By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
Haddonfield hosted a girls/boys doubleheader for the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 basketball playoffs on Monday night.
Boys hoops action started the evening as the fourth-seeded Bulldawgs hosted fifth-seeded Lower Cape May.
(featured image courtesy of Dom Francesconi)
After an entertaining first half that had the Haddons leading, 24-23, and 38-34 heading into the final quarter, Haddonfield pulled away in the fourth en route to a 51-42 victory. Senior Nate Rohlfing was simply unstoppable, finishing with 21 points, 15 of which came in the first half.
“I think I just outmatched them in size,” Rohlfing said. “We have some great outside shooters so they couldn’t completely double-team me. My coaches told me before the game, ‘you have to dominate, you have to show out.’ I feel like we’re going to keep getting better and better, and show up more.”
Senior Sam Narducci added 14 points, hitting two 3-pointers in the process.
“I give Lower (Cape May) a lot of credit,” said Haddonfield coach Paul Wiedeman. “During the first 32 minutes it was back-and-forth. They made us work for that win, we really had to earn that. I’m feeling great now that we won.”
Haddonfield (27-2) will travel to top-seeded Middle Township for the semifinal round on Wednesday. Lower Cape May concludes its season with a 21-7 record and its first playoff win since the 2017-2018 season.
During the quarterfinal girls game that followed, the fourth-seeded Lady Bulldawgs defeated visiting Colonial Conference rival Haddon Township, 46-30.
The game marked Haddon Township head coach Tom Mulligan’s final game as he recently made the decision to retire after a magical 32-year career leading the Hawks.
“I’m obviously really excited for my girls, but there’s a little bit of mixed emotions,” said Jackie Mulligan, Haddonfield’s head coach and Tom’s sister-in-law. “Tom has been a great mentor, friend, and brother-in-law over the years, and I really learned a lot from him. He has been really helpful to me and my program over the years. He’s worked some of my camps and our youth programs. I just wish him the best.”
Haddonfield opened the game on a 12-2 run to end the first quarter. The Bulldawgs never looked back, maintaining a steady lead throughout the rest of the game. Freshman Acadia Walters paced Haddonfield (23-4) with 15 points. Sophomore Marlina Kadar added 13 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
Junior Alli Kamulda led Haddon Township with 14 points.
Mulligan finished his career with 651 wins, 11 Colonial Conference titles and eight sectional championships. He is only the fourth coach in South Jersey girls basketball history to reach 600 wins, joining Gloucester Catholic’s Lisa Gedaka, Wildwood’s Dave Troiano, and Camden Catholic’s Chris Palladino.
“I just can’t say enough about Haddon Township,” Mulligan said. “Living there, and having four kids go through the district, Haddon Township is the best kept secret as a community and a school district in South Jersey. I’m lucky I was able to spend the time there. I’m saying this very modestly, there were a lot of opportunities with people calling here and there to possibly go coach at another school, but the main thing that kept me here is just the town and the people I work with. I’m privileged that I was part of it. I’m just, really, really lucky.
“I’m going to miss game-planning with my assistant, Jordan (McNamara),” Mulligan added. “She has so much to offer. She’s somebody like a daughter to me that you could trust. It was fun out there tonight. It was a lot of fun. If it had to end anywhere, it was great that it ended here.”
Haddon Township ended the season with a 16-9 record.
“If I were to give my girls a grade, it would be an A-minus.” Mulligan said. “I’m proud of them, we had a lot of opportunities tonight, our shots just didn’t fall.”
Brian Tortella is a correspondent for South Jersey Glory Days. Follow him on Twitter @tortreports
