Salem girls fall to Millville in their first Classic showcase, they’ll return Wednesday to play Oakcrest seeking their first win
BOARDWALK CLASSIC Girls Games Millville 44, Salem 27 Lower Cape May vs. Hammonton Wednesday’s Games Hammonton vs. Cape May Tech, 10 a.m. Oakcrest vs. Salem, 11:30 a.m. Kingsway vs. Absegami, 1 p.m. Nazareth Academy (Pa.) vs. Methacton (Pa.), 2:30 p.m. Lower Cape May vs. Delsea, 4:15 p.m. Barnegat vs. Wildwood, 5:45 p.m. Padua Academy (Del.) vs. Polytech (Del.), 7:15 p.m.
By Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – The Salem girls played their opponent even in the second half, but a slow start doomed them in a 42-27 loss to Millville in Tuesday’s Atlantic Ocean Showcase of the Boardwalk Basketball Classic at the Wildwood Convention Center.
The Rams were held to only one field goal in the first quarter, 10 points in the first half, and fell behind 25-10 at halftime. But after the break they played the Thunderbolts point for point, 17-17.
Leading scorer Brooke Joslin scored 10 of her season-high 18 points in the first half, including both of her 3-pointers. Ryann Foote led Salem with nine points.
Foote and Marissa Bower each had five points for the Rams in the second half.
The Rams (0-3) play here again Wednesday against Oakcrest at 11:30 a.m.
Devine Arce (120), Trey Brown (150) and Isaiah Upshur (190) all went 3-0 Saturday in the Schalick/Cumberland Duals Tournament and the Red Devils finished seventh out of eight teams.
Arce scored three pins, Brown and Upshur had a pair of pins and a forfeit win.
The Red Devils beat Clayton 51-24, tied with third-place West Windsor-Plainsboro North 42-42 but lost the match in criteria (fewer forfeits) and lost to Schalick/Cumberland 60-24. SC Wrestling finished fifth.
Woodstown also competed Saturday in a quad meet at Mainland.
PENNS GROVE 51, CLAYTON 24 120: Devine Arce (PG) pinned Ryan Bivens, 0:39 126: William Camp (C) pinned Daymin Garnett, 0:36 132: Conrad Raynor (C) won by forfeit 138: Antonio Mendez (C) won by forfeit 144: Nasir Garris (PG) dec. Jason Scalia, 13-7 150: Anthony Brown (PG) won by forfeit 157: Jayden Owens (PG) pinned Jacob Turpin, 0:26 165: Antonio Garris (PG) won by forfeit 175: Clinton Bobo (PG) won by forfeit 190: Isaiah Upshur (PG) won by forfeit 215: Antonio Cooper (PG) pinned Lucas Freeman, 0:30 285: Kasalon Carr (C) pinned Sumir Brown, 1:34 106: Double forfeit 113: Sultan Harris (PG) won by forfeit
SCHALICK 60, PENNS GROVE 24 113: DeAnthony Harden (S) pinned Sultan Harris, 1:20 120: Devin Arce (PG) pinned Jeff Marguglio, 0:27 126: Colin Bittle (S) pinned Daymin Garnett, 2:47 132: Luke Silva (S) won by forfeit 138: Chase Williams (S) won by forfeit 144: Daniel Lloyd (S) pinned Nasir Garris, 3:07 150: Anthony Brown (PG) pinned Ayden Jenkins, 5:07 157: Ricky Watt (S) pinned Jayden Owens, 3:44 165: Koen Martin (S) pinned Antonio Garris, 0:58 175: Jake Magonagle (S) pinned Clinton Bobo, 5:37 190: Isaiah Upshur (PG) pinned Gabriel Rodriguez, 1:47 215: Isaiah Underwood (PG) pinned Dean Jost, 1:47 285: Aiden Torres (S) pinned Antonio Cooper, 0:50 106: Victor Fenske (S) won by forfeit
WW-PLAINSBORO NORTH 42, PENNS GROVE 42 (WW-PN wins on criteria) 106: Aarit Ray won by forfeit 113: Dylan Gurram pinned Sultan Harris, 1:49 120: Devin Arce (PG) pinned Josyah Deforest, 0:45 126: Zachary Owens pinned Daymin Garnett, 1:42 132: Austin Coyle won by forfeit 138: Brayden Woodward won by forfeit 144: Nasir Garris (PG) pinned Arnav Katiyar, 4:55 150: Anthony Brown (PG) pinned Ashutosh Tripathi, 0:29 157: Evan deJong pinned Jayden Owens, 1:18 165: Antonio Garris (PG) pinned Theo Johnson, 1:03 175: Clinton Bobo (PG) pinned Julian Sanchez, 2:20 190: Darren deJong pinned Isaiah Underwood, 2:58 215: Isaiah Upshur (PG) pinned Krish Saini, 5:32 285: Antonio Cooper (PG) pinned Aditya Tripathi, 0:49
Holiday tournaments highlight the schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Dec. 25-30
DEC. 26 BASKETBALL Girls Battle of the Boards Wildwood Convention Center Salem vs. Millville, 1 p.m.
