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Work at free-throw line pays off for Camden in win over Atlantic City

Camden coach John Valore knows his team has its problems at the free-throw line. He has recently implemented a new drill in practice - one that involves a lot of running.

Jamal Holloway, right, of Camden comes up with a rebound in the 2nd quarter against Atlantic City in the Cherry Hill East Invitational at Cherry Hill East on Feb. 13, 2016.
Jamal Holloway, right, of Camden comes up with a rebound in the 2nd quarter against Atlantic City in the Cherry Hill East Invitational at Cherry Hill East on Feb. 13, 2016.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Camden coach John Valore knows his team has its problems at the free-throw line. He has recently implemented a new drill in practice - one that involves a lot of running.

"It took us 45 minutes to finish a foul-shooting drill [the other day] because we couldn't make foul shots," Valore said.

When it came time, frequently, for Camden to step up to the line on Saturday against Atlantic City, the drill seemed to pay off.

The Panthers, ranked No. 5 in The Inquirer's Top 25, converted 27 of their 43 free-throws attempts (62.7 percent) on the way to a 65-58 victory over the No. 2-ranked Vikings at the Cherry Hill East Invitational.

"Hopefully, maybe that carries over," Valore said. "It did today in the fourth quarter, and it did the other day with Timber Creek."

In the closing quarter Saturday, Camden (17-3) made 14 of 19 from the line, including a string of 10 in 12 tries in the tightly contested final minutes.

Atlantic City (16-2) took a 49-48 lead, its first since an 8-6 advantage in the first, with less than four minutes to play. Sophomore forward Myles Thompson and junior guard John Evans responded for the Panthers, knocking down shots on back-to-back possessions. Thompson then made 1 of 2 free throws to put Camden up by 53-49.

Both of their numbers would be called until the final whistle. After hitting a three-pointer to extend the lead, Evans stepped to the charity stripe just moments later, with the Vikings having cut the gap to three.

"We had to knock down our final shots because that's been our weakness," said Evans, who made both free throws for two of his seven points in the quarter (12 total). "When it was time to get on the line, we stayed in the zone."

After a close first quarter, Camden led for almost the entire game, one that was sloppy for both sides. It came down to the Panthers' committing fewer mistakes and turnovers, which they made sure of down the stretch.

"Every day our coaches get up on us about a lot of things. This was a statement game," Evans said.

Valore used various timeouts, some from him and some from Atlantic City coach Gene Allen, in the second half to try to get his team refocused.

"One thing we stressed was be a little more patient, let's get the ball inside the box," Valore said. "What you saw early in the game, we'll do that. If you want to run up and down the court, we'll run up and down the court. Now, if they make their shots then we call a timeout and try to control it. We did calm down, and we played a little smarter in the fourth quarter."

Camden 15 14 13 23 - 65

Atlantic City 12 10 16 20 - 58

C: John Evans 12, Corey Greer 8, Brad Hawkins 11, Jamal Holloway 12, Dustin Singleton 2, Ethan Tarte 2, Myles Thompson 11, Dequan Williams 7.

A: Aikens 3, Raymond Beatha 7, Ahmad Biggins 2, Aishon Centino 14, Ryan Fader 2, Chris Marsh 4, Morgan 10, Perry 3, Lamar Thomas 13.