The Bulldawgs defeated Lower Cape May Regional High School, 63–45, in Monday’s South Jersey Group II championship game.
Haddonfield Memorial High School senior Will Bond’s basketball season was going strong entering a Jan. 16 game against Audubon High School. Bond was the team’s second-leading scorer in 2016–17 and had opened the 2017–18 season with double-digit points in eight of his first nine games.
However, on Jan. 16, it appeared Bond’s high school basketball career may have been over when he broke his left wrist.
A little more than a month later, as Haddonfield’s playoff run began, Bond’s season got a second wind.
“It’s my last year playing here,” he said. “We lost (two of the last three) years in the finals and I just wanted to win.”
Bond returned to practice with the team just prior to the start of playoffs and played in two of the Bulldawgs early round playoff games. However, it was in Monday’s South Jersey Group II championship game against Lower Cape May Regional High School where Bond showed the Haddonfield fans he was truly back. Bond finished second on the team with 14 points and helped the Bulldawgs to a 63–45 win to give the boys basketball program its first sectional championship since 2007.
“I had no idea we would be back here,” Bond said. “It feels great to be here.”
Bond’s effort during the sectional final symbolized the resiliency of the Bulldawgs over the course of the 2017–18 season. Bond was just one of a number of Haddonfield players who were injured at some point during the season. The injuries, coupled with the Bulldawgs playing the entire season away from home due to their school gym being under renovation, made the 2017–18 season unlike any other they had experienced.
“For these guys to win it with all the stuff we’ve been through with no gym, practice at the middle school, guys getting hurt, these guys were destined for something great this year,” head coach Paul Wiedeman said.
“A lot of people looked over us,” junior Mike DePersia said. “They said we were a walking injury early in the year. They said we weren’t big enough, they said we weren’t strong enough.”
DePersia was Haddonfield’s leading scorer this season, averaging a little more than 13 points per game. In the playoffs, he turned things up a notch, scoring 58 points in Haddonfield’s four games in the South Jersey Group II tournament.
DePersia saved his finest moment for the Bulldawgs’ sectional semifinal game against Camden High School on March 3. DePersia finished second on his team with 18 points and scored the game-winning bucket in overtime to lead the Bulldawgs to a 54–53 win. The win ended Camden’s run of four consecutive South Jersey Group II titles.
Though the team was excited to finally beat Camden after losing to them in the sectional finals in 2015 and 2017, the Bulldawgs made sure to remain focused for the sectional final game against Lower Cape May.
“We had to re-focus because there were a lot of upsets in our bracket,” Bond said. “The one seed went down, everyone was going down, so we had to play every game like it was Camden. We had the same energy every game.”
Haddonfield stormed out of the gate on Monday, going on a 12–0 run to open the game and leading 16–4 after the first quarter. The deficit would never get closer than 12 points as the Bulldawgs dominated the rest of the way.
“We definitely wanted to start off fast,” said DePersia, who scored six points in the opening quarter of the game. “We didn’t want them around the whole game. We were up 15, 20 most of the second half, that’s how we wanted it.”
Haddonfield’s win in the sectional final was a true team effort, with six players scoring seven or more points. Wiedeman felt his team’s effort showcased what made them strong throughout the season.
“We have a lot of depth,” he said. “We have a lot of good players. We have a lot of guys who can be starters for other teams.”
As good as the sectional title is, the Bulldawgs are hungry for more. DePersia believes the team’s momentum could carry them to a state title, something Haddonfield hasn’t won since 2006.
“We’re not satisfied right now,” DePersia said. “We’re trying to go to Rutgers. We want rings. We want a state championship.”
