HMHS Boys Basketball: A snoozer and a sizzler

By Lauree Padgett / Exclusive to Haddonfield[dot]Today

It may not have been the most exciting matchup of the season, but on Tuesday, 2/10, the boys basketball team checked off the first box on the seniors to-do list: Win 20 games. That it was away against one of their Colonial Liberty nemeses, the Garnets of Haddon Heights, of course made it all the sweeter.

But perhaps tired from the previous week’s trio of tougher games, the Dawgs seemed a little lethargic on the Garnets’ court. The first quarter proved to be their most offensive. Four of the five starters—seniors Chris Beane, Mike Mooney, and Michael Douglas and junior Ryan Guveiyian—scored at least one basket. Guveiyian had a 2 and a 3, and Douglas had three 2-pointers. The defense also was the most “unproductive” for the Garnets, who only put 6 points on the board.

In the second 8 minutes, seniors John Scipione and Jack McKeever got into the scoring column, as each accounted for two field golds. The only other basket of the quarter came from Beane. The Garnets managed 1 more point this quarter—7—so going into the half, the Dawgs were up by 12, 25–13.

Quarter three saw Beane outscore Haddon Heights by himself: He knocked down a 3, drove in the paint for a bucket, and hit 3 foul shots for 8 points. Douglas also hit a 3 and McKeever got another basket as well. The Garnets once again were held to 7 points, and going into the final 8 minutes, were trailing the Dawgs by 18, 38–20.

Only in those last 8 minutes did the Garnets manage to reach double digits, with 15 points. This was the only quarter that they outscored the Dawgs, who added 12. This time, the Garnets outscored Beane, who put up 10 points on five baskets. Sophomore Ethan Miller accounted for the only other Dawgs’ basket. When the horn sounded, the Dawgs had won by 15, 50–35. It wasn’t the liveliest game, but it hurdled them out of the “teens” into the twenties, which is always an accomplishment. Beane was a scoring machine, finishing with 22 points.  

Quarter Scores:

1st:Haddonfield, 15, Haddon Heights, 6

2nd: Haddonfield, 10, Haddon Heights, 7

Half: Haddonfield, 25, Haddon Heights, 13

3rd: Haddonfield, 13, Haddon Heights, 7

4th: Haddonfield, 12, Haddon Heights, 15

Final: Haddonfield, 50, Haddon Heights, 35

Player Scores:

Chris Beane: 22

Michael Douglas: 9

Jack McKeever: 6

Ryan Guveiyian: 5

John Scipione: 4

Ethan Miller: 2

The Dawgs did not play again until Saturday, 2/14, heading into Woodstown. With the snow still looking pristine on many fields and open expanses, it was quite a picturesque drive (and thankfully, I got to be a passenger, as I got a lift from another basketball family, as travel buddies one and two were recovering from illnesses). As it turned out, as serene as going to and from the Wolverines’ gym was, the game itself was anything but. (This is apparently what happens when you think that a hoops contest wasn’t exciting enough … You get one that gives you a big-time adrenalin rush.)

The Wolverines are part of the Tri-County Conference and going into the game on Saturday, were 15–9 overall and 6–4 within the conference. They also had played a tough game the night before, losing to Cumberland 32–54. But if the players were fatigued, they sure didn’t show it. (Maybe it was knowing that Haddonfield arranged the game to strengthen their Power Point rankings to stay ahead of Camden that gave the Wolverines some added incentive.)

The Wolverines won the tipoff only to have Michael Douglas steal the ball, but in the process, it went out of bounds. Chris Beane almost stole it back, but Woodstown hung on to the ball long enough to sink a 3. Haddonfield got fouled and went to the line but did not score, so with about 70 seconds gone, the Dawgs were still trailing 0–3. Nice Dawgs D caused another out-of-bounds off the Wolverines. A Beane-to-Douglas relay saw the ball roll around the rim and go out, but a goaltending call awarded the points to Haddonfield, making it 2–3, Wolverines.

