Paul VI tops rival Camden in Camden County title game for second year in a row

The Paul VI High School boys basketball team celebrates its win over Camden in the Camden County Tournament final at Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey on Sunday, February 22, 2026. Kevin Emmons/South Jersey Sports Zone

HADDONFIELD — Toussaint Malukila is in his second year as a student-athlete at Paul VI High School.

In each year he’s attended Paul VI, the 7-foot-2 sophomore has closed out the Camden County Tournament boys basketball championship with an emphatic two-handed slam dunk to put an exclamation point on each victory.

The top-seeded Eagles dominated Olympic Conference National Division rival Camden, 77-54, in the Camden County final on Sunday.

It was the second year in a row Paul VI defeated the Panthers in the county championship.

Malukila tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and two assists. His dominance in the third quarter helped Paul VI lead by as much as 19 on its home floor.

“Most of the time, the third quarter is usually our weak quarter,” Malukila said. “We worked on what our coaches said.”

The Eagles jumped out to a 9-0 lead and disrupted the Panthers’ offense with their two-three zone defense. The Panthers responded with an 8-0 run of their own, but never led at any point throughout the contest.

Paul VI’s game plan was to contain Camden’s leading scorer, Alex Pace, with a zone defense that put added coverage on the senior in half court sets. Pace still managed to score 21 points, but only one other player reached double figures for the Panthers.

“Alex is a great player,” Paul VI senior guard Will Spross said. “We had that two-three, but we really shadow around Alex. We know that if we take him out of the game our chances of winning the game go up a lot. We tried that defense the second game we played (a 46-40 win for Paul VI) and it worked really well for our team.”

Spross, a St. Joseph Academy (N.J.) transfer, was named the Camden County Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The 6-foot-3 senior charted a game-high 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the triumph. He scored 11 of his 23 in the second quarter.

“Honestly, it feels great, Spross said. “I knew I had a really good first half. I hit the first ‘3’ in transition and I was feeling good. My shot felt good.”

Spross has garnered interest from a handful of Ivy League and Division II schools. Holy Family, Jefferson and Lock Haven are a few of the schools that remain in contact.

Freshman Seth Dozier tallied 15 points, five assists, three rebounds and a steal for the Eagles. Daulton Phalines and Holden Cranston combined for nine points and 13 rebounds.

Sophomore Isaiah Thatcher added 11 points and three assists for Paul VI. His older sister, Paul VI senior and Penn commit Rachel Thatcher, was named the MVP of the Camden County girls basketball tournament. The Lady Eagles defeated Camden Catholic, 59-37, on Sunday.

Archbishop Ryan (Pa.) transfer Keyshawn Franklin finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Camden. Andre Robinson led the Panthers with eight rebounds.

Camden suffered its third loss to the Eagles this season. The Panthers have a 15-10 record and are the No. 2 seed in the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs. The defending S.J. Group 2 champions are scheduled to host Cinnaminson in the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday.

Paul VI, the consensus No. 1 team in South Jersey, improved its record 24-4. The Eagles’ quest for a sectional and state championship continues as the top seed in the South Jersey Non-Public A playoffs.

They are also the best in Camden County for a second year in a row.

“Back-to-back,” Malukila said. “It feels so great.”