Camden edges Lenape

Hubert Simmons realized he wasn't the first option, and so did everybody else in the Camden gym.

With 10 seconds remaining and the score tied, Camden's obvious choice to take the last shot yesterday against Lenape was the Panthers' newly minted 1,000-point scorer, Aaron Walton-Moss.

The only problem: Lenape wouldn't allow Walton-Moss to get the ball, and Simmons was more than willing to take over.

Simmons hit an off-balance corner jumper just inside the three-point line with 1.2 seconds left to give Camden a 58-56 win over Lenape in an Olympic Conference interdivisional basketball game between two Inquirer top-5 teams.

Camden's win was even more impressive because the Panthers played without junior guard Vinny Walls (20 points per game) who was out of the lineup due to "personal reasons," according to coach Mike Stargell.

Ranked No. 4 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, Camden improved to 7-0. No. 5 Lenape fell to 8-1.

"Everybody knew we wanted to get Aaron the ball, and I was open," said Simmons, who scored seven of his 10 points in Camden's decisive 18-13 fourth quarter. "I have the confidence that I can make those shots."

Not to mention the form.

Simmons also wanted to win it for Walton-Moss, the 6-foot-2 senior who was an Inquirer first-team all-South Jersey selection last season. Yesterday was Walton-Moss' 18th birthday.

"Since it was Aaron's birthday, I wanted to give something for him," Simmons said, smiling.

Walton-Moss received his share of gifts. He scored 26 points, giving him 1,021 for his career. When Walton-Moss went over the 1,000 mark with a turnaround jumper in the second quarter, the game was stopped and he was given the game ball.

"It feels good to get the 1,000, only because we won," Walton-Moss said. "If we didn't win, I wouldn't be feeling too good."

This was actually a strange game for Walton-Moss, but one that showed Camden can win when he is a bit off-target.

He shot just 9 for 27 from the floor, but was 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Walton-Moss also had 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Lenape used different defenders on him in its man-to-man defense, but usually he can get his shot off against any defense, provided he can get the basketball.

The Indians doubled him on that final play and made someone else beat them, and Simmons did exactly that.

Lenape coach Chuck Guittar said afterward that the game shouldn't have come down to one shot because his team made too many mistakes. The Indians hurt themselves by committing 24 turnovers.

"We missed a lot of layups and had too many turnovers," Guittar said.

The Indians were led by Isiah Dixon, who scored 18 points, mostly inside. Point guard Mike Celestin added 13.

Despite its mistakes, Lenape tied the score, 56-56, on Phil Jackson's only basket of the game with 10.2 seconds to play. That set up the final play in which Lenape smothered Walton-Moss with defenders.

"We wanted somebody else other than Walton-Moss to have it," Guittar said.

Future Camden opponents may guard against both Walton-Moss and Simmons having the final say.

"We're trying to take the pressure off Aaron and have others step up," Stargell said.

Yesterday, that player was Simmons.

"The shot felt great when it left my hands," Simmons said. "This is the first time this has happened, and I'm so excited."

Lenape 14 8 21 13 - 56

Camden 6 13 21 18 - 58

L: Mike Celestin 13, Phil Jackson 2, Kendall Peters 10, Ryan Lavell 4, Pete Dinich 5, Isiah Dixon 18, C.J. Meyer 4.

C: Charles Watkins 9, Aaron Walton-Moss 26, Takwail Bailey 2, Devin Devine 11, Hubert Simmons 10.