Paulsboro makes statement against Camden

Camden's history in basketball is so rich that both coaches were tapping that vein on Saturday.

Camden coach John Valore called on his team to play with "Camden pride" after a sluggish first half.

Paulsboro coach Sean Collins reminded his players that other South Jersey basketball teams tended to be measured by their performances against the purple and gold.

But Paulsboro players were acutely aware of another tradition, too - their own.

"We've been in a lot of these games and we've won a lot of these games," Paulsboro senior Saleem Little said after his team emerged with a 68-65 overtime victory over Camden in a clash of top-four squads in the Cherry Hill East Invitational.

Fellow Paulsboro senior Theo Holloway said: "It's Camden. It's a big game. But we know we can play with anybody."

Holloway scored four of his 23 points in overtime, and senior De'Shaun Burgess added 16 for Paulsboro (20-1), ranked No. 4 in South Jersey by The Inquirer.

Junior Jamal Holloway scored 21 and junior Brad Hawkins added 20 for No. 3 Camden (16-5).

"We have to make foul shots," Valore said, echoing a common complaint after Camden's losses this season.

After Hawkins opened overtime with a layup, Paulsboro scored six straight as Holloway made a pair of buckets and fed Burgess for another hoop.

Hawkins scored again to pull Camden within 66-64, but Kyle Jones scored off a dish from Little.

Camden got a free throw from Hawkins, but the Panthers missed a three-pointer that would have tied it at the end of overtime.

"We don't get our respect because people say we're just a Group 1 team," Holloway said after Paulsboro's 16th consecutive victory. "But we play just like the big teams."

Camden opened the third quarter on a 19-0 run, erasing a 33-19 halftime deficit and taking a 38-34 lead behind Hawkins and Holloway.

"We knew it was coming and I thought we would be ready for it, and we weren't," Collins said.

Valore said he appealed to his players' pride.

"They played soft," Valore said of his players in the first half. "I told them they are representing their school, their city, their community. They needed to play with Camden pride."

Collins said the legacy of Camden's success in basketball adds an element to any game involving the Panthers.

"My dad [former Rowan coach Jack Collins] used to say it didn't matter what was happening; until somebody beat Camden you weren't the No. 1 team in South Jersey," Collins said.

Little called the victory Paulsboro's "biggest win of the season," and Holloway said it validated the Red Raiders' status as one of the best teams in South Jersey.

"We think we should be the No. 1 team in South Jersey," Little said. "We feel like we're the best team. We feel like we proved it."

Paulsboro 14 19 11 16 8 - 68

Camden 4 15 27 14 5 - 65

P: Brandon Hamilton 11, Kyle Jones 4, Theo Holloway 23, Saleem Little 10, De'Shaun Burgess 16, John Pellegrini 4.

C: Brad Hawkins 20, Jamal Holloway 21, Will McCants 9, Rasool Hinson 8, Dustin Singleton 5, John Evans 1, Cory Whiting 1.