Both Camden basketball teams have successful seasons
Ayona Alexander selected to SCBCA AAAA girls All-State team
Camden – The Camden High School boy basketball team finished the season with a 17-9 overall record, went 7-5 in the tough Region 3-AAAA and hosted a playoff game for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Head coach Sterling Council, who just completed his fourth season at his alma mater, hopes this was a foundational season for the Bulldogs.
“We made major progression and set the expectations of how we want to compete going forward,” Council said. “Overall, I felt good about the season. We took good strides and had some big wins.”
CHS doubled its win total, picking up just eight last year. It finished third in the 7-team region after finishing sixth. It also beat defending state champion Lancaster, which lost to region foe South Pointe in the Upper State championship game. Camden lost to South Pointe in both meetings, falling in overtime each time.
The Bulldogs were led by eighth-grader Jayden Lewis. He was selected to the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association AAAA All-State team. Along with being named to the All-Region team, Lewis was named the region’s Newcomer of the Year and was selected as one of the region’s top three players.
Lewis led the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game and assists at 2.3. He also had 1.2 steals.
Junior point guard Tyleek Jones was also named All-Region. He averaged 9.9 points, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.5 rebounds.
Senior Derrick Loney was the leading rebounder at 5.2 while averaging 4.7 points. Junior Ethan Spitler averaged 5.7 points and senior Jay Cook averaged 5.6 points.
CAMDEN GIRLS FIINISH 23-4
The Camden girls basketball team had another strong season, finishing 23-4 overall and reaching the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. The Bulldogs finished second to defending state champion South Pointe in the region with a 9-3 record.
Camden had easy wins in the first two games of the playoffs, beating Seneca 78-25 and Blue Ridge 78-50. The Bulldogs were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Westside by a 67-64 count.
Westside was playing for the state title after beating South Pointe for the Upper State crown. South Pointe handed Camden two of its other three losses with the other one coming to 16-9 A.C. Flora.
Senior Ayona “LA” Alexander was selected to the All-State team after averaging a double-double of 15.9 points and 10.9 rebounds. She also averaged 3.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocked shots.
She was joined on the All-Region first team by junior Braylin Mungo. Mungo led CHS in assists at 4.7 and steals at 3.8 to go with 10.9 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Juniors Shanaryah Wright, Harmony Jefferson and Jillian Rush were All-Region second team selections. Jefferson averaged 12.2 points and 2.3 steals, Rush averaged 11.4 points, 2.8 steals and 6.9 rebounds, and Wright averaged 6.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 steals.
Head Coach Lewis Mungo is happy with where the program is after his second season in charge, especially with Camden being in the AAA classification for the next two years after the recent reclassification.
“We are losing one senior (Alexander) and returning everyone else,” Coach Mungo said. “Going to AAA will be a boost for us. We will still play a very tough non-region schedule like every other year. The program is in good shape with the youth on the team.”
