HMHS Boys Basketball: Camden County Tournament

By Lauree Padgett / Exclusive to Haddonfield[dot]Today

This was the fourth (good thing I checked, as I thought it was only the third) year of the Camden County Tournament. It was the second year (2024 was the other) that the Dawgs received a bye and did not face an opponent in the preliminary round. They were the #5 seed, with Paul VI being #1; Camden, #2; Eastern, #3; and Camden Catholic, #4.

The Dawgs got to play at home for their Round 1 game, which took place on Tuesday, Feb. 17. They went up against the Warriors of Camden Mastery. (And if you aren’t familiar with this school, neither was I. Here is what I found out: Part of Camden Mastery Academy, a charter network, the high school opened in 2016.) Mastery advanced to play Haddonfield by beating Sterling 57–44 in the preliminary round and, as the 14th seed, came into the contest versus Haddonfield with a 14–10 record. (NJ.com did not list Mastery as belonging to a specific conference, which I am surmising is because they are a charter school.)

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting going into this game, but it was not that the Warriors would be up by 4, 12–8, after the first quarter and then would be leading the Dawgs by 8, 31–23, going into halftime. In the 3rd, with senior Michael Douglas pouring in 8 of Haddonfield’s 14 points (seniors Mike Mooney and John Scipione and junior Ryan Guveiyian each added a bucket for the other 6 points), the Dawgs outscored the Warriors 14–7. Still, heading into the 4th quarter, the Dawgs were still trailing, albeit only by a point, 37–38.

Picking up the action in the last 8 minutes of regulation, the Dawgs had possession but did not score. However, the Warriors got assessed a traveling violation, giving the Dawgs back the ball. Again, no basket. And down at the other end, no basket either, with Douglas grabbing the defensive board. Under the Haddonfield basket, Guveiyian went up and in for 2 at the 7:09 mark, giving his team its first lead of the game, 39–38. Alas, itt was short-lived, as Mastery quickly scored to go back up by 1, 40–39.

After failing to score, the Dawgs picked up a shooting foul, and the Warriors made both shots to push their advantage up to 3, 42–39, with 6:11 on the clock. Again Guveiyian scored on a feed from Douglas, and again the Dawgs were back to within 1, 41–39 at the 5:35 mark. Then just like that, the Warriors hit a 3 and the Dawgs were down by 4, 39–43, 20 seconds later.

Guveiyian finally missed a shot, and the Dawgs picked up another foul, this time non-shooting. But that didn’t matter, as Mastery put 2 on the board from the field and now were ahead by 6, 47–41, with 4:31 left in the quarter. Mastery fouled at the Dawgs’ end, also non-shooting, and after a missed Dawg shot, Guveiyian got the offensive board, the basket, and was fouled. His shot from the line dropped in, and with 3:52 on the clock, the Dawgs’ deficit had been cut in half: Haddonfield was now behind by 3, 44–47,

After the Warriors lost the ball out of bounds, that deficit was trimmed to 1 thanks to an offensive rebound by Beane, who was fouled. He hit both from the line to make it 46–47, Mastery, with 3:22 left in the quarter. After Mastery’s shot did not go in, Mooney got the rebound, but what looked like Guveiyian’s fourth bucket of the quarter was nixed by the ref who had already called THREE travels on Guveiyian, two of them other instances when he should have been credited with baskets instead of called for “walking.” The crowd was not happy to put it mildly. I was so irate I forgot to note what time the non-basket happened. Neither team scored during their next trips up and down the court, but with 1:12 on the clock, the Warriors hit a 2 to go up 49–46.

Coach Paul Wiedeman called a timeout a few seconds later to set up a play. It was a good one, as with about 50 seconds remaining, Douglas let the ball go from behind the arc. It swooshed in, and the game was tied. Mastery lost the ball out of bounds with about 30 seconds on the clock, but Haddonfield could not get an open look, even after Wiedeman called another timeout. Just ahead of the buzzer, a shot did not go in. For the second time this season, the Dawgs were headed into OT.

