Two defending boys basketball state champions are withdrawing from the NJSIAA state playoffs following a melee during the first-ever Camden County basketball tournament finals.

Camden High and Camden Eastside have been withdrawn from the upcoming state boys basketball playoffs by the Camden City School District following an on-court fight during Thursday night’s Camden County Tournament championship game. Camden led Eastside 30-17 in the second quarter when a punch thrown on the court led to a chaotic situation. The game was canceled without being completed. Jersey Sports Zone’s Mike Frankel was covering the game and got reaction from Eastside coach Kenny Avent afterwards:

Camden coach Maalik Wayns released a statement on social media after the decision:

“On behalf of the Camden High School basketball team, I want to sincerely apologize to the fans, parents, family and community or the incident last night at the Camden vs. Eastside basketball game. In the midst of an intense rivalry between 2 great schools, emotions got involved, leading to a heated situation which should have never occurred. I take full responsibility for the actions of our team and have already begun the work to further educate our players and staff to better handle these situations.  Physical violence is never the answer and won’t be tolerated under any circumstances. I will work tirelessly to make this a life lesson for all of our players.”

Camden was the #2 seed in South Jersey Group 2 and was set to play 15th seed Lindenwold on Tuesday. Eastside was the #2 seed in South Jersey Group 3 and was set to play #15 Clearview on Monday.  Clearview and Lindenwold both advance to the next round as a result o this decision. The Camden School District made the decision to withdraw both schools before a ruling from the NJSIAA which was expected to come before the start of the state playoffs on Monday.

The NJSIAA released a statement after the Camden school district’s decision:

“The NJSIAA welcomes the decision by the Camden City School District to remove both its teams – Camden High and Camden Eastside High School  – from the boys basketball tournament. This decision which follows an altercation involving both teams, is consistent with established NJSIAA rules that would have eliminated the two teams from tournament play. Moving forward, Lindenwold, which was set to face Camden and Clearview, schedule to play Eastside, will both receive forfeit wins and advance to the next round.”

Camden is the reigning Group 2 state champion and Eastside is the reigning Group 3 state champion. The high school careers of McDonald’s All-Americans DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw come to a close. Both are signed to play at the University of Kentucky.

Full Statement from Camden Superintendent Katrina McCombs

“In the Camden City School District, we pride ourselves on sculpting scholar-athletes and students that understand the importance of character and integrity. Our number one objective at the district is to raise students that meet the standards that we set for society and that we want our very own children to embody.

“Nevertheless, last night, at the Cherry Hill High School East gym those standards were severely undermined by an incident between Camden High School and Eastside High School during the championship game of the Camden County Basketball Tournament. Let me be clear, I am saddened and disappointed with the conflict from last night, but I believe we need to make this a learning experience for our student body. Furthermore, we know meaningful action must be taken and it must be done swiftly which is why the District will be withdrawing both teams from NJSIAA tournament play. This initiative is being taken to ensure that our scholar-athletes know that accountability for their actions is paramount not only in basketball but also in the larger game of life. In short, the district and the students fully understand the infractions that took place at last night’s game.

“The students involved in the incident from both schools have had a tremendous season and have worked incredibly hard to be successful. We are not taking away any of the prior successes they have had this year, but we want them to know their actions have consequences.

“That said, even though we will be making this a growth opportunity for our students, we will also continue to contest the unfounded allegations being investigated by the NJSIAA.”