Haddonfield staves off Collingswood rally

Against most teams, a 16-point lead early in the fourth quarter means the sun is shining.

Against Collingswood, it means the clouds are gathering.

"You knew it was coming," Haddonfield coach Paul Wiedeman said. "They've done it so many times."

Haddonfield survived Collingswood's furious comeback and emerged with a 67-63 victory Thursday night in a key Colonial Conference Liberty Division game.

Senior guard Anthony Parenti scored 25 and senior swingman Wyatt Polk added 23 for Haddonfield (15-5, 11-2), which took a half-game lead in the division race.

Senior swingman Karon Waller scored 31 and junior forward Kris Williams bounced off the bench to collect eight points, six rebounds and four blocks for Collingswood (14-4, 10-2).

"It was a valiant comeback but we dug too big of a hole against too good of a team," Collingswood coach Joe McLoughlin said. "Our guys never say never."

Haddonfield seemed in command when Parenti opened the fourth quarter with a driving layup for a 56-40 lead.

But Collingswood rallied behind the 6-foot-3 Waller, who scored 17 in the fourth quarter, including 11 straight in a stunning 97-second span.

"I give that team so much credit," Wiedeman said of Collingswood. "They were all over us. It seemed like they had seven or eight guys out on the court."

B.J. Jones' steal and thunderous dunk pulled Collingswood within 64-61 with 2 minutes, 10 seconds to play. On the Panthers' next possession, Waller scored on a drive and was fouled at the 1:33 mark.

Waller missed the free throw that would have tied the game at 64. Parenti made two free throws to give Haddonfield a 66-63 lead at the 1:14 mark, and the Bulldogs survived as the Panthers missed a couple of three-point attempts in the final minute.

"This was just like the last game," said Parenti, referring to Collingswood's 67-55 victory on Jan. 13. "We had a 10-point lead in that game. We had to make sure it didn't happen again.

"It almost did but we were able to close it out."

Collingswood   7 17 16 23 - 63

Haddonfield   16 21 17 13 - 67

C: Karon Waller 31, Jermaine Feaster 7, Chris Michael 8, Julian Welsh-White 5, B.J. Jones 4, Kris Williams 8.

H: Wyatt Polk 23, Anthony Parenti 25, Mike Lacatena 6, Chris Biddle 3, Mark Griffin 7, Kevin Davis 1, Jake Sikkema 2.