Springfield, Mass. — The highly anticipated matchup of five-star seniors lived up to expectations as No. 14
Centennial (Corona, Calif.) defeated No. 11
Camden (N.J.) 66-62 behind 27 points and six rebounds from Duke signee
Jared McCain at the Spalding Hoophall Classic on Saturday.
Kentucky-signee
D.J. Wagner also finished with 27 points and six rebounds in the loss for Camden.
Five-star Kentucky signee
Aaron Bradshaw got the scoring started with a 3-pointer from the right corner before McCain quickly responded on the other end with a 3-pointer from the left corner.
After the teams traded a pair of baskets, Centennial went on a 7-1 run to lead 12-6 midway through the first quarter before the Panthers answered with a quick 6-0 spurt after a pair of fastbreak dunks from Wagner and
Dasear Haskins was followed by a layup from
Cornelius Robinson to knot things at 12.
The Huskies scored the final five points of the period to take a 17-12 lead as McCain knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing before Loyola Marymount commit
Aaron McBride finished with a layup.
Santana Huff knocked down a 3-point jumper for Centennial befoere Camden cut the deficit to 20-16 after a layup from Wagner stemmed the tide.
Camden closed the first half on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 33-28 at the intermission. The New Jersey power continued the surge out of the locker room with a flurry in the third quarter, scoring the first six points of the period to take a 34-33 advantage.
Centennial responded with a 7-0 run as senior
Mike Price knocked down a mid-range jumper followed by a 3-pointer from the top of the key from McCain and a pair of free throws from Price to make the score 40-34.
Five-star Duke signee Jared McCain goes off for 27 points and six rebounds in the win. (Photo: Sara Nevis)
Wagner and Bradshaw chipped in baskets for the Panthers to cut the Huskies advantage back to two points before a pair of layups from McCain and McBride made things 44-38.
Camden continued to battle back late in the third quarter as a 3-pointer from the left corner from Haskins preceded a left-handed layup for Wagner to cut the deficit to one point.
After Price converted all three free throw attempts after being fouled on his shot attempt, Haskins responded with a layup on the other end before McCain closed the quarter with a contested 3-pointer to give Centennial a 50-45 advantage.
McCain started the scoring in the fourth quarter by converting a layup and converting from the free throw line for a 3-point play the old fashion way before four-star UCLA signee
Devin Williams converted a layup to give Centennial a 55-45 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
Bradshaw and Wagner kept Camden in the game after each converted around the basket to cut the Huskies lead back to six points.
A 3-pointer from the left wing for McCain put the Golden State powerhouse back ahead by nine points prior to a basket on the other end from
Billy Richmond that made things 58-51.
Although Camden knocked down some shots in the final two minutes of the game, the Panthers ran out of time as a
Cian Medley 3-pointer at the buzzer cut the deficit to four points.
