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Ethan Tarte leads Camden into showdown with Haddonfield in South Jersey Group 2 final

The senior guard is a veteran of dramatic battles decided on last-second shots deep in the playoffs between the perennial powerhouse programs.

Senior guard Ethan Tarte leads Camden into Monday night's South Jersey Group 2 final vs. Haddonfield.
Senior guard Ethan Tarte leads Camden into Monday night's South Jersey Group 2 final vs. Haddonfield.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

At the first practice before the start of the state tournament, Camden coach Vic Carstarphen tossed the basketball -- both literally and figuratively -- to senior guard Ethan Tarte.

“I told him, ‘I’m putting the ball in your hands,'” Carstarphen said of Tarte.

A muscular, 6-foot-1 athlete, Tarte has led Camden to three straight victories and a berth in the South Jersey Group 2 championship game.

Camden (18-9) meets Haddonfield (28-1) in a renewal of an intense rivalry Monday night at Cherry Hill East.

Tarte was front and center for two memorable clashes in the previous two seasons between the powerhouse programs.

He was on the floor as a sophomore when then-senior John Evans made a floater as time expired in overtime to lift Camden to victory over Haddonfield in the 2017 South Jersey Group 2 final, the last game in Clarence Turner Gymnasium.

He was on the floor as a junior when Mike DePersia converted a putback as time expired in overtime to lift Haddonfield over Camden in the 2018 South Jersey Group 2 semifinals at Cherry Hill West.

Monday night’s highly anticipated game will be a rubber match of sorts between the programs. It also will either be the last game of Tarte’s career or perhaps the signature victory of his four-year varsity career.

“I feel like the hard work I put in the whole year, all four years, have prepared me for this,” Tarte said.

Tarte is one of just two seniors on a team that features sophomores such as Jerome Brewer and TaQuan Woodley as well as junior Lance Ware.

The 6-foot-9 Ware, who generated 15 points with 12 rebounds in the sectional semifinal win over Pleasantville, was a member of the Camden team that was stunned by Haddonfield last season.

“I definitely don’t want to have that feeling again,” Ware said. “I don’t want anybody on our team to have that feeling, especially not Ethan, our senior.”

Carstarphen said Tarte has taken control of the Panthers’ offense in postseason play.

“He had 11 assists the first [playoff] game,” Carstarphen said. “He had 13 assists the second game. He’s facilitating. He’s learning how to slow down with the ball. He’s seeing guys.”

Tarte recently picked up a scholarship offer from Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association with schools such as Winston-Salem State.

In Camden’s 77-54 win over Pleasantville on Friday night, Tarte generated 13 points with five rebounds and three assists.

He grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a bucket in the second quarter, then brought many in the large crowd of their feet with a three-point jumper off the move in the third quarter.

Tarte’s ballhandling, decision-making and leadership loom as keys to Camden’s chances against Haddonfield, the defending state champion and winner of 18 games in a row.

“They are a great coached team, very disciplined,” Tarte said of Haddonfield. “We have to be disciplined back and it will be a great game.”

Boys’ Basketball Public Sectional Finals

Monday

South Jersey Group 4

Millville at Cherokee, 5:30 p.m.

South Jersey Group 2

Camden vs. Haddonfield at Cherry Hill East, 7 p.m.

Tuesday

South Jersey Group 3

Mainland at Moorestown, 7 p.m.

Central Jersey Group 3

Burlington Twp. at Wall, 7 p.m.

South Jersey Group 1

Wildwood at Clayton, 6 p.m.

Central Jersey Group 1

Burlington City at Willingboro, 6 p.m.