Camden loses by one to mighty St. Anthony
In a game that had the energy of a state tournament matchup, Camden came up just short Saturday against St. Anthony, 60-59.
In a game that had the energy of a state tournament matchup, Camden came up just short Saturday against St. Anthony, 60-59.
But the matchup between two storied programs at Camden's Clarence Turner Gymnasium couldn't have been scripted any better, as it was a back-and-forth battle that went down to the last minute.
With 46 seconds left, Camden's Myles Thompson hit a three-point shot to give the Panthers a 59-58 lead.
"We played hard the whole game," said Thompson, who led the Panthers with 19 points. "It felt good to make that shot and come up clutch for my team."
Down by one, St. Anthony (19-4) called a timeout with 24 seconds remaining.
"We were fighting to get back in the game," St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley said. "And every time we took the lead, they came storming back."
When the Friars inbounded the ball, it went into the hands of R.J. Cole.
As time wound down, Cole drove and sank a jump shot with 6.2 seconds left to put St. Anthony up by one. Cole's shot proved to be the game-winner.
"We had to stay together and we fought to the end," said Cole, who finished with 26 points. "I had two bad turnovers, so I wanted to make up for it with the last shot."
Camden coach John Valore did not call a timeout, allowing the rest of the game clock to wind down.
"We were in transition and the ball went to the right person," Valore said when asked about his decision to not call a timeout. "I wouldn't have got a better situation if I called a timeout because they would adjust and the ball would be down the far end."
Hurley, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and winner of 1,181 games against just 123 losses, said that Camden is an excellent team led by an even better coaching staff.
"It was a sectional final atmosphere," Hurley said. "They made great adjustments during the game. I think we just responded very well."
Camden, the No. 2 team in the Inquirer Top 25, fell to 16-6. But the Panthers said they weren't going to dwell on the loss.
"We beat good teams and now we just lost by only one point to one of the best teams in the state," Thompson said. "We are going to take this into the playoffs and win this whole thing."
The Panthers beat No. 1- ranked St. Augustine, 49-46, last Saturday. Victories like that show his players have the will to compete and always come to play, Valore said.
"They believe in each other and play exceptional defense throughout the year," Valore said. "The competition they face propels them to play hard."
St. Anthony 14 16 13 17 - 60
Camden High 17 13 14 15 - 59
SAHS: R.J. Cole 26, Ithiel Horton 9, Alexander Rice 8, Dimitris Plexidas 7, Ogheneyole Akuwovo 6, Nika Chechelashvili 4
CHS: Myles Thompson 19, Daequan Williams 14, Ethan Tarte 11, Keysean Simmonds 7, John Evans 5, Nasir Hinson 3,