BOYS HOOPS: Camel's clutch shot dooms Shippensburg

GETTYSBURG -- It wasn't exactly the final play Gettysburg had drawn up.

The Warriors were trailing Shippensburg by two points with 7.3 seconds remaining in Friday's opening game of the Gettysburg Tip-Off tournament. Coach Jeff Bair wanted to get the ball to top 3-point shooter Max Lampe, but the script changed once the ball ended up in Marquise Camel's hands.

"I was trying to get it to Max, but I couldn't even see him," Camel said. "I went off of my man and pump-faked him to try to get the foul shots."

Camel did draw the foul, but only after he drained an incredible 3-pointer as he was knocked to the floor, giving Gettysburg a thrilling 57-55 opening night win.

Afterward, Camel couldn't stop smiling as he tried to process what had happened.

"I couldn't even see behind the dude when I shot it," Camel said. "I threw it up, and I guess I made it. I saw the ref (motion for a foul) and I was like, 'Was that an and-1 three?'”

Camel's incredible four-point play ended a thrilling back-and-forth game that changed leads multiple times in the fourth quarter. It might not have been exactly how they drew it up, but the Warriors are 1-0.

Shippensburg coach Ray Staver said, “We had two fouls to give, and we had a chance to foul him before he took the shot. But we waited until he went up for the shot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shot like that before. He shot it from his hip and it was a line drive all the way.”

Bair said, "I really thought it was a great, well-played game both ways. We could have packed it in a couple of times but we kept battling, kept finding a way."

Although Camel finished the game with 14 points, he struggled to get his shot to fall early on. But the senior still made an impact by setting up his teammates, especially Lampe, who scored 18 points and hit five 3-pointers in the first half.

The Warriors were up 30-23 at halftime before surviving a strong Shippensburg comeback led by Wade Mills, who scored 19 points, including a put-back dunk that gave Shippensburg its 55-53 lead before the thrilling finale.

Staver said, “They are athletic and good, and we were down by seven at halftime. But we played better in the second half. I think that two-point lead was our biggest of the game.”

Shuntan Hickman had 15 points for Ship and Teagan Staver had eight boards.

In the first game, New Oxford fell to Cedar Cliff, 75-53. The Greyhounds will face the Colonials at 6 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Colts vs. Gettysburg.

Gettysburg 57, Shippensburg 55

Shippensburg (55)

Wade Mills 6 7-9 19, Teagan Staver 0 5-8 5, Shuntan Hickman 5 2-2 15, Carter Van Scyoc 2 0-0 5, Payton Fridinger 2 0-0 5, Cody Gustafson 2 2-2 6. Totals — 17 16-21 57

Gettysburg (57)

Marquise Camel 5 3-3 14, Max Lampe 6 1-2 18, Ravaughn Dillard 4 3-3 11, Connor Weikert 3 0-0 8, Devin Ringler 2 0-0 4, Tyson Sherman 1 0-0 2. Totals — 21 7-8 57

Ship _ 14 _ 9 _ 19 _ 13 _ — _ 55

Getttysburg _ 18 _ 12 _ 15 _ 12 _ — _ 57

3-point goals — Shippensburg 5 (Hickman 3, Van Scyoc, Fridinger) Gettysburg 8 (Lampe 5, Weikert 2, Camel).