DEC. 27 BASKETBALL Girls Battle at Buena Pennsville vs. Pemberton, 11 a.m.
Battle of the Boards Wildwood Convention Center Salem vs. Oakcrest, 11:30 a.m.
ACIT Tournament Salem Tech vs. Camden Tech, 10 a.m. GCIT vs. ACIT, 1 p.m.
Boys Battle at Buena Pennsville vs. Camden Academy Charter, 1 p.m.
ACIT Tournament Salem Tech vs. Camden Tech, 11:30 a.m. GCIT vs. ACIT, 3:30 p.m.
Bayonne Tournament Salem vs. Charlestown, 4 p.m. West Orange at Bayonne, 5:30 p.m.
Warrior Classic, New Egypt Pinelands at New Egypt, 3:30 p.m. Woodstown vs. Steinert, 5:30 p.m. WRESTLING Audubon, Northern Burlington at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
INDOOR TRACK Woodstown at Ocean Breeze Complex, Staten Island, N.Y.
DEC. 28 BASKETBALL Girls Battle at Buena Pemberton vs. Buena Pennsville vs. Camden Academy
ACIT Tournament Consolation: Salem Tech vs. GCIT, 10 a.m. Championship: Camden Tech vs. ACIT, 1 p.m.
Wolverine Holiday Tournament at Woodstown Highland vs. Paulsboro, 10 a.m. Bridgeton vs. Woodstown, noon
Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. St. Dominic, 5:45 p.m.
Boys Penns Grove vs. Vineland at Delsea, 4 p.m. Battle at Buena Pennsville vs. Buena Camden Academy vs. LEAP
Warrior Classic, New Egypt Pinelands vs. Steinert Woodstown vs. New Egypt
ACIT Tournament Consolation: Salem Tech vs. ACIT, 11:30 a.m. Championship: Camden Tech vs. GCIT, 3:30 p.m.
Salem in Bayonne Tournament Consolation: Salem vs. West Orange, 2 p.m. Championship: Charlestown (Mass.) vs. Bayonne, 3:30 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville in Overbrook Tournament Schalick in Clayton Classic
DEC. 29 BASKETBALL Girls Wolverine Holiday Tournament at Woodstown Consolation game, 10 a.m. Championship game, noon WRESTLING Pennsville vs. Barnegat
DEC. 30 BASKETBALL Girls Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. Ocean City, 2:30 p.m. Boys Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. Lower Cape May, 5:45 p.m.
Penns Grove feels better about its progress after playing better in the second half of loss to Cherokee
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – This wasn’t the way Damian Ware wanted to go into Christmas, but he felt a lot better about it the way his Penns Grove basketball team played in the second half Saturday.
The Red Devils played the last game in the county before the holidays and lost to Group IV Cherokee 45-38. It would have been a completely blue Christmas until picked up their game and won the second half.
“We never have moral victories – we always want to get the win,” Ware said. “However, we’re still growing and learning as a team, so we can take this and look at the positives that are going to come out of it like guys coming out of a slump and understanding how hard we have to actually play. We played hard in the second half.
“We’re getting there. If we can bottle up those good positions and play them for 32 minutes, we’re going to be so tough to deal with.”
The snapping out of a slump part belong to Mehki Ballard. He broke out with three 3s, two in the fourth quarter when he scored eight of his team-high 11 points. Ballard hit 59 3s last season, but hadn’t made any in the Red Devils’ first four games this season.
“I just got more comfortable,” he said. “In the first half I had to get comfortable because I was coming off the bench, so when I got in I knew I had to make shots for our team so we could come back and try to win the game.
“We came in here (at halftime) and knew we had to play harder if we wanted to get back into the game or win the game. When we came in (Ware) told us we had to turn it up the second half.”
Ballard’s stroke got a boost after he went through a form shooting drill Friday in which he couldn’t move to a new spot until he had made 10 shots all net.
The game marked the first this season the Red Devils opened the game with the same starters as the game before – because it produced a win. The group gave them an early lead (5-4), but as the half wore on it was evident they needed more scoring. They went with a different five to open the second half and it gave them a spark.
