiyian picked off the ball, there was a scramble, and the refs called a jump ball, giving back the ball to Haddonfield. The Dawgs missed another basket and then were assessed a foul after trying to steal back the ball. With 6.3 showing on the scoreboard, Heights hit both foul shots, and the Dawgs’ last shot attempt of the third was unsuccessful. Going into the 4th quarter on Senior Night, the Dawgs were down by 3, 36–39.
To make matters worse, the first possession of the 4th belonged to the Garnets. They did not score, and Beane secured the board. At the Dawgs’ end, Douglas wasted no time getting the ball in the net and closing the deficit to 1, 38–39, with 7:18 on the clock. Heights gave the ball back by stepping out of bounds, and it was Douglas again who scored, putting the Dawgs on top by 1, 40–39, at the 6:50 mark. Heights retook the lead with a basket, making it a 1-point Garnets’ lead, 41–40, with 6:35 remaining.
Guveiyian was fouled; his first shot was good, but the second did not go in. Now the game was tied again (if I’ve counted right, it was for the seventh time), 41–41, with a little more than 6 minutes left in the game. The ball went out of bounds off Heights in a rebound attempt. With 5:59 on the clock, Dawg coach Paul Wiedeman called a timeout. Heights blocked a shot, then at their end of the court got several chances to score off offensive rebounds, but none went it. Finally, Douglas got the ball back for the Dawgs and off a feed from Beane, hit a big-time 3, his fourth of the contest, making it 44–41, Haddonfield with 5:03 left in the game.
Haddonfield knocked the ball out of bounds, and Douglas stole it as Heights attempted to inbound it. The Dawgs gave the ball back off an errant pass, and the Garnets got a 2, getting back to within 1 yet again, 44–43, with just under 4 minutes to go. Heights committed a non-shooting foul, and after the inbounds, Dewedoff passed the ball to Guveiyian, who went up and in. Now it was 46–43, Dawgs, with 3:24 to go.
The Garnets were not deterred and got another basket. I have lost count (and am too lazy to go back and count, but you are reading this, feel free to do so) of how many times one team or the other got back to within 1 point, but with 3:10 left in the game, it was 46–45, Haddonfield. At the Dawgs’ basket, Haddonfield was playing catch and pass. Were they looking for a shot or for someone to step up and drive in? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know that Guveiyian powered into the paint and scored, and with 1:51 on the clock, the Dawgs were back on top by 3, 48–45.
Douglas picked up another steal, and the Dawgs were lucky a loose ball was called out on the Garnets at the 1:39 mark. The Dawgs couldn’t hold onto the ball, and there was a dash for it under the Heights’ basket. Once again, the Dawgs managed to get it back with 1:19 on the clock. After a timeout, Douglas inbounded the ball to John Scipione, and the Garnets, who had fouls to give, committed one. Haddonfield inbounded the ball again, and this time, it went out of bounds off Heights. With 1:03 to go, Heights got called for its 4th foul of the quarter and then took a 30-second timeout.
The Dawgs had to inbound from the Heights bench and ended up having to call a timeout to avoid a 5-second call that would have resulted in a turnover. Heights knocked it out of bounds, the clock still says 1:03, but now the Dawgs are inbounding by their own bench. This time the ball gets inbounded only to have Haddonfield temporarily lose it. After they came up with it, Wiedeman called another timeout. (Was Jeff Holman, keeper of the scoreboard, having fun yet??) On inbound attempt #3, the Dawgs lose it, but the Garnets can’t score. They commit foul number 5, which sends Beane to the line. His first shot goes in, making it 49–45, Haddonfield with 43.1 seconds to go. The second does not drop and goes out of bounds off the Dawgs.
Haddonfield gets called for its fourth foul of the quarter with 29.0 left in the game. Haddon Heights calls a timeout. And then .. And then … HUDL freezes. Then I realize the stream has ended even though the game has not! “AAAAGGGGHHHH!”
I start texting people who I think are at the game. The first person to get back to me was Ryan G’s dad, Mike, who, it turns out, was traveling for work and had the same thing happen to him. He had to find out from wife Leigh Anne that the Dawgs prevailed and won by 5, 50–45. When Mark Hershberger was able to get back to me, I asked for a recap. He said Heights’ tried for a 3, missed, and fouled (he thinks) Douglas, who made 1–2 from the line. That’s how the Dawgs got the last point of the game.
As for the HUDL issue, when investigating this, I found out that the stream is set to record for 150 minutes, i.e., 2 hours and 30 minutes), so whatever caused the stream to abort with 29 seconds left was an “untimely” glitch.
So, on Senior Night, the Dawgs had to fight to pull out a W, but they played good D and made the baskets they needed to, beating the Garnets home and away this season. This was the last game in the regular season as well. The Dawgs finished with an 18–6 overall record, and overall Colonial Conference record of 11–3. In the Liberty division, they were 10–1, winning it outright.
Quarter scores:
1st: Haddonfield, 8, Haddon Heights, 8
2nd: Haddonfield, 16, Haddon Heights, 11
Halftime: Haddonfield, 24, Haddon Heights, 19
3rd: Haddonfield, 12, Haddon Heights, 20
4th: Haddonfield, 14, Haddon Heights, 6
Final: Haddonfield, 50, Haddon Heights, 45
Player scores:
Mike Douglas: 24 (assuming he was the one who hit that last foul shot)
Ryan Guveiyian: 12
John Scipione: 8
Chris Beane: 6
Senior Profile: Jake Dewedoff
Last year, I had eight, count ’em, eight, seniors to talk to for my profile on the Dawgs who were graduating in June. It was literally a round table discussion. The eight players and I sat at one of the round tables in the cafeteria during a JV game and talked. It was a little intimidating, probably for all of us, but once the boys felt comfortable replying to my questions, I think we all had fun.