To remind you, an OT period lasts 4 minutes and begins with a jump ball at midcourt. The Dawgs got possession but did not score. The Warriors were called for a double-dribble, which gave the Dawgs back the ball, who didn’t score. Under the Mastery basket, a combined effort by Douglas and Beane led to a pickoff and a 2-pointer by senior Jack McKeever. With 2:10 left in OT, the Dawgs were up 51–49. At the 1:54 mark, the game was tied once more, 51 all.

Mooney was fouled with 1:22 to go and made 1–2 from the line. Douglas came close to another steal, but the ball went out of bounds. After a timeout, Mastery fouled again, but it was non-shooting. If I can decipher my scribbling, Douglas passed the ball to Beane, who missed, got his own rebound, and scored, making it 54–51, Haddonfield, with 23.4 on the clock. McKeever pulled down the defensive board on a missed Warriors shot. Mastery fouled again with 7.6 seconds left. Neither shot went in, but it didn’t matter. The Dawgs’ defense kept the Warriors from forcing double OT. The Dawgs prevailed 54–51 after trailing the first 3 quarters of regulation. Whoop, whoop!

Michael Douglas finished with 20 points. Ryan Guveiyian scored 13 (but it should have been more, not that I’m still bitter), and Chris Beane added 11.

Quarter Scores:

1st: Haddonfield, 8, Mastery Camden, 12

2nd: Haddonfield, 15, Mastery Camden, 19

Half: Haddonfield, 23, Mastery Camden, 31

3rd: Haddonfield, 14, Mastery Camden, 7

4th: Haddonfield, 12, Mastery Camden, 11

OT: Haddonfield, 5, Mastery Camden, 2

Final: Haddonfield, 54, Mastery Camden, 51

Player Scores:

Michael Douglas: 20

Ryan Guveiyian: 13

Chris Beane: 11

Mike Mooney: 4

John Scipione: 2

Jack McKeever: 2

Ethan Miller: 2

Round 2 took place two nights later, Feb. 19, at Haddon Heights. This time the Dawgs were going up against the Irish of Camden Catholic. The 4th seed in the tournament, the Irish were 15–8 overall, but only 3–5 in the Olympic National division. In their previous game, they had defeated the Garnets 57–43. Although this game didn’t go into OT, it still proved to be stressful enough for Dawg followers.

The game started with the Irish getting possession after the jump ball, but they did not score and Chris Beane grabbed the rebound. Ryan Guveiyian, who it should be noted, did not get a travel called on him any time he attempted a shot this game, got the Dawgs on the board with a basket in the paint. Mike Mooney’s pilfer set up the next basket, this one from Michael Douglas. At the 6:34 mark, the Dawgs were up 4–0. The Irish got their first basket with 5:20 on the clock to make it a 4–2 game.

A few plays later after the Dawgs had failed to score, Mooney pulled down a hard defensive board. He attempted a shot, did not get the ball in the net, but got his own rebound and was fouled. Both his shots swooshed in, giving the Dawgs back a 4-point, 6–2, edge with 3:51 left in the quarter. Camden Catholic got those points back, and after two missed shots by Haddonfield at the other end, knocked down a 3 to go up 7–6 with 2:22 on the clock. About a minute later, Douglas did the same off a feed by John Scipione, seesawing the lead back to Haddonfield, 9–7, and that would be the last score of the quarter.

The next 8 minutes were even more “seesaw-y.” Although Douglas hit another 3 after the Dawgs inbounded, putting them up 12–7, the Irish responded with a basket. Guveiyian scored on an assist by Jack McKeever to make it a 5-point, 14–9, game with 4:07 on the clock. Camden Catholic got a field goal to cut the lead to 3, 14–11. Haddonfield turned the ball over, then got called for a foul, but the Irish did not score after inbounding. Douglas fought for the board, and McKeever went up and in off a nice bounce pass from Guveiyian. Now the Dawgs were in front by 5 once more, 16–11.