The Wolverines wasted no time swooshing in another 3, upping their lead to 4, 6–2, with 6 and change left. Neither team scored the next trips up and down the court, and after a lot of passing by the Dawgs (the Wolverines made it hard, especially during the first half, for the Dawgs to drive into the paint), Ryan Guveiyian was fouled attempting to score under the basket. He made 1–2 from the line, and with 5:00 on the clock, the Dawgs were down by 3, 3–6.

At the other end, Guveiyian broke up a shot attempt, and the ball went out of bounds. Woodstown had trouble inbounding, and when the ball got into play, the Wolverines lost it again. However, the Dawgs, who are usually adept at passing, were having problems themselves, and an errant one gave the ball back to the Wolverines. Despite good man-to-man pressure by the Dawgs, the Wolverines cleared a path to the net and scored to push their advantage up to 5, 8–3, with 3:42 left in the quarter.

With almost half a quarter to go, you would expect a few more baskets, but both teams were a bit off on shooting, so shots going up were not going in. This was at least in part due to the pressure both teams were causing under each other’s baskets. When the buzzer sounded, the Wolverines were still ahead 8–3.

Haddonfield inbounded to start the 2nd and almost immediately, Douglas was fouled attempting to drive in for a layup. He made 1–2, and at the other end, Woodstown was fouled and missed both shots. After a missed shot by the Dawgs, Beane got an offensive board and when senior Chase Stadler got the ball from Guveiyian, he released it from behind the arc and it floated in for a 3. Now the Dawgs were within 1, 7–8, with 5:12 left in the half. Mike Mooney got the defensive board off a missed Woodstown basket, but the Dawgs lost possession on a travel call. A hard rebound by Guveiyian was followed by Stadler’s second trey of the game, which also gave the Dawgs’ their first lead, 10–8, with 3:41 on the clock. While the Dawgs had only put 3 points on the board in the first 8 minutes, they scored 6 points in about a 90-second stretch in second quarter.

Now the Dawgs kicked up the defensive pressure another notch, forcing a timeout by the Wolverines with 3:15 on the clock. Once in play, the ball was knocked out of bounds by Haddonfield, but Woodstown didn’t score after getting the ball back. Off the missed Wolverine shot, Guveiyian picked up another board, passed it to Mooney, who went up and in, making it 12–8, Dawgs. A quick bucket at the other end by the Wolverines made it 12–10 with 2:23 on the clock.

The Dawgs didn’t score, but at the other end, Beane secured the ball and set up Guveiyian, who was fouled attempting a shot. He made 1–2 from the line. Mooney grabbed a defensive board under the Woodstown basket and fed it to Stadler. He was fouled and also made 1–2 from the line. This gave the Dawgs back their 4–point lead with 1:12 to go, which held until the half.

At the half, a familiar face came into view and sat in front of me: Matt Smart. Matt played basketball for Haddonfield, graduating in 2015, when the Dawgs went 22–7. Fellow seniors included Rob and Nick DePersia and Ty Klaus. Matt was an assistant with the Haddonfield girls for several years, and last year became the head coach of the girls team at Woodstown. He said the team is in a building period, but I have no doubt that he will get them into contention sooner as opposed to later. (I also have no doubt, although I didn’t put him on the spot and ask him, that despite his Wolverine cap and shirt, Matt was rooting for the his alma mater.)

As to the matter of the second half, the Wolverines had possession to start and got back to within 2, 12–14, off a second-chance basket. The Dawgs did not score, Beane got the defensive board, but then Haddonfield turned the ball over, losing it out of bounds. Beane got the ball back on a steal, and after some gritty hustle by the Dawgs under their own basket to pull down three, count ’em three, offensive boards, Scipione was open and took aim. His shot dropped in for 3, making it 17–12, with 6:05 left, which gave the Dawgs’ their biggest lead of the game. A pickoff by Mooney led to a non-shooting foul by Woodstown. Mooney got the ball back, took a shot that didn’t drop, got the rebound, took another shot that did not go in, got the ball back again, and proving just how determined he was to score, went up and this time, the ball went in. Now the Dawgs were up by 7, 19–12, with 5:31 on the clock.