This year, with a lone senior on the team, I didn’t want my interview to sound like an interrogation, so Coach Wiedeman helped us connect via email. We did have a short exchange on court after the tough game versus Burlington City, when Jake confirmed he’d gotten my questions and that he was looking forward to answering all of them. Here’s what I learned about Jake, as well as some comments from his head coach.
Jake, who is a guard on court, has been playing hoops “since third grade, so going on 10 years now.” While he has been a fan of other sports, such as football and baseball, and will play them with friends and family just for fun, he acknowledges, “I really just fell in love with
playing basketball and wanted to dedicate my time year round to it.”
I wanted to know what it has been like starting this year, if there were many adjustments, since he had very little varsity experience coming into this season. For Jake, being part of the starting five has been a huge honor, something he’s dreamed about since he was kid, so it’s been definitely exciting for him. However, the lack of much prior varsity playing time has required a mindset change. He realized that “feeling everything out, knowing the game plan, and all types of people in the stands, would be a different experience. However, he relayed, “I always had confidence in my ability through all the hard work I had put in.” He says having had many different experiences with basketball has helped. “Playing with all different levels of players, playing on winning teams and losing teams, and playing all different types of roles on the team. [has been] able to help me adjust and fit in without having much varsity basketball experience.”
This is what Coach Wiedeman had to say about Jake’s presence this year in the starting lineup. “I am so happy for the way Jake’s senior year has gone. He is such a resilient kid who has overcome so much. He was a reserve JV player his sophomore and junior seasons in the program.” Additionally, because he was dealing with nagging injuries a year ago, Wiedeman said Jake was not guaranteed any playing time going into this season. It was “his drive and determination during the offseason [that] put him into a position to be in the starting five.” Wiedeman is especially proud of Jake because of what he has overcome on a personal level. “He can serve as an example to future Bulldogs to keep a positive attitude through tough times.” That’s pretty high praise from a coach who has won 600 games!
I didn’t get Jake’s comments about his coach and his 600th win in time to include them in my article about it, but as with his court mates, Jake considers it an “amazing” honor to have been a part of the team that netted Coach Wiedeman that milestone. As for what makes him such as great coach and what it’s like to play for him, this is Jake’s assessment: “ I remember watching the first round of the 2018 playoffs at Cherry Hill East like it was yesterday. I just remember saying that one day I would start for Haddonfield. What makes Coach such a good coach is that he isn’t going to be your friend. He isn’t going to make you feel complacent. There is always something that can be improved upon or something you could be doing better. We all have that feeling and that motivates all of his players to keep wanting to be better. You also can tell that he loves basketball, he has one of most dedicated work ethics I have ever seen, and it has been an honor to be around it.” That’s a pretty perceptive analysis of what a player needs from a coach and why his is so gifted at it.
Because only junior Michael Douglas had seen any substantial varsity time last season, I wanted Jake’s take on what has helped the team mesh so well this season. He says it is their “unique fit,” explaining it this way: “With losing so many guys, we also lost most of our ‘size’ down low. With the guys we have, we are able to do a little bit of everything. We all play hard, we can all handle the ball well, and do the little things that help us win and stay in close games.” Jake also feels that some teams take them for granted because this year’s Dawgs’ squad doesn’t have what most would call a traditional lineup, which “plays” to their advantage. “That just motivates us all even more because we know we have the ability to compete with anyone. It also helps that we get along and mesh well off the court.” Their shared experience on the JV team and all the time the players have spent preparing this past summer has also helped them to get better.
I enjoyed his response to what gets him psyched before a game, It is grounded in his love for basketball, which he in part attributes to his uncle, “who has been a huge part” of Jake’s basketball life. Jake says his uncle “really taught me to first have respect for the game, and it will respect you back; that respect is earned through working hard and playing the game the right way. He is where my love for basketball comes from and that directly translates to my play on the court.” It’s his love for the game that makes him “think of it as a responsibility or something I need to do rather than just a game. That is what really gets me going, the fact that I have worked so hard for the opportunity to be able to play, and now I have that ability.”
I was curious to find out what Jake considers to be the strongest part of his game. And after watching him on the court all season, I totally agree with his self-analysis: “I believe the strongest part of my game is my motor. My motor and my energy … get everything else going for me. If my energy is low, then my shooting isn’t going to be as on, or I might have just missed a pass I should have stolen.” He sees everything stemming from his energy. As for challenges, he says it’s about “identifying something that can be improved upon and just working on it. The only way to overcome the challenges is to work and them.” He also views the biggest challenge as not even being its physical aspect of basketball, but a mental one: It’s “being able to play free and have the confidence to just go out there and play the game.”
Jake expects to stay in New Jersey for college and plans to major in business, possibly so he can run his own company one day. Although he would love to continue playing basketball in college, he wants to put his focus on his education. That being said, he also added, “I don’t think basketball will ever leave my life; it will always be part of me.”
Hmm, Jake. It so happens I know of a former Dawg who majored in business in college but whose love of the game drew him back to the court as a coach who now has more than 600 wins under his clipboard. Just something to consider …