By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
HADDONFIELD — Camden Catholic had no business beating rival Paul VI in Thursday night’s Non-Public A South semifinal. None.
The host Eagles had dominated the Irish for nearly all of the second, third and fourth quarters. At one point, Camden Catholic trailed 40-23 — and even with about three minutes remaining the Irish were down by 13 points.
But, every once in a while, some crazy things happen on a high school basketball court.
Camden Catholic — basically left for dead at the start of the fourth quarter — put together a frenetic rally in the final three minutes of regulation, somehow survived a first overtime period in which it only scored three points, then outscored Paul VI 20-11 in double overtime to put a stamp on a 72-63 victory, one that will be remembered for decades to come by Irish fans. Camden Catholic went on a 13-0 run to close out regulation and forced a dozen Eagles turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Irish finished with eight steals, most of which came in the fourth quarter or overtime.
“I think it was good that there were no timeouts and we just kept playing. We kept feeding off that energy, layup after layup,” said senior captain Luke Kennevan. “When you’re back is against the wall you can either curl up or play harder, and we played harder. It says so much about our coaching staff, all our guys. We’re a bunch of tough kids. We don’t take anything for granted. We get up every day and work our asses off in practice, and it shows.”
“It’s all about confidence. The confidence that our captain, Luke, brings, the confidence that our coach brings, even the confidence that our bench brings. Without confidence you can’t get anywhere, and that’s in life, too. That’s the one thing I’ve been taught. Confidence brings great joys, and that’s what we got today, great joy against the No. 1 team in South Jersey,” added guard Bryce Clark, a 5-foot-6 dynamo who scored 17 points, including eight from the foul line. “Down by 13 with three minutes to play, just that change in pace, change in momentum. That’s how we play — you have to play 150 percent in all minutes of the game. That’s why you never give up.”
Making a few shots allowed Camden Catholic (23-6, 4-4 Olympic National) to get into its full-court press in the final three minutes of regulation, and that changed everything. Paul VI — which was down big early but went on an 18-0 run that turned into a 24-9 sprint through much of the second and third quarters — seemed to be having its way with the Irish. The Eagles got threes from Ivan Moore and Judah Hidalgo to push their lead to 37-23 late in the third quarter.
But the Irish responded with threes from Sean Welde and Seamus Bieg to start the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 42-35. The Eagles (26-4, 6-2 Olympic National) stretched their lead back out to 49-37 before a steal and layup by Clark changed everything. The Irish outscored Paul VI 11-0 from that point on, forcing the first overtime.
“When we got to overtime, I was like, ‘oh, my God, we can win this game,’” Kennevan said. “I’d say that’s a testament to our coaching. Our coaches kept telling us, ‘keep believing, you’re still in this game.’ Even when we thought we weren’t in it, we just kept saying to ourselves, ‘just keep playing hard.’”
“Us getting the turnovers we needed really changed the pace of the game and changed how the game went,” Clark added.
In the second overtime, Hidalgo — who hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 30 points — drained a three to give the Eagles a 55-54 lead, but moments later the Irish answered when Clark hit a three, giving Camden Catholic the lead for good at 57-55.
“He’s amazing. He’s the ultimate competitor. I’ve never seen someone have so much energy in my life. The kid never stops, he never stops competing,” Kennevan, an Atco native, said of Clark. “He doesn’t care who is guarding him. He thinks he’s the best player on the court, and that’s a great mentality to have. That pushes us to play harder, play hard nonstop. He plays so hard.”
“Being small you have to have some toughness, and that’s what I’ve always been honored to have,” said Clark, of Lumberton. “It starts with all five guys on the court, from our big guy (Azyris Richmond) making layups at the end, from our captain leading us on the court to our shooters making threes. Everything comes as a team, and that’s what makes this special.”
Richmond had one of the best games of his career, going up against Paul VI’s 6-foot-11 freshman center Toussant Malukila, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and Bieg added 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Kennevan added 16 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.
Kennevan said he and the other seniors just didn’t want their careers to end, something he admitted he felt like might happen when the Irish trailed by 17 late in the third quarter.
“Excuse my language, but that was an, ‘oh, sh*#’ moment. I was saying to myself, my other teammate Sean (Welde), who is a senior, that we have eight minutes. This is our career and we have to do anything we can. Our coach kept telling us, ‘keep playing hard and good things are going to happen.’ And that’s what happened,” he said. “It’s an amazing feeling. I wouldn’t trade these guys for anything. I’m so proud of my teammates. We’re going to remember this forever, but we have two more games to be state champions.”
WHAT’S NEXT: No. 4 Camden Catholic vs. No. 2 St. Peter’s Prep for the Non-Public A South championship, Monday at 7 p.m. at Lenape High. Paul VI’s season is complete.