That lead was increased to 7 with Douglas’ outside jumper, which gave Haddonfield its biggest lead of the game, putting them up 18–11 with 1:47 to go in the half. However, the Irish got the last 4 points of the quarter, 2 from the line and 2 from a field goal. When the teams left the court, it was 18–15, Haddonfield. While the Dawgs had put 2 more points on the board in the first than the Irish, this period, it was only 1 point more. For the Haddonfield faithful, the game was getting too close for comfort.

Camden Catholic inbounded to start the second half. Mooney almost stole the ball, but good “D” by the Dawgs led to a bad pass that went out of bounds. At the other end, Douglas was fouled in the act of shooting and made both shots from the line. That made it 20–15 with 7:14 left in the 3rd. More than 4 minutes ticked off the clock before either team scored, even though the Irish had four chances in one possession, as their players kept grabbing offensive boards. Chris Beane broke the offensive lull off a steal, and with 3:59 remaining, the Dawgs were up 22–15.

A 3 at the other end made it 22–18 and was followed by a timeout. Neither team scored, but with 3:21 on the clock, Scipione saw an opening behind the arc and let loose. The ball swooshed in, putting the Dawgs up 25–18 with 3:21 to go. Another steal by Beane and his drive to the basket gave Haddonfield its biggest—9-point, 27–18—lead of the game, but Camden Catholic got two field goals in a row, cutting that to a 5-point, 27–22, lead with 1:30 left in the quarter.

A Scipione-to-Douglas maneuver resulted in Douglas’ third trey of the day, making it 30–22, Dawgs, with 1:116 on the clock. Camden Catholic called time, and once the ball was inbounded, the Irish were having a hard time setting up a play due to great pressure D. They did get a foul call and made the first shot from the line. The second missed and was confiscated by McKeever. From the bench you could hear his coach instruct, “McKeever, hold the ball!” He obliged until Scipione was open and drove in for 2. A 3 just ahead of the buzzer turned what would have been a 9-point lead into a 6-point, 32–26, Dawgs’ advantage heading into (we hoped) the last 8 minutes of the contest.

Haddonfield inbounded to start the 4th quarter, and Beane drove in the lane for 2 with about 14 seconds gone. His basket made it 34–26. The Irish failed to score on two attempts, picked the ball off, but a bad pass sent it out of bounds with 7:16 on the clock. Haddonfield returned the favor, and Camden Catholic got its first basket of the quarter. With 6:40 left in the game, the Dawgs were up by 6, 34–28. The next few minutes saw some sloppy play by both teams, and when another basket was made, it came from Beane, this time on a pass from Guveiyian at the 4:22 mark. Once more, the Irish were trailing by 8, 28–36.

The Irish got 2 back on the foul line, but a Mooney-to-Guveiyian move made it an 8-point Dawg advantage again, 38–30, with 3:48 left in the game. When Guveiyian fed the ball to Beane, who scored his third basket of the quarter, the Dawg fans were feeling pretty good, because there were only 2 minutes and 15 seconds left in the game, and their team had its first double-digit, 40–30, lead of the game.

Of course, that 10-point lead, and hence the fans’ cockiness, did not last. The Irish got a 3 and 2 and suddenly were back to within 5 with, whoops, I didn’t write down the time. I apparently was getting rattled. And to make matters worse, a loose ball went out of bounds off the Dawgs. Camden Catholic’s next shot did not find the net, and Scipione pulled down the rebound. With 1:03 on the clock, Wiedeman called a timeout.

Thus began the last segment of the game, which I labeled “hot potato.” This was because the Dawgs started having trouble inbounding the ball and holding onto it. After the first near mishap, Mooney secured the ball. It then went out of bounds off the Irish. After another dicey inbounds, Douglas snatched the ball, but it was not easy getting it over halfcourt in the allotted time (10 seconds, in case you were wondering).

