HMHS Boys Basketball: Dawgs win 3 out of 4 in busy week

By Lauree Padgett / Exclusive to Haddonfield[dot]Today

The Dawgs had another long week to finish off the month of January and start off February. It began with a Monday night makeup game against Audubon that had been postponed on 1/6 due to snow, included Colonial Conference contests against West Deptford and Sterling on Tuesday and Thursday, and finished on Saturday with a nonleague matchup as part of the Holy Cross Prep Academy Showcase. Although the Dawgs handled all their conference rivals without much trouble, the game Saturday versus Burlington County would end the Dawgs’ week on a losing note.

January 27, 2025: Audubon at Haddonfield

Audubon is currently in the Patriot division of the Colonial Conference, so this makeup game was the only time they would “Wave” at the Dawgs this year. I jotted on my notepad as Mark Hershberger was announcing the lineups that the Wave had two freshmen, one sophomore, one junior, and one senior starting the game. I wondered how that would “play” out on the court.

For the first 8 minutes of the game, the Wave were knocking down baskets and knocking the Dawgs a bit out of their rhythm. That’s partly why the game’s first points didn’t get scored until almost 2 minutes had ticked off the clock: a 3 by Audubon. Dawg sophomore Ryan Guveiyian got the offense going for Haddonfield with a 2 at the other end, but that was quickly answered by the Wave with a 2. Senior Jake Dewedoff got the Dawgs back to within 2, 4–5, at the 5:09 mark, and a pickoff by junior Chris Beane and a pass to junior Mike Douglas gave Haddonfield its first lead, 6–5, with 4:52 on the clock.

After Audubon missed an easy layup, the Dawgs missed two shots, but a second offensive board was the charm, as junior John Scipione went up and in for 2. That made it 8–5, Dawgs with just under 4 left in the quarter. The Wave got a 2-point bucket, but Guveiyian swooshed in a 3 at the other end, so now the Dawgs were up by 4, 11–7.

So, what, you wonder, did I mean about the Wave causing some problems? I’m getting to that. After a short-lived steal by Scipione, Audubon got another 2 to get back to within 2, 11–9 with 3 and change to go. Guveiyian got another 3, this time from the field and the foul line, pushing the Dawgs’ advantage up to 5, 14–9.  However, Guveiyian’s foul shot was the last point the Dawgs would get in the quarter. Audubon scored the next 7 points, including a 3 that was the result of a bad pass by the Dawgs that put the Wave up 16–14, which is how the quarter ended.

As the teams went back to their huddles before the start of the second quarter, I am sure I was not the only fan wondering if I had dismissed Audubon too quickly, like I had Haddon Township the week before. The next three quarters would provide the answer to that question.

Actually, the question was answered in the next 8 minutes. The Dawgs inbounded the ball, did not score, but junior Mike Douglas pulled down the offensive board, got the ball in the net, and was fouled. His shot from the line put the Dawgs up by 1, 17–16, with 7:20 showing on the clock. (And by the way, speaking of the clock, I feel I never give Jeff Holman enough props for his ever-steady operation of the scoreboard. So thanks, Jeff.)

Audubon flipped that 1-point advantage back to its favor on a basket off an offensive rebound, but just as quickly, a nice outside shot by Douglas gave the Dawgs’ back the 1-point edge, 19–18, with 6:25 left in the half.

Audubon retook the 1-point lead from the foul line, and Beane retook it, also from the foul line. Now it was 21–20—in case you lost track of the score with all those 1-point shots dropping—with just under 6 minutes to go. The Wave got two shots off in their next possession, but after the second did not drop, Douglas grabbed the board, and junior Chase Stadler let loose with one of his corner 3’s. Douglas pulled down another defensive board, and this time, Guveiyian came away with a 2-pointer. This gave Haddonfield its biggest lead of the game, 26–20, with 4:20 on the clock. And it was about to get bigger.

