Campbell's 30 power Eagles past Panthers

It was vintage Will Campbell.

The fleet, 5-foot-10 senior point guard collected 30 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead top-ranked Paul VI to a title-clinching, 75-61 Olympic Conference National Division win yesterday over visiting Camden.

Campbell's performance wasn't surprising; he is a leading South Jersey player-of-the-year candidate. What

was

surprising was the second-quarter offensive eruption by Nick Moore, a 6-6 sophomore who is known more for his defense and rebounding.

"He sparked us," Campbell said after the Eagles won their 22d straight game and wrapped up their first outright Olympic National championship since 1992.

Moore scored eight of his 10 points in a 31/2-minute span, fueling a 16-5 run that gave Paul VI (23-1 overall, 9-0 division) a 24-18 lead.

"Nick is young. He does a lot on defense, like changing shots, and he's a presence on defense," Paul VI coach Tony Devlin said. "On offense, he's been working hard . . . on going to the hole, and he has a good outside shot."

Earlier, Camden (13-7, 6-3) confused Paul VI with a tricky defense - one player up top, one at the bottom, and three players chasing - as it built leads of 11-3 and 13-8 before Campbell and Moore triggered Paul VI's offense.

During his eight-point surge, Moore scored mostly on inside power moves.

"We'd swing the ball to the wing and set a screen for Nick or Jon [Grimes], and they'd come off it for a layup," Campbell said.

"When I got the ball, I had enough room to go to the basket strong," said Moore, who added seven rebounds.

Mike Stafford (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Grimes (12 points, 15 rebounds) also reached double figures for Paul VI.

Takwan Bailey led Camden with 16 points.

It has been a tumultuous year for Camden, whose coach, Clarence Turner, was suspended after he used an ineligible player, a development that caused the team to forfeit two games. Mike Stargell replaced Turner as interim coach, but Stargell missed yesterday's game with the flu.

"I thought the kids played well when you consider all the adversity," said Charles McKenzie, who coached yesterday's game for Camden.

Camden was guilty of 16 turnovers and was outscored 22-9 on points after miscues.

"You can't do that against a team like this," McKenzie said. "You have to play almost perfect to beat them, but this was good preparation for the playoffs. We'll be ready."

Ditto Paul VI.

Notes.

Campbell, who was 3 for 5 from three-point range and 10 for 15 from the floor, has been offered scholarships from New Hampshire and NJIT. Monmouth and Temple have shown interest. ...Aaron Walton scored 14 points on 7 for 11 shooting for Camden, which had two new starters in its lineup.

Camden 13 10 15 23 - 61

Paul VI 8 22 18 27 - 75

C:

Aaron Walton 14, Germir Pitts 11, Charles Watkins 5, Takwan Bailey 16, Hubert Simmons, 5, Vincent Walls 10.

P:

Will Campbell 30, Jon Grimes 12, Nick Moore 10, Greg Smith 4, Mike Stafford 15, Robert Poole 4.