The Red Devils managed only 14 points in the first half and trailed by nine at halftime but it felt like a lot more. The margin was 14 early in the fourth quarter, but they got it back to nine with two minutes to play.
“We’re finding guys who we know are going to play tough, hard, physical and execute,” Ware said. “We found a little something in the second quarter today and we kind of stuck with it. Sometimes we may need a defensive lineup, sometimes we may need an offensive lineup; it’s fluid.”
The Chiefs got most of their points and all of their 3-pointers from Louis Galasso (18) and Judd Holt (16). They combined for 19 points in the first half.
CHEROKEE 45, PENNS GROVE 38 CHEROKEE (3-2) – Will Carr 2 1-2 5, Dan Leonard 0 0-0 0, Jared Bell 0 4-6 4, Tom Pajic 0 1-2 1, Mike Atlee 0 1-2 1, Sam Levin 0 0-0 0, Brian Magee 0 0-0 0, Jordan Hernandez 0 0-0 0, Corey Mazur 0 0-0 0, Rocco Natali 0 0-0 0, Darwin Walker 0 0-0 0, Judd Holt 7 0-0 16, Louis Galasso 7 1-2 18. Totals 16 8-14 45. PENNS GROVE (2-3) – Brandon Robbins 1 0-0 3, Roman Gipson 2 1-2 5, Giomar Conrad 4 0-0 10, KaRon Ceaser 2 2-4 6, Willie Slocum 0 3-4 3, Mekhi Bullard 3 2-3 11, Camron Thompson 0 0-0 0, Luis Colon 0 0-0 0, Khiry Higgs 0 0-0 0, Mr Peterson 0 0-0 0, Jaden Sorrell 0 0-0 0, Neziah Spence 0 0-0 0, Will Roy 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-13 38.
Cherokee
10
13
8
13 –
45
Penns Grove
8
6
7
17 –
38
3-point goals: Cherokee 5 (Holt 2, Galasso 3); Penns Grove 6 (Robbins, Conrad 2, Ballard 3). Fouled out: Ballard. Total fouls: Cherokee 10, Penns Grove 14.
Girls roundup: Sophomore-laden Schalick uses big second half to take down LEAP; Woodstown, Pennsville, Penns Grove all win with big second halves or fourth quarters
THURSDAY GIRLS SCORES Salem County Schalick 51, LEAP 28 Penns Grove 52, Cloucester Co. Christian 36 Pennsville 47, GCIT 35 Woodstown 57, Clearview 54
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – John Whalen saw the future of Schalick girls basketball in the second half of Thursday night’s game and he had to admit it looked pretty good.
The Cougars have a young team, but they played like veterans on this night. They already led by five at halftime, but outscored LEAP Academy 33-15 in the second half to earn their first win of the season 51-28.
“That showed the potential this group has,” Whalen said. “They pretty much are all sophomores. They’re very young so I think that highlights the potential this team can have.”
Their 33 second-half points were more than the Cougars (1-2) had scored in their first two games of the season combined.
“The talk at halftime was just picking up some aggression and communication on defense and looking to get the ball inside on offense,” Whalen said. “We came out the second half and the girls did an excellent job jumping passing lanes, getting a lot of steals, some fast-break layups. We started to transition a lot more, get the ball up the floor, and find Ava (Scurry) and Cianna (Gaines) inside for some layups.”
Scully and Cali Fisler shared team scoring honors with 14 points each. Scully scored 10 of her points in the second half and Fisler had nine. Carly Vicente had 13.
“The future is bright,” Whalen said. “I think if the girls stick with it … the next couple years down the road could be where we are back to our competitive years where we have been in the past.”
WOODSTOWN 57, CLEARVIEW 54: Talia Battavio hit two free throws with less than five seconds left on the clock to seal the Wolverines’ second straight victory in a game that had more ups and downs than an elevator.
The Wolverines trailed by 10 at halftime, but opened the third quarter with a 16-0 run and took a nine-point lead into the fourth. The Pioneers rallied to tie the game at 50, but the Wolverines made the last push.
Leading scorers Battavio (26 points) and Megan Donelson (20) both hit field goals to move the Red Devils out front and then they hit three of four free throws to lock it down.
Shannon Pierman kept the ball alive with an offensive rebound on the missed free throw with five seconds left and the Wolverines up by a point. The ball got to Battavio, who was fouled and went to the line for the free throws that sealed the game.
