Camden Advances Past Moorestown In Group 3 Playoffs

By Jerome Michaels
SJSports Special Correspondent

It didn’t take long before the first round of the boy’s basketball game between the 9th seeded Panthers from Camden traveling to Moorestown High School to take on the 8th seeded Quakers. Having the luxury of hosting this South Jersey Group 3 competition would be the only reason Moorestown would be able to enjoy. Too much of a surprise and with a lot of success, the Panthers patience on the court dominated the game. Camden’s success on the offensive boards allowed them several chances to put back those missed opportunities for points. Shomari Moore and Terron Murray coming off of the bench highlighted Camden’s first round win on the road. With their 82-53 victory, Camden will continue their quest to the finals by traveling to the number one seed Williamstown.

It almost seemed unfair for Moorestown to draw the Panthers in the first round of the Group 3 tournament. If things were different and Camden would have been the top seed, the Quakers would have eventually faced the Panthers. Moorestown’s frontcourt has the size and talent to give any opponent problems inside with Rob McGory, Matt McGair and Ryan Van Wright in the lineup, but it would be the quickness of Camden that proved to be one step ahead of Moorestown. That was quite evident as Camden jumped out to a 13-5 advantage with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter.

Coach Clarence Turner has the luxury of putting any one of his bench players in the game when you have Shomari Moore and Wayne Smalls at the point. Terron Murray provided that spark off the bench scoring 11 points in the first half. Moore also provided the Panthers with a productive half by dropping in 15 points and the Panthers led comfortably 47-23 at the break. With that twenty point lead, the Panthers’ intensity subsided as Moorestown outscored them 19-17 in the third quarter. As this quarterfinals game went on, the Panthers easily walked off the court advancing to the next round of the tournament. Shomari Moore finished with a game high 25 points, Terron Murray added 18, Dwight Cass 14 and Wayne Smalls contributed 11 points for Camden. Bufus Outlaw who scored 13 points led Moorestown, Rob McGrory added 10 points and Sean McMillian finished with 10 points.