With 18 seconds left, Camden Catholic fouled Scipione. He hit 1–2, making it 41–35. The Irish answered with a 2, and with 10.9 on the clock, that 10-point lead had shrunk to 4, 41–37. Camden Catholic called a timeout. After Douglas got stuck on the sidelines with the ball, Haddonfield called a timeout. Haddonfield successfully inbounded the ball, was fouled, but missed both shots. But with 4.5 seconds left, the luck of the Irish ran out along with the clock. The Dawgs had pulled an upset by sending the higher seed home.

Michael Douglas and Chris Beane led the Dawgs, contributing 15 and 10 points, respectively, of the team’s 41. That meant Haddonfield was heading into the semifinals to go up against the #1 seed, Paul VI, who were sporting a 22–4 overall record (8–0 in the Olympic National), on the Eagles’ home court on 2/21.

Quarter Scores:

1st: Haddonfield, 9, Camden Catholic, 7

2nd: Haddonfield, 9, Camden Catholic, 8

Half: Haddonfield, 18, Camden Catholic, 15

3rd: Haddonfield, 14, Camden Catholic, 11

4th: Haddonfield, 9, Camden Catholic, 11

Final: Haddonfield, 41, Camden Catholic, 37

Player Scores:

Michael Douglas: 15

Chris Beane: 10

Ryan Guveiyian: 6

John Scipione: 6

Mike Mooney: 2

Jack McKeever: 2

To be blunt, the matchup between Paul VI and Haddonfield was not pretty. After 8 minutes, the Dawgs were trailing by 8. After 2 quarters, they were down 20. The second half really did not get any better. Although the Dawgs were only outscored by 4 points in those two quarters, when the horn sounded, Paul VI had won by 24, 79–54. Chris Beane scored 20 points for the Dawgs, with Michael Douglas putting up 10.

But make no mistake, while the Dawgs lost to clearly better team (the Eagles hit 12 3’s to the Dawgs’ 4, and it seemed like more than that), they never stopped playing hard. That’s not in their DNA. It’s also hard to be competitive for 32 minutes with a team that has a recruiter on staff and who can roll players in and out off the bench without giving up quality. The Dawgs have some good nonstarters players that come in to give quality minutes, but they don’t have the luxury of the depth of Paul VI’s bench.

Paul VI claimed the Camden County Tournament crown by defeating the #2 seed Camden on Sunday by almost the identical score that they beat Haddonfield, 77–54. The previous day, Camden had a tough team displacing the Thundering Herd of Woodbury in the first semifinal. Although the Panthers shot out to a 17–0 lead in the first, Woodbury fought back and tied it at 35 all (if memory serves me) in the third. The Herd hung in there into the 4th, when the Panthers were finally able to pull away to win 66–55.

Quarter Scores:

1st: Haddonfield, 7, Paul VI, 15

2nd: Haddonfield, 12, Paul VI, 19

Half: Haddonfield, 19, Paul VI, 39

3rd: Haddonfield, 20, Paul VI, 26

Haddonfield, 16, Paul VI, 14

Haddonfield, 55, Paul VI, 79

Player Scores:

Chris Beane: 20

Michael Douglas: 10

Ethan Miller: 9

Mike Mooney: 6

Ryan Guveiyian: 4

Chase Stadler: 2

John Scipione: 2

Reese Rhea: 2

Thanks to the after-effects of “snowmageddon,” the NJSIAAs scheduled to start this Tuesday, 2/24, have been pushed back two days for both the boys and girls first rounds. The boys, 23–4 overall and the #1 seed in South Jersey Group 2, will now play host to the Eagles—of West Deptford, that is—at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The girls (19–8) will be hosting the Bengals of Barnegat Township at 5. If the boys win, round 2 will take place at Haddonfield on Saturday, 2/28, but no time has been listed as yet. Tickets can be purchased for both games on Thursday via the school’s website: 

https://fan.hudl.com/usa/nj/haddonfield/organization/17513/haddonfield-high-school/tickets

It was encouraging to see good fan support, especially the student body, out at the Camden Catholic and Paul VI games. Let’s keep it up!

GO DAWGS!!!!!