PENNS GROVE 52, GLOUCESTER CHRISTIAN 36: The teams were locked in a tight battle for three quarters, but the Red Devils pulled away by outscoring the Conquerors 21-2 in the fourth quarter for their fourth straight win to remain undefeated.
The Red Devils got 45 points from their three big weapons. RaNiyah Wilson led the way with 17 points, Brianna Robbins had 16 and Meely Horace had 12 (all in the second half). They combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter.
3-point goals: GCC 2 (Karamisakis 2); Penns Grove (Wilson 2, Robbins). Total fouls: GCC 9, Penns Grove 8
PENNSVILLE 47, GCIT 35: The Eagles got off to a fast start, then survived a scare in the third quarter before pulling away.
Nora Ausland led three Pennsville scorers in double figures with 17 points. Marley Wood had 15 and Bella Farina, scoring for the first time this season, had 10. Ausland had eight of her points in the fourth quarter.
Penns Grove has been shuffling lineups all season in hopes of finding the right combination; freshman’s defense sparks Pennsville’s fourth-quarter comeback, Woodstown wins, Schalick falls
THURSDAY’S BOYS SCORES LEAP 52. Schalick 44 Penns Grove 69, Salem Tech 56 Pennsville 61, GCIT 52 Woodstown 59, Cumberland 24
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Damian Ware is still trying to get a handle on his young Penns Grove basketball team and that usually means a plethora of starting lineups before hitting on the one that sticks for the rest of the year.
Ware rolled out his fourth different starting lineup in as many games Thursday night and it produced the Red Devils’ second win of the season, 69-56 over Salem Tech.
“We’re just tooling around with stuff early in the season, plus giving guys an opportunity to play who really haven’t played that many minutes yet,” Ware said. “I’m figuring guys out. I’m figuring out who can play well with who. I’m figuring out whether we should play with two bigs or one big.
“It’s all experimental at this point in the season. It’s really an extended preseason of sorts. I just want to see what all my guys got. I got 14 guys on the team, so I want to see what all of them got in extended minutes, so that’s what we were all about today.”
Up to now, Ware has been starting any combination of four guards with one big. One game he started all guards. The lineup against Thursday featured two bigs for the first time and it gave the Red Devils a defensive bent against their hosts. They held the Chargers to 16 points in the first half while building a 34-16 halftime lead.
The same group started the second half.
The new starter in this mix was Jaden Sorrell, a 6-4 senior who “did a decent job” playing the 5 alongside 6-3 senior Willie Slocum. Sorrell scored four points — all in the second half — grabbed a couple rebounds and blocked a couple shots before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Slocum scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
“It was good because I had more opportunities because I was the 4,” Slocum said. “Other games I was the 5, so it was nice.
“We’ve just got to find the five toughest guys. To me, if I’m not playing that way, the next man up. If somebody else is not playing that way, next man up. We’ve got to five tough guys.”
As that search continues, Ware said it was “very possible” the Red Devils will start even another combination when they host Cherokee Saturday afternoon.
Salem Tech coach Bryan Riley expected to see Roman Gipson among their starters as he was when Riley saw them in the all-guard lineup in person last Saturday, but he didn’t sweat it. He still had to send his guys out there against whomever was on the floor.
The Chargers fell behind 55-30 after three quarters, but they brought it back in the fourth against the Red Devils’ young reserves. Haneef Frisby led the charge with 13 of his game-high 21 points.
“He and Antoine Robinson go back and forth,” Riley said. “We just played Gloucester Catholic, Antoine was the guy that game (16 points). The game before we played GCIT, Haneef was the guy (14). We played Schalick for opening day, Antoine was the guy (19). So, those two just go back and forth.
“I need them both on the same level and once we get that it’s going to be special.”
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Conrad, Spence, Robbins); Salem Tech 2 (Hayes, Robinson). Fouled out: Sorrell. Total fouls: Penns Grove 25, Salem Tech 17. Officials: Woody, McGough.
PENNSVILLE 61, GCIT 52: If you’re occupying a seat on the Pennsville varsbench you’re expected to contribute when your name is called.
Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky called upon Mason O’Brien for a very specific task in the fourth quarter and the freshman delivered in a veteran way.
It was O’Brien’s job to put a wrench in GCIT scoring machine Mark Hallman as the “one” in the rare box-and-one the Eagles threw out there when nothing else seemed to work. O’Brien held Hallman scoreless the entire quarter and it helped the Eagles rally from five points down to snap a two-game losing streak.
“We put freshman Mason O’Brien on him and we said, ‘Son, you’ve got one job – lock him down,’” Mecholsky said. “He held the kid scoreless in the fourth quarter, let us get our feet and then we came down and executed on offense.