Douglas got the defensive board under the Wolverine basket, Beane fought the Wolverines’ press and went up and in for 2, getting fouled as well. His shot from the line pushed the Dawgs lead to double digits, 22–12, with 5:23 left to play in the quarter. Woodstown would get the next two buckets to get back to within 6, 22–16, before Haddonfield’s Bucket (aka Douglas) hit a 3 off an assist from Guveiyian. Now it was 25–19 with just under 4 minutes to go.

The Wolverines practically strolled to the net under their basket, but Mooney answered with a nice drop shot, keeping it a 9-point Dawg advantage with 3 and change left. Douglas’ defensive shadowing caused a rushed Woodstown shot that did not go in, and Beane got the rebound. The Dawgs missed two shots, but after a near pickoff from good team defense, Guveiyian dived onto the floor after a loose ball, giving possession back to Haddonfield with 1:49 on the clock. The Dawgs kept passing, looking for a good opportunity to score. It came off a pass from Beane to Guveiyian, which gave the Dawgs back a double-digit, 29–18, edge with 1:10 left. He did not make the accompanying foul shot, but Beane secured the ball.

In what I think was just a bad call, Haddonfield was then charged with a backcourt violation on what was Mooney retrieving a loose ball. However, the Wolverines did not score, Mooney got the rebound, and then got fouled. He made 1–2 from the line, making it 30–18 with 15.1 seconds on the clock. Woodstown would get the last 3 points of the quarter on a basket and a foul shot, and when the buzzer sounded, the Dawgs were ahead by 9, 30–21.

The beginning of the 4th quarter had a bit of foreshadowing as to what the final 8 minutes would be like. The Dawgs inbounded, but the Wolverines stole the ball and scored. Now the Dawg lead was down to 7 with only 15 seconds having elapsed. Beane got those 2 points back on a basket but did not sink the ensuing foul shot. After the Wolverines got the rebound, the refs correctly called a backcourt violation with 7:10 to go in the game. Haddonfield did not score and then got a non-shooting foul called. Woodstown did not score, Douglas got the rebound, and then Woodstown was assessed with a foul. That did not sit well with the Woodstown coach, whose vocal reaction earned him a technical.

Although the Dawgs did not get any points off the resulting two foul shot attempts, they did retain possession of the ball. However, the Wolverines stole it and their coach called a timeout. I am not sure what happened this time to give the ball back to Haddonfield, but with 5:52 left in the game, Stadler swooshed in his third trey of the day, putting the Dawgs up by 12, 35–23. At the other end, the Wolverines answered with a 3 of their own, getting the deficit down to single digits, 26–35, at the 5:30 mark. A Woodstown steal and a basket got the Wolverines back to with 7, 28–35.

After a few slips and slides under the Woodstown basket, the refs called a timeout with 4:44 on the clock so the floor could be wiped up. It was Woodstown ball, and they worked the floor to set up a 2-point play that make it a 5-point game, 35–30, with 4:20 left. At the other end, a nice bounce pass from Scipione to Jack McKeever got it back to a 7-point advantage for the Dawgs, and after Woodstown did not score, McKeever grabbed the rebound, passed it to Scipione, who was fouled. He made 1–2, edging the lead up to 8, 38–30, with 3:04 on the clock. Woodstown was fouled under their basket and both shots from the line were good.

The Dawgs got fouled and did not make either shot at the 2:25 mark. Woodstown was fouled again, and put 1–2 in the net. Now with 2:14 remaining, it was a 5-point, 38–33, game. A jump ball call gave the Wolverines possession, but this time they did not score from the field or the line. Douglas got the rebound, and Beane got the basket, and the Dawgs were up by 7, 40–33, with 1:50 to go.

The Dawgs were called for another shooting foul, and this time, the Wolverines got both shots in the net. With 1:17 to go, it was 42–37, Dawgs. Haddonfield coach Paul Wiedeman called a timeout with 1:12 on the clock. I don’t think losing the ball out of bounds was the play Wiedeman outlined on his whiteboard in the huddle, but that’s what happened. After a missed basket by Woodstown, the teams jostled for the rebound. This time a jump ball was called and Haddonfield had the possession arrow and got the ball back with 58.5 on the clock. Another timeout was called. What took place in those last 58.5 seconds covered almost both the columns in my steno pad (where I scribble down the play-by-play action). And it was intense.

