NJSIAA playoffs: Road victory over top seed sends Middle to another South Jersey final, LCM fades in second half against powerful Camden

Posted: March 4th 2026

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

For high school basketball fans in Cape May County, there was the potential of a dream matchup in a South Jersey championship game.

But a Middle Township-Lower Cape May showdown in the Group II sectional final hasn’t come to fruition.

Middle was able to get through to the title game thanks to a win over the tournament’s top seed, but Lower Cape May was eliminated from the tournament with a loss to one of the state’s top programs in recent years.

(4) Middle Township 50, (1) Haddonfield 45: 

Middle checked into the South Jersey title game for the fourth straight season thanks to a victory over the Bulldogs in Haddonfield.

Middle (17-11) led almost from start to finish. Ahead 22-16 in the second quarter, the Panthers used a 9-2 run to take their largest lead of the game at 31-18. Chase Moore sank a three-pointer, Mason Murawski knocked down a 17-foot jumper, Alex Daniel drove for a layup and Kanye Perkins made a shot in the lane to account for Middle’s points during the run.

Haddonfield (25-5) surged in the second half and closed to within a point at 42-41 with 5:41 to go. But Middle responded with a Perkins dunk off a feed from Moore, before Perkins later returned the favor by dishing to Moore for a layup.

Haddonfield again closed to within a point on a layup with 1:20 to go but Daniel made a reverse layup off a pass from Murawski to up the lead to three points and Adam Bouabbache sealed the proceedings with a pair of free throws with 6.8 seconds to go.

Moore finished with 17 points to lead all scorers. Daniel added nine.

Mike Douglas led Haddonfield with 15 points.

Middle is seeking its second South Jersey title in four seasons on Friday. The Panthers beat Sterling to win the 2023 sectional title but have lost to Camden in the final in each of the past two seasons.

(2) Camden 62, (3) Lower Cape May 35: 

Camden jumped out to a 21-8 lead after one quarter before a 12-7 surge in the second period brought Lower to within eight at the break. But the Panthers went on to outscore Lower by 34-15 in the second half to pull away.

Ty Bonner posted 21 points and seven rebounds for Lower in his final high school game. He finishes his career with 1,438 points, good for fourth all-time at Lower Cape May.

Alex Pace scored 29 points and Keyshawn Franklin added 21 points for Camden (18-10).

The Caper Tigers, who won the Cape-Atlantic National Conference title, ended one of the more successful seasons in program history at 23-6.