Camelo shines in championship

“At the end of the day, if he’s hot, he’s hot. Parker has those games when he can just knock them down. He’s just such a good shooter. He really shined tonight.” ”

Head coach Jeff Grifka on junior guard Parker Camelo

It may have not been the Huskies game plan, but when junior guard Parker Camelo is red hot, you let him shoot. 

The Huskies guard scored 17 first half points to give Mt. Hope a 26-19 halftime lead that they never relinquished as they defeated Ponaganset 47-35 in the Division III State Championship at Rhode Island College on Sunday afternoon.

“I just knew it was my day,” Camelo said after the game. “I could kinda tell when I first walked into the gym. I took a few shots and they all fell for me.” 

“If he’s hot, he’s hot,” said Huskies head coach Jeff Grifka. “Parker has those games when he can just knock them down. He’s just such a good shooter. He really shined tonight.” 

The Huskies ended their season with a record of 19-2 and have now won two hoops championships under Coach Grifka in a four year span. The first was in 2019. It was the second time that Mt. Hope has beaten the Chieftains this season. The first was an overtime battle of undefeated teams. This time it was for the championship. 

"It feels awesome,” said Coach Grifka. “The team played so hard. I’m so fired up right now. They executed.” 

“This team has been resilient all year long,” he said. “They really stepped up defensively, to shut down Ponaganset the way that we did. We knew that they were going to have some three point opportunities. We needed to limit them, have a hand in their face and play hard inside. That’s what won it for us.” 

Senior forwards Bruce McGuire and Rick Julien were huge on the boards for the Huskies. The big men blocked shots and rebounded well all game long. McGuire grabbed 18 rebounds mostly on the defensive boards and Julien added five offensive boards. Junior guard Gavin Winn also chipped in with 10 rebounds. 

“They were big on the rebounding on defense and on offense,” said coach Grifka. “It’s unbelievable having someone like Bruce with as much talent as he does starting for me since he was a sophomore. He works so hard. He’s a great captain. He pushes his teammates and at the end of the day he really excelled today.” 

Camelo just started launching threes 

Mt. Hope point guard Josh deWolf dribbled up court and immediately passed over to Camelo who came out firing on the Huskies first possession and let off a three from the left side by the Ponaganset bench. 

Swish. 

The Mt. Hope crowd roared as the Huskies began the game with a 3-0 lead. 

Camelo netted five shots in a row for 14 points and senior forward Bruce McGuire added a layup as Mt. Hope sprinted out to a 16-10 first quarter lead. Camelo led all scorers with 20 points. Rick Julien scored 11, Josh deWolf scored 10, and McGuire scored 6 for Mt. Hope.

“That kid can shoot,” said McGuire, the team’s senior captain. “Parker just hit the first couple and I knew he’d be hot all game.” 

“Ponaganset keyed on Bruce,” Camelo said. “It really helped get me open. Bruce was the guy to find us all and kick it out to us. He’s played great all year. He got us here. I have to thank him for most of my shots.” 

In the second quarter, Camelo added his fifth three pointer of the game and the Huskies got to work on their inside game. Julien scored seven hard earned points driving to the basket and putting back rebounds. 

“Just following the game plan,” Julien said. “They told me to come out and play aggressive. Get boards and box out. That’s my job. I know my role. So I’ve just been doing it.” 

But the Huskies big man got into foul trouble and had to sit out the third quarter. Seniors Tom Nichols and Faceson Hicks filled in nicely as the game became a defensive battle in the third quarter. Camelo and deWolf each netted three pointers and the Huskies defense held the Chieftains to just six points.

Chieftains mount a comeback 

With Julien out, the Chieftains mounted a comeback led by junior guard Michael Stewart who scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. Stewart knocked down a three and a pair of jumpers as Ponaganset overcame a Huskies 32-16 lead to close within a bucket 33-31 with 4:33 left in the fourth quarter. 

Coach Grifka called a time out. 

“I told them to stay the course,” said Coach Grifka “Our game plan is the right game plan for us to excel in this game. Continue to play hard.” 

He also reinserted Julien after the break to try and stop the slide.

It worked. 

Julien made it 35-31 with a nifty right-handed layup off an inside pass from Gavin Winn. 

“I tried to stay composed and play smart defense,” Julien said. 

After a Huskies stop, Camelo stood dribbling on the left side of the three point line. A pair of Chieftains ran out to defend him and he quickly slid a pass to a wide open deWolf at the top of the arc. The Huskies senior point guard launched a bomb and drained it. 

Pandemonium rocked the RIC gymnasium. The Huskies were up 38-31 with 3:08 to play. 

“I have a lot of faith in Josh,” said Camelo. “I think that us, just trusting in each other, really helped.” 

Julien put back a jumper to make it 40-31. 

Then deWolf struck again from the top of the three point arc to give Mt. Hope a 43-31 lead with 2:27 left in the game. 

Stewart hit a jumper to cut the lead to 43-33 and Ponaganset head coach Dave Campbell called a time out. 

Coach Grifka drew up a play and sent the Huskies back out onto the court. 

McGuire started at the base line as deWolf got the ball from the referee to inbound the ball. The senior forward then bee-lined straight up court for the basket. deWolf heaved a Tom Brady like pass to the athletic forward and he caught the over the shoulder pass in stride. Mcguire drove towards the basket chased by guard Antonio Rambone. He elevated and dunked the ball. 

Coach Grifka punched his fist into the air. The bench and fans erupted in jubilation. 

McGuire was fouled before the shot, no matter, he made one of two free throws to put the Huskies up 44-33. McGuire added a jumper and another foul shot down the stretch. But the Chieftains were done and the Huskies had won the championship. 

“It feels incredible,” said Mcguire after the game. “My team deserves all the credit for this. I love these guys. We’ve come so far. We put in a lot of work and we really did earn this.”