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Schools

Haddonfield Boys Come Up Short in SJ Hoops Final

The Bulldawgs get humbled by Willingboro in search of their first sectional title since 2006.

After Saturday’s win in the semifinals over Haddon Heights, Haddonfield head coach Paul Wiedeman said that he thought the South Jersey Group 2 championship matchup against Willingboro would be like “Paulsboro round two.”

He hoped the score would be different, the Red Raiders defeated the Bulldawgs 62-41 back on February 21, but after four quarters the scoreboard read almost identical to that loss at Paulsboro as the Bulldawgs fell 67-40 in Tuesday’s sectional final.

“It was almost like they had seven guys out there,” Wiedeman said of the Chimeras' defensive effort. “I thought in the first half they played good defense but in the third quarter they were everywhere.”

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Haddonfield started the game strong, opening with a 7-2 run. But a 13-0 run that stretched from the end of the first quarter to 3:44 of the second saw Willingboro jump ahead 17-9 and capture all the momentum right back.

The third quarter saw the Bulldawgs go scoreless, and saw Willingboro begin a 28-0 run that would stretch into the fourth quarter. That put the game out of reach for Haddonfield.

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The Bulldawgs had no answer for the Chimera trio of seniors Ronny Paden, Michael Owens and Tyrell Maloney. Paden led the way with a game-high 21 points, while Owens had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Owens also blocked three shots and altered countless others. Maloney came off the bench to score 13.

“You just run into a team like this—senior led, great guard play—where the post guys clear out so much space for the guards to get to the rim, that’s just a dominant team,” Wiedeman said.

For the Bulldawgs, senior Mike Lacantena led the way with eight points, while Chris Biddle added seven. Senior Jake Sikkema, junior Billy Griffin and freshman Nick DePersia each had six points.

Haddonfield simply could not get it going against the swarming defense of Willingboro. The Chimeras simply gave the Bulldawgs no breathing room, and that led to Haddonfield turning the ball over 21 times.

“We would turn and catch and there would be somebody right there,” Wiedeman said. “We couldn’t make a shot, that didn’t help either.

“We can’t simulate that, and until you play against it, you don’t realize how long and how quick they are.”

Even though Haddonfield came up short in the quest for their first state title since 2006, the team made it further than many thought they would at the beginning of the season.

“We lost a guy who scored 1,800 points last year,” Wiedeman said. “We had no one [returning] who averaged more than six points per game last year. Two of our three guards out there tonight were freshmen. The future is bright.”

Haddonfield ends the year with a 22-8 record.

 

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