With 50.5 to go, Guveiyian was fouled (and since Woodstown had committed five fouls in the quarter, each foul sent a Dawg to the line). He made the first, missed the second, but got his own rebound. He passed the ball to Scipione, who got fouled. He made 1–2, and with 46.3 left in the game, the Dawgs were up by 7, 44–37. Time to breath a bit easier, right? That would be a hard no, as the Wolverines quickly knocked down a 3, and with 27.5 on the clock, it was a 4-point, 44–40 game.

Guveiyian inbounded the ball to Beane, who was fouled. Both his shots hit nothing but net, making it 46–40, Dawgs, with 24.7 remaining. The Wolverines headed back to the line after getting an offensive board and a foul called on Haddonfield. Both these shots cleanly dropped. Guveiyian again was the inbounder, tossing the ball to Scipione, who passed it to Beane, who was fouled. Beane went 1–2 with 13.6 on the clock making it a 5-point, 47–42, game.

At the other end, the Dawgs got called for a foul off a 3-point shot attempt, which meant the Wolverines would have 3 chances at the line. Two of three went in, and with 6.3 left in the game, it was now a one-possession, 47–44, deficit for the Wolverines. One more time, Guveiyian got the ball inbounded. Woodstown quickly fouled. Neither of Haddonfield’s foul shots went in, and that meant the Wolverines were going to have 4.7 seconds to attempt a 3-point shot that could tie the game and sent it into overtime.

Ryan Guveiyian made sure that did not happen. Off the Woodstown inbounds, he got the receiving player too close to the sidelines, who lost the ball out of bounds. Guveiyian was fouled on the Haddonfield inbounds. He stepped to the line with 1.2 second left and made both shots. Haddonfield was now up by 5, 49–44. Before the buzzer sounded, the game was over. The Dawgs had prevailed, but the Wolverines did not make it easy for them by any stretch, outscoring the Dawgs in the final 8 minutes by 4, 23–19.

Chris Beane and Chase Stadler led the Dawgs’ offense, low-scoring as it was, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Beane’s contributions came in the second half, when he managed to drive into the net for four field goals.

Quarter Scores:

1st: Haddonfield, 3, Woodstown, 8

2nd: Haddonfield, 11, Woodstown, 2

Half: Haddonfield, 14, Woodstown, 10

3rd: Haddonfield, 16, Woodstown, 11

4th: Haddonfield, 19, Woodstown, 23

Final: Haddonfield, 49, Woodstown, 44

Player scores:

Chris Beane: 12

Chase Stadler: 10

Mike Mooney: 7

Ryan Guveiyian: 7

Michael Douglas: 6

John Scipione: 5

Jack McKeever: 2

The Dawgs finished the regular season with a 21–3 record. Next up is the Camden County tournament, which saw the preliminary round take place on 2/14. The Dawgs have the fifth seed (having received a bye for the prelim round) and host the 10th seed, Mastery Camden, with a 14–10 record, on Tuesday, 2/17, during round 1. Game time is 5:30. The winner of this game will face the winner of tomorrow’s Camden Catholic (#4)–Haddon Heights (#13) contest. Round 2 for all teams will take place on Thursday, 2/19, with semifinals on Saturday, 2/21 and finals the next day, 2/22, at Rutgers Camden. That match will be at 4:00, followed by the girls championship game at 6. (In case you were wondering, the Haddonfield girls are not playing in the Camden County tournament, although they do have games lined up this coming week.)

Looking ahead to the NJSIAA state playoffs, while the official seedings have not been announced yet (they are expected Tuesday), Haddonfield (whoop, whoop!) is projected to be the #1 seed in South Jersey Group 2, just coming in ahead of Camden in Power Point scores (by less than a point, at .679). Although Camden has a 12–9 record, the Panthers have played a very tough schedule, going up against teams in and out of New Jersey. Lower Cape May (20–5), Middle Township (14–9), and Gloucester (19–4) round out the top five seeds. As long as Haddonfield keeps advancing in the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs, they will retain home court advantage.

LET’S GO DAWGS!!!!