By Lauree Padgett / Exclusive to Haddonfield[dot]Today
This is the article I always hate to write up: the one where I have to acknowledge that the season has come to an end. What’s worse, this time, I don’t even have “we won” games to preface the “it’s over” one, because the Dawgs’ South Jersey Group 2 semifinal match against the Middle Township Panthers happened at the start of the week, at home on March 3.
You may have noticed that I generally like to gloss over losses. And this season, there were very few to deal with: Only five out of 30 games did not end with Haddonfield claiming victory. Me, myself, and I have been having quite a debate since Tuesday night (it’s now late Saturday afternoon) as to whether there was even going to be a recap on this game. That’s because a big part of me Does. Not. Want. To. Do. It. At. All.
However, not giving some account of the game would omit how hard the Dawgs fought to overcome a big second quarter deficit against a really hard opponent (who upset #2 seeded Camden last night 67–64 in the Group 2 final). So, the compromise I came to with myself was to pick up the game in the third quarter with the Dawgs trailing 23–35 at the 3:32 mark. (They were down by 10, 21–31 at the half.)
That’s when senior Chris Beane swooshed in a 3 on a feed from junior Ryan Guveiyian. The Dawgs were no longer behind by double-digits, having closed the gap to 26–35. The Panthers got a 2, but Dawg senior Michael Douglas got those 2 back on a basket of his own. After a full timeout by Middle Township, the Panthers did not score, and this time Douglas hit a 3. Now with 2:17 on the clock, the Dawgs were inching closer and were back to within 8, 31–39.
Neither team scored their next possession. When the Panthers again did not put the ball in the net, Douglas secured the rebound, passed the ball to Beane, who got it to senior Jack McKeever. He went up and in. Now it was a 6-point, 33–39, game with 1:31 to go in the 3rd. Dawg fans were getting vocal, cheering the team on, sensing another Dawg comeback was unfolding.
That was partly because the Panthers had gone cold. This time when Middle Township missed its shot, senior Mike Mooney grabbed the defensive board. Middle Township picked up a foul—non-shooting—under the Dawgs’ basket. With about 50 seconds (I got too excited and made a guess on my pad) showing on the clock, Douglas hit his second trey of the quarter to make it a one-possession, 36–39, game. A Panthers’ foul shot (1–2) from the line with about 33 seconds to go made it a 4-point, 36–40, game as the quarter came to a close.
Middle Township inbounded to start the last 8 minutes of the game. After a near-pickoff by Beane, the Panthers ended their field goal drought decisively—with a slam—to go back on top by 6, 42–36. But a feed from Douglas to McKeever got the Dawgs back to within 4, 38–42 with 7:41 left in the game. After a foul on Haddonfield and a Middle Township timeout, the Dawgs got the ball back after Beane pulled down the defensive board on a missed shot attempt. This led to a 2 by Douglas. Suddenly, that 12-point Panther lead had shrunk to 2 points, 42–40. Dawg fans were going nuts.
The noise level only accelerated after a steal by Haddonfield (honestly, I could not see who pilfered it from my spot in the front row) put Douglas on the foul line at the 5:43 mark. His first shot went in. His second would not drop, but the Dawgs were just a point away from tying the game. Middle Township’s slam at the other end a few seconds later make it clear the Panthers were determined that lead change was not going to happen.
The two teams could not score the next trips up and down the court. The Dawgs could not take advantage of a Beane steal, and another basket by the Panthers pushed their advantage back to 5, 46–41, with 4:01 on the clock. Haddonfield couldn’t get the ball to drop in the net its next time under the basket, but a held ball call gave the ball back to the Dawgs. With 2:43 left, Beane was fouled trying to score. He calmly made one shot, then the next to cut Middle Township’s lead to 3, 46–43.
Under the Panther basket, Guveiyian pounced on the defensive board. Under the Dawg basket, several shots did not go in the net. However, an out-of-bounds call on Middle kept the ball with Haddonfield. With 1:31 left in the game, Haddonfield called a timeout to set up a play. About 20 seconds later, that turned into Beane going up and in for 2. With 74 seconds to go, the Dawgs again had clawed back to within 1, 45–46.
But alas for the Dawgs: That was as close as they could get before time ran out of the game and their season. When the horn sounded, Middle Township had prevailed by a score of 50–45. As the Dawgs and their coaches walked down the bench to congratulate the Panthers, the Dawg faithful rose as one to clap, not for the final loss of the season, of course, but for their 25 wins and the way they played their hearts and souls out every game, no matter what the score.
Fittingly, the scoring leaders for this last game were the usual suspects: Chris Bene and Michael Douglas finished with 15 each and Ryan Guveiyian added 11.
Quarter Scores:
1st: Haddonfield, 12, Middle Township, 15
2nd: Haddonfield, 8, Middle Township, 18
Half: Haddonfield, 21, Middle Township, 31
3rd: Haddonfield, 15, Middle Township, 9
4th: Haddonfield, 9, Middle Township, 10
Final Haddonfield, 45, Middle Township, 50
Player Scores:
Chris Beane: 15
Michael Douglas: 15
Ryan Guveiyian: 11
Jack McKeever: 4
I will provide a year in review and share some highlights from the boys banquet, taking place this coming Sunday, March 15 at Tavistock, for my final article of the season.