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Wagner, Camden edge Imhotep in game that lives up to the hype

01/28/2023, 6:45pm EST
By Owen McCue

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)

HAWK HILL — How exactly Saturday ranks among some of the other great high school games in the city’s history will be decided in the years to come. 

There have been bigger venues, bigger stakes, and despite plenty of high-major talent on the floor even bigger talent (think LeBron James). But rarely has a game so hyped delivered a product that absolutely lived up to it.

The Imhotep and Camden boys basketball teams put on an incredible display in front of a sold out Hagan Arena, going back and forth through the entire game.

Behind its star Kentucky-bound guard, DJ Wagner, Camden eventually separated itself slightly in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers still had to hold their breath twice in the game’s final seconds before celebrating a 60-57 win.

“It just felt great, that’s the moments we all live for, playing games like this, with crowds like this, really having the whole city out,” said Wagner, who finished with a game-high 22 points. “Really all of our passion just showed in that second half of the game, and throughout the whole game, our passion came out, and it just showed on the court.”

(Click here to read more on Saturday's game from CoBL's Joe Santoliquito)


Camden senior DJ Wagner scored 22 points in a win over Imhotep. (Photo: Gavin Bethell/CoBL)

The game took months of planning and had plenty of trash talk leading up to it. Imhotep small forward Justin Edwards and Wagner, entered as ESPN’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players, respectively. Edwards’ recent jump over Wagner in the rankings added a little extra spice to the match up.

Both teams are consensus considered among the best in the country. Camden senior Aaron Bradshaw, Edwards and Wagner will all play at Kentucky next year; before that, they left those at St. Joe’s on Saturday with an all-timer. 

Neither team ever led by more than seven, and even that singular seven-point margin lasted about 10 seconds. 

Along with Wagner’s 22, senior forward Dasear Haskins and senior guard Cian Medley (Saint Louis) had 14 for Camden. Junior guard Ahmad Nowell poured in 20, senior guard Rahmir Barno (Florida Gulf Coast) 17 and Edwards had 16 for Imhotep.

The game came down to the wire. With the crowd on its feet after an Edwards putback poster slam pulled his team within one seconds earlier, he let a three fly in the final seconds that didn’t go through for Imhotep.

“You gotta ask those people out there,” Imhotep coach Andre Noble said when asked about the environment. “I thought it was an awesome environment. Of the games I’ve been in, we played Rysheed Jordan at Temple. That was crazy. I think this was crazier. These things, I guess this white hair and stuff and getting older, sometimes I think of things as more of a historian now, just being here so long and these things are like great. They’re things that you remember, things your kids get a chance to remember for a long time. I’m grateful for that.”

Neither side led by more than four points until Wagner converted an and-one with 20 seconds left in the third quarter, putting Camden ahead 40-35. Some uncalled contact on the preceding play seemed to lock in Wagner, who had 18 in the second half and 11 in the fourth.

“You know, that’s a part of the game, but my competitive spirit, it made me a little upset, it definitely made me go a little bit harder,” Wagner said. “It definitely motivated me.”

Edwards answered the basket with a turnaround at the third quarter buzzer to pull Imhotep within three, 40-37. Imhotep narrowed the gap to one, 43-42, before Wagner reeled off five straight  — and-one and two free throws after having another and-one opportunity roll out — to put his team ahead 48-42 with 4:25 to play.

He wound up scoring nine straight for Camden, which still held a six-point margin, 52-46, with about two and a half minutes left. He fed off the Camden crowd and they reciprocated with their cheers.

“When it’s winning time, he gets aggressive and we knew that,” Noble said. “We were trying to keep him in our traps, but he just keeps coming. He doesn’t stop. He just doesn’t stop. He’s gonna keep coming, keep coming, keep coming. We just didn’t do a good enough job.”


Imhotep junior Ahmad Nowell scored 20 points against Camden on Saturday. (Photo: Gavin Bethell/CoBL)

An assist from Wagner to Cian Medley gave Camden the largest lead of the game, 55-48, with 1:10 to play. Medley hobbled back down the court after the big shot. Despite a banged up leg, he wasn’t coming out of this one.

“I’m going to miss playing with my brothers in the environment like this, and it’s a blessing to play for a city that cares so much about basketball, that small city vs. this big city, they care just as much,” Medley said.

Some Camden fans near the court started waving goodbye to Imhotep after Medley’s shot, but the Panthers had a run in them. Nowell, who knocked down a pair of threes in the fourth, pulled his team within four, 55-51. Another three made 56-54 with 32.5 seconds left. 

After a pair of Wagner free throws, Edwards slammed in a putback dunk — 58-57 with 18 seconds left — and the crowd erupted.

Camden knocked down 1-of-2 attempts at the line, giving Imhotep the ball trailing by just two. Edwards decided to go for the win and pulled up from three on the left wing. The go-ahead look banked off the back of the rim and into Haskins’ arms with one second left. Barno got one last chance with a desperation heave down three, but it was no good and the Camden players celebrated with their fans on the court.

“I told them we competed hard and I also told them like JE, if we get a shot with Just Edwards to win a game, I’m gonna take that 10 times out of 10,” Noble said. “If it’s Ahmad or if it’s Rahmir, I’m not blinking about one of those guys getting a shot to win the game for us. 

“If that happens, we’re happy and when they don’t make them, we’re still gonna love them and the next game when we get a chance to do it the next game, we’re gonna do it again. We believe in those games and that’s not gonna change anything we do.”

Wagner’s father DaJuan and Camden traveled to Temple’s Apollo Center in 2000 to take on the late Eddie Griffin and Roman Catholic in one of the memorable matchups that predated Saturday’s. He said he’s certainly talked to his father about that one, which ended up a lopsided loss for Camden.

Not this one though. This matchup of two great squads lived up to the hype 

“He talks to me about all the experiences he had with Camden, just the city always coming out to show love and show support,” Wagner said. “That was definitely exciting, and we all were definitely excited for this game.”

By Quarter
Camden:  13  |  13  |  14  |  20  ||  60
Imhotep:   11  |  13  |  13  |  20  ||  57

Shooting
Camden: 20-41 FG (5-14 3PT), 15-18 FT
Imhotep: 21-55 FG (6-18 3PT), 9-10 FT

Scoring

Camden: D.J. Wagner 22, Dasear Haskins 14, Cian Medley 14, Aaron Bradshaw 8, Cornelius Robinson 2

Imhotep: Ahmad Nowell 20, Ramir Barno 17, Justin Edwards 16, Ma’Kye Taylor 4


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