Phil Anastasia: Camden prevails for Group 3 crown

LANOKA HARBOR, N.J. - Eleven months ago, Camden was 3-17.

Now, the Panthers are South Jersey Group 3 champions.

"It just goes to show, the High never stays down," Camden senior forward Ajwan Leaming said after another dramatic victory continued the Panthers' remarkable tournament run and stunning transformation since February 2011.

Camden won at Lacey Township's pace, and at Lacey Township's place, beating the top-seeded Lions by a 42-40 score in the sectional title game in front of a capacity-plus crowd on Monday night.

Sophomore Tavaris Headen made two free throws with 0:06 on the clock to snap the fourth tie of the final quarter and send the seventh-seeded Panthers into Wednesday's state semifinals against Central Jersey champion Neptune.

"He has the heart of a lion," Camden coach Cetshwayo Byrd said of Headen.

Camden needed all its grit to beat a Lacey team that entered with a 22-4 record and was backed by a huge crowd that was looking to see the Lions, with five seniors in the starting lineup, capture the first sectional title in the history of the program.

In a taut fourth quarter with three lead changes as well as four ties, Camden got great work from Headen, a 5-foot-10 guard who scored six of his 12, as well as 6-7 junior forward Amir Maddred, who scored three and grabbed four rebounds.

Camden senior forward Thomas Harper tied the score at 38-38 with a pair of clutch free throws with one minute, 54 seconds to play.

Lacey Township worked the clock on offense, running the same motion set that had slowed the pace of the game over the previous 30 minutes. But the Lions were called for an illegal screen with 1:13 to play.

Camden worked for a good shot. Leaming took a feed from Headen, spun inside and made a baby hook for a 40-38 lead at the 0:38 mark.

"No way I was missing that," Leaming said. "No way I was leaving here without the win."

Lacey tied the score when junior Kevin Leahy scored his only two points with a pair of free throws at the 0:25 mark.

Camden again worked the clock, and Headen seized the initiative and drove the lane. The little lefthander was fouled while attempting a layup at the 0:06 mark.

"Coach was telling me, 'Don't settle for a jump shot,'" Headen said. "I knew I had to take it to the hole."

Byrd called a timeout before Headen's free throws. The coach wanted to settled down his sophomore, as well as the rest of the team.

"He's a sophomore and he's never been in this situation," Byrd said. "It's a packed house, game on the line, opposing gym. That's a lot."

Headen stepped to the line and swished both free throws.

"The game was in my hands, and that's the way I like it," Headen said.

Lacey senior Tasheen Carrow got off a desperation 17-footer that kicked off the rim as the horn sounded, sending dozens of Camden fans on the court in celebration with the players and coaches.

The victory cemented Camden's return to South Jersey prominence a little more than a year after the Panthers lost 17 of their first 20 games in a disheartening season that included a January coaching change as well a severe diminishing of the program's mystique.

Camden was just 2-5 at the start of this season as Byrd and his assistants worked to install new offensive and defensive systems, integrate several new players and sweep away the doubt that had crept into the corners of the Panthers' locker room.

But in a wide-open Group 3 sectional tournament, Camden was the team that found a way to win close games against Hammonton, Delsea, Woodrow Wilson and Lacey Township. The Panthers beat the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds, both on the road.

They earned this trip to the state semifinals.

"They finally believe they can win," Byrd said. "They've been listening to me and listening to me. Now they're starting to think, 'Hey, we can win.'"

Camden 7 11 11 13 - 42

Lacey Township 9 8 10 13 - 40

C: Rasool Hinson 1, Tavaris Headen 12, Amir Maddred 12, Thomas Harper 8, Ajwan Leaming 6, Josh Devine 3.

L: Logan McDonald 8, Ryan Reitmeyer 2, Tyrell Smith 2, Tasheen Carrow 18, Edgar Lenkauskas 8, Kevin Leahy 2.