Guveiyian picked off the ball, a scramble ensued, and Douglas recaptured it. Guveiyian’ secured the offensive board, and junior Mike Mooney’s pass set up Stadler for another chance to shoot behind the arc, and this one swooshed in as well. Now the Dawgs had put 9 unanswered points on the board and were up 29–20. And they weren’t done yet. Douglas and Guveiyian each made 1–2 from the foul line on consecutive possessions, and with 1:33  left, they were up by 11, 31–20.

Audubon finally got a basket and then a foul shot to make it 31–23, but the Dawgs got the last two baskets of the quarter. Guveiyian’s came off an inbound pass. Beane’s caught everyone by surprise, as after a missed Haddonfield attempt with seconds on the clock, it looked like Audubon was going to have the last shot. Beane, however, had other plans. He stole the ball and went up and in just ahead of the buzzer, giving the Dawgs a 12-point, 35–23, halftime lead, meaning the Dawgs had outscored the 21–7 in the second.

It didn’t get any better for Audubon in the third. The Dawgs got 26 points and held the Wave to 10. The Dawgs offense was nicely balanced with Guveiyian adding 8 on a pair of treys and a field goal, Stadler nailing two more 3’s, Beane driving in the paint for three buckets, and Douglas dropping in 4 from the line and one from the field. Going into the last quarter, the Dawgs were flattening the Wave, up by 28, 61–33.

Even with most of the starters watching from the sidelines, Haddonfield still put up 20 (to Audubon’s 19) in the 4th. Beane stuck around long enough to score two more times, but the rest of the points came from Mooney, who went 4–4 at the line and also hit two field goals; 3’s from freshman Ethan Miller and junior Nick Scipione; and a pair of foul shots from junior Jude McFillin. When the buzzer sounded, the Dawgs had “waved” Audubon good-bye by a score of 81–52.

Nine Dawgs contributed to the team’s 29-point victory, and four reached double figures. Ryan Guveiyian led the way with 21, Chris Beane added 16, Mike Douglas knocked in 14, and off four treys, Chase Stadler finished with 12.

Quarter scores:

1st: Haddonfield, 14, Audubon, 16

2nd: Haddonfield, 21, Audubon, 7

Halftime: Haddonfield, 35, 23Audubon,

3rd: Haddonfield, 26, Audubon, 10

4th: Haddonfield, 20, Audubon, 19

Final: Haddonfield, 81, Audubon, 52

Player scores:

Ryan Guveiyian: 21

Chris Beane: 16

Mike Douglas: 14

Chase Stadler: 12

Mike Mooney: 8

Ethan Miller: 3

Nick Scipione: 3

John Scipione: 2

Jude McFillin: 2

January 28, 2025: Haddonfield at West Deptford

I was not able to get to this away game and truth be told, since the Dawgs had upended the Eagles 102–48 in their first game of 2025, I wasn’t too concerned about the outcome. It wasn’t quite the blowout this go-round, but the Dawgs still easily took care of business, winning by 48, instead of 54, 61–29. One of my on-scene reporters had this to say: “[Haddonfield] did well, played within the game and made great passes.” He added that the team set up good plays, noting that all starters sat the whole 4th quarter and most of them came out at some point in the second quarter as well.

January 30, 2025: Haddonfield at Sterling

To refresh everyone’s memory, the home game versus Sterling on Jan. 8 saw the Dawgs jump out to a 21–9 advantage in the first quarter. However, in the second quarter, only a point separated the teams’ offensive outputs, with Haddonfield scoring 12 to Sterling’s 11. In the third, that flipped, with the Silver Knights scoring one more point (14) than the Dawgs. In the last 8 minutes, the Knights again outpaced the Dawgs, this time by 4 points (13). So, had the teams only played three quarters instead of four, the Dawgs would have lost by 4 instead of winning by 8, 55–47.