“I went with him because he’s fast afoot, he knows the game of basketball. He’s a freshman by grade … but he’s a little bit older than a freshman (in game sense), but we made it very simple for him. We said stay between (Hallman) and the ball and he was awesome.”
Hallman, who went for 30 against Salem Tech on Monday and was averaging 19.5 coming into the game, had 14 points with four 3-pointers over the first three quarters, but he got nothing in the fourth. Pennsville, meanwhile, outscored GCIT in the quarter 26-12 to beat the Group IV Cheetahs and gain a lot of valuable power points.
“(Mecholsky) told me to do one thing and not allow him to score a point,” O’Brien said. “I tried my best and I exactly did what he asked me to do.
“I just had to stay really close to him, had to follow him around. I tried my best not to let him get the ball. He didn’t do anything against me.”
O’Brien didn’t get a lot of playing time in the first half, but the Eagles were getting players in foul trouble and needed a fresh body. With Chase Burchfield out with a separated shoulder, O’Brien was the next man up.
“It felt great because I’m a freshman and people don’t think I’m that good or anything and I cone through and helped my team get a big win in the early-season going to Christmas break,” he said. “It felt amazing helping my team and my teammates out today.”
O’Brien’s older brother, Peyton, had a three-point play in the rally that extended the Eagles’ lead to five. They were his only points for the game, but he ripped down 14 rebounds. Jayden Thomas led the Eagles with a career-high 17 points, 10 coming in the fourth quarter.
Pennsville had been mired in a shooting slump during its two-game losing streak, but broke out in this one. The Eagles were 18-for-42 from the field (2-of-12 from 3-point range) and 23-for-31 from the foul line, a product of their attacking the rim.
PENNSVILLE 61, GCIT 52 GCIT (2-3) – Trent Phillips 4 3-4 11, Michael Stanwood 8 0-0 17, Mark Hallman 5 0-0 14, Charles Donaldson 1 0-2 2, Patrick Monaghan 1 0-0 2, Carl Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Ian Malgapo 2 0-0 6, Brady Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 3-6 52 PENNSVILLE (2-2) – Luke Wood 5-5-15, Cohen Petrutz 1-3-5, Peyton O’Brien 1-1-3, Daniel Saulin 2-3-7, Jayden Thomas 6-13-17, Malik Rehmer 1-7-9, Mason O’Brien 2-1-5. Totals 18 23-31 61.
WOODSTOWN 59, CUMBERLAND 24: Rocco String started fast, scoring eight in the first quarter and 10 in the first half, as the Wolverines built a 15-point halftime lead and added to it.
String, a 6-6 junior, was among three Wolverines to score in double figures and had his second double-double in as many games with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Bialecki had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals and Max Webb had 10 points, seven boards and five assists.
WOODSTOWN 59, CUMBERLAND 24 WOODSTOWN (2-0) – Manny Ortega 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 6 0-0 14, Alejandro Vasquez 1 0-0 2, M.J. Hall 3 0-0 9, Garrett Leyman 3 0-0 6, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 3, Max Webb 4 0-0 10, Rocco String 5 3-6 13, Zyaire Caesar 0 0-0 0, Elijah Caesar 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 3-6 59. CUMBERLAND (0-2) – Kaleb Green 3 2-2 9, D.J. Mosley 3 0-0 6, Stephen Wilchensky 1 2-2 4, Jalen Stewart 0 0-0 0, Marcus Fortune 0 0-0 0, Deshaan Williams 0 2-2 2, Dumajze Cartwright 0 0-0 0, James Guaciaro 0 0-0 0, Khalif Dawkins 1 0-0 3, Kevin Fiorani 0 0-0 0, Kam Fiorani 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 6-6 24.
Woodstown’s Garrett Leyman (10) puts up a shot in the lane against the pressure of two GCIT defenders. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
LEAP 52, SCHALICK 44: LEAP Academy hasn’t won many games in recent years, so any victory is reason to celebrate.
The Lancers won only two games last season, but they won their second game this season with their come-from-behind victory over the Cougars.
Schalick had an early lead in the game, but LEAP rallied and seized control in the second quarter. Xavion Ayala led LEAP with 22 points. Nylan and Nasir Simmons led Schalick with 12 points apiece.
Pennsville swamps Salem, rallies twice to trim Egg Harbor Twp. in Wednesday wrestling
PENNSVILLE – Trevor Waddington’s pin over Marco Florian at 285 clinched Pennsville’s 39-36 victory over Egg Harbor Twp. Wednesday and set up the Eagles’ sweep of the