Tindley hits milestone as he sparks Haddon Heights to win

Robert Tindley stands 5-foot-8.

Maybe.

He weighs 150 pounds.

Possibly.

And given his diminutive stature and undaunted style, Tindley wears the appropriate jersey in No. 3, according to Haddon Heights coach Mike Ricci.

"We call him, 'Little Allen Iverson,' " Ricci said. "He's fearless."

Tindley scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter Saturday to lead Haddon Heights to a 62-55 victory over Westampton Tech in the final game of the East Coast Showcase at Lindenwold High School.

Tindley, a senior guard, also scored his 1,000th career point with a short jumper in traffic early in the fourth quarter.

"For a player his size to score 1,000 points is remarkable," Ricci said.

Junior guard Jared Latane scored 15 and senior forward Brian Tisby generated 11 points with eight rebounds for Haddon Heights (8-5), which won its third in a row and improved its chances for a high seed in the South Jersey Group 1 tournament.

Junior guard Stan Martin scored 18 and senior forward Isaiah Harris added 14 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks for Westampton Tech (8-4), a Central Jersey Group 3 contender.

Westampton Tech coach Cetsh Byrd was impressed with Tindley, who shook loose for his fourth-highest point total of the season despite face-guarding defensive attention.

"Tough as nails," Byrd said. "He didn't back down from our pressure at all."

Tindley, a four-year varsity player, said he never gave much thought to scoring 1,000 points before.

"I never knew anything about it," Tindley said. "Guys in my neighborhood would talk about 1,000 points and I didn't even know what they were talking about.

"I got to high school and I found out. But I never thought I would get it. I scored like four a game as a freshman and eight a game as a sophomore."

Ricci said Tindley is about the same height and weight as a senior as he was as a freshman.

"But he doesn't get worn down, he doesn't get injured," Ricci said. "He'll go to the rim and take it right to the big guys."

Tindley said he was relieved to reach the milestone in the third quarter.

"I really did want to get it over with," Tindley said. "I wanted to focus on winning the game."

That proved problematic, because Westampton Tech took a 55-49 lead with about three minutes to play as Martin made his fourth three-pointer and Harris scored on a tap dunk.

"I told the kids in the huddle, 'Believe in each other and we'll get it done,' " Ricci said.

Haddon Heights scored the game's final 13 points. Tindley led the rally with the first six points, including a short bank shot for a 56-55 lead at the 0:55 mark.

Tindley lifted a steal and fed Tisby for a layup, then added two free throws to seal the deal.

"That was the best team we've played in a while," Tindley said. "They were big, athletic, persistent."

After the game, Tindley held two trophies: one for being named Player of the Game, the other for scoring 1,000 points.

"I never thought I would get it," Tindley said. "That's a lot of points."

Westampton Tech 17 13 12 13 - 55

Haddon Heights 15 14 9 24 - 62

WT: Isaiah Harris 14, Lawrence Anderson 2, Stan Martin 18 Manny Jeh 11, Laddis Taylor 6. Anthony Gepke 4.

HH: Jared Latane 15, Robert Tindley 24, Jake Barr 7, Tesean Pressley 2, Brian Tisby 11, Jabari Higgs 3.