In other words, I wasn’t taking this game, especially since it was on the Knights’ turf, for granted.

Sterling got possession off the tipoff. Although the Dawgs kept the Knights from penetrating, they got the first basket on a floater at the 7:18 mark. Haddonfield’s first 2 came from Ryan Guveiyian’s foul shots. The first one rolled around the rim in what seemed like defiance of the laws of gravity before dropping in, but the second swooshed right through, tying it at 2 with 6:14 on the clock. Sterling went back in front on ball that hit the backboard and then bounced in, and Guveiyian tied it again, this time from the field with about 3 minutes left in the quarter.

That basket by Guveiyian actually was the first of seven straight by the Dawgs. Mike Douglas knocked down a 3, Chris Beane drove in the paint for 2, then on Haddonfield’s next possession, he fed the ball to Douglas, who hit another 3. Now with 2:29 to go in the quarter, the Dawgs had an 8-point, 12–4, edge. Beane was a busy guy on the court, as a few plays later, he pulled down a defensive board and dribbled cross-court for another 2. With his team now trailing by double-digits, 4–14, the Sterling coach called a timeout with 1:33 on the clock. It did not help much, as the Knights failed to score once more, Douglas got the board, and Guveiyian got another bucket. He and Jake Dewedoff combined for a pickoff, and after pulling down an offensive board, Douglas got his third basket of the quarter, this time a 2-pointer. Sterling got 1 point back from the foul line, but when the buzzer sounded, the Knights were behind by 13, with the Dawgs on top 18–5.

The scoring was a little more balanced in the second 8 minutes. Sterling got 4 out of the quarter’s first 6 points, with Douglas hitting a nice jumper in between a 3 and a 2 by the Knights. However, Dewedoff’s 3 started another mini-run for the Dawgs, as Beane followed with an old-fashioned 3 (a basket and a foul shot), and Mike Mooney drained a 3 on an assist from John Scipione. This quick 9-point assault pushed the Dawgs’ lead up to 19, 29–10, with just less than 4 minutes to go until halftime.

Sterling got two straight baskets before Beane went up and in off a pass from Guveiyian, which kept the Dawgs comfortably ahead, 31–14, with 2:27 on the clock. Both teams lost the ball by stepping out of bounds their next possession, and then Haddonfield lost the ball again on what I recorded as a “whoops” play, as the ball slipped out of the “paws” of one of the Dawgs. Sterling got its last basket of the half to get to within 15, 31–16, but Douglas and Guveiyian each scored, with Guveiyian flicking the ball to Douglas. Then a few plays later, with only 1.2 on the clock, Douglas dished the ball to Guveiyian, who tapped the ball in ahead of the buzzer.

Going into the half, the Dawgs were up by 19, 35–16.

The Knights would outscore the Dawgs in the third, doubling the Dawgs’ 8-point output, but they were still down by double-digits, 32–43, going into the final quarter. And this time, the Knights were not able chip that lead down to single digits, as they had done in the teams’ first matchup. This was because the Dawgs held the Knights to only 4 points—a 3 and a foul shot—while making seven field goals and a foul shot on the offensive end. When it was all said and done, the Dawgs had made it a dark night for Sterling, soundly beating them by 22, 58–36.

There was a downside to the Dawgs’ victory, which I wouldn’t learn about until the start of the game on Saturday versus Burlington County. At the end of the third, Jake Dewedoff went down hard at the hands of a Sterling player. It resulted in a technical being called against Sterling. Dewedoff, usually very steady at the line, missed both shots and did not come back into the game. With the Dawgs ahead, I did not think too much about his absence then, but the play would have repercussions a few days later …

Quarter scores:

1st: Haddonfield, 18, Sterling, 5

2nd: Haddonfield, 17, Sterling, 11

Halftime: Haddonfield, 35, Sterling, 16

3rd: Haddonfield, 8, Sterling, 16

4th: Haddonfield, 15, Sterling, 4

Final: Haddonfield, 58, Sterling, 36

Player scores:

