Dajuan Wagner scores 100 points in game
BOB VIGGIANO
Courier-Post Staff
January 16 2001

CAMDEN, N.J. — Gloucester Township Technical School boys' basketball coach Rob Sweeney said he has never seen anything like it.

On Tuesday, Sweeney got an up-close look at a remarkable feat when Camden's Dajuan Wagner broke a state and South Jersey high school record by scoring 100 points as the Panthers rolled to a 157-67 win over the Warriors in an Olympic Conference National Division game.

"He was stroking it today," Sweeney said. "This is the first time I have ever been on the other end of something like this.

"When I coached at St. Mary's Hall, I had a girl score 72 points in a game and I thought that was unbelievable. But today, that kid was something else ... My kids played hard, but there is nobody in the state that can stop that kid."

Wagner's 100 points broke both the state and Camden school mark of 94 set by the Panthers' Greg Barr in 1994. Wagner also became just the 13th high school player in the nation to score 100 or more points in a game. The last player to hit 100 was Kenneth Johnson of Grandfield, Okla., in 1979, when he scored 105.

"I felt it today," Wagner said. "Once the game started, I knew I was going to have a good day."

Wagner was certainly on fire as he hit 42 of 60 from the field, including 10 from 3-point range. He added six free throws.

"That's the best I have ever seen him shoot in a game," Camden coach Glen Jackson said. "I have seen him shoot better in practice, but never in a game."

Jackson said he had mentioned to Wagner just before Sunday' s St. Augustine game that his shot was different. "I told him someone mentioned how he was dropping his arm when he was shooting," Jackson said. "I guess after today there was something to it."

"I hadn't noticed, but I was dropping my arm," Wagner said. "Today I concentrated on keeping my arm up and it worked."

Wagner scored 25 points in the first quarter and had 46 by halftime. By the end of the third quarter he had reached 72.

"I told him I was going to play him only three minutes of the fourth quarter," Jackson said. "But after just three minutes he was up to 90 and he asked if he could stay in until he hit 100.

"He has never asked me before to stay in a game to achieve a personal goal," Jackson added. "For all he has done for our program, I just couldn't refuse him. If any negativity comes out of this, I will accept full responsibility."

"Yes, I asked him to stay in and he let me," Wagner said. " Once I hit 100, he got me right out of there."

Camden, No. 1 in the Courier-Post Top 20 poll, improved to 10-0. Gloucester Tech fell to 2-7.

With his 100 points, Wagner raised his career total to 2, 704, the third highest in South Jersey history. With 14 games to play, he is 72 points away from breaking the Camden school mark of 2,775 established by Kevin Walls in 1984.

The Camden gym was still buzzing long after the game. For Tyree Jones, 16, it was a very memorable afternoon.

"I was just a little kid, but I saw Greg Barr score his 94 points and I thought that was something," Jones said. " But today was even more awesome. I'll never forget this game."

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