Mike Douglas: 16

Ryan Guveiyian: 15

Chris Beane: 13

Jake Dewedoff: 6

Mike Mooney: 5

Chase Stadler: 3

February 1, 2025: Holy Cross Prep Basketball Showcase—Haddonfield vs. Burlington Township

This 3-day tournament has become a mainstay nonleague event for the Dawgs. This year, their opponents were the Eagles of Burlington Township, who are part of the Burlington County Scholastic League, better known by its acronym, BCSL. Coming into Saturday’s game against Haddonfield, Burlington Township had only lost 2 nonleague games and were undefeated atop of the Patriot division. It did not take long to see why.

The Eagles landed baskets from all over: outside, inside, and from the foul line. Meanwhile, the Dawgs, I suspect in large part due to the fact that their point guard, Jake Dewedoff, was on the bench, were off their game. They weren’t passing or handling the ball well. By the end of the first quarter, they were already down 10, 8–18. The Dawgs’ usually stellar “D” wasn’t full strength. The Eagles got a lot of second-chance shots while often holding the Dawgs to one. The times the Dawgs managed to steal the ball before the Eagles had attempted a shot, they often turned the ball right back to their opponents.

While they matched Burlington Township in points in the second quarter, with both teams putting up 12, the Dawgs still looked out of synch and were consequently still down by 10, 20–20, when the half ended.

The Eagles maintained a good edge, mostly double-digit, for most of the third. Then, with 2:12 left, sparked by a 2 and then a 3 by Chris Beane, the Dawgs got back to with 5, 31–36, and the Dawg fans were sensing a momentum swing. But just that quickly, the Eagles got 4 of those 5 points back, and when the buzzer sounded, the Dawgs were down by 9, 31–40.

No matter what the score, the Dawgs never give up. The last 8 minutes of the game against Burlington Township were a great example of this mentality. After an up-and-down few minutes, the Dawgs were trailing by 12, 36–48, with 5:43 on the clock. John Scipione hit a 3, and after one of too many easy baskets by the Eagles, Chase Stadler knocked down a trey. The refs finally called a push-off on Burlington Township, and when the Dawgs got the ball back, a drive by Chris Beane made it 44–50. Whether it was the fatigue of competing in four games in less than six days, the absence of a key player, or the fact that Burlington Township was one of the toughest teams Haddonfield has faced this season, the Dawgs just couldn’t get closer than 6 in those final minutes. Every time the Dawgs seemed to be on the verge, the Eagles would run off a few baskets in a row to keep Haddonfield at “bay.” When the horn sounded, the Dawgs had lost by 7 (Douglas hit a 3 with about 16 seconds on the clock), 57–65.

Quarter scores:

1st: Haddonfield, 8, Burlington Township, 18

2nd: Haddonfield, 12, Burlington Township, 12

Halftime: Haddonfield, 20, Burlington Township, 30

3rd: Haddonfield, 11, Burlington Township, 12

4th: Haddonfield, 26, Burlington Township, 25

Final: Haddonfield, 57, Burlington Township, 65

Player scores:

Chris Beane: 19

Mike Douglas: 12

John Scipione: 10

Ryan Guveiyian: 8

Chase Stadler: 6

Mike Mooney: 2

The Week Ahead

The Dawgs are now 15–5 overall, 9–2 in the Colonial Conference, with a 7–1 record in the Liberty division. Tuesday, they travel to Gloucester City for a 5:30 p.m. game to take on their Patriot conference rival. This will be another chance for the Dawgs to give Paul Wiedeman his 600th victory as head coach. Thursday, the Dawgs host Woodbury at 7:00. You may remember that the Thundering Herd gave Haddonfield its only Liberty loss when they met back in January. Saturday, the Dawgs visit Cinnaminson for more nonleague action in an 11:30 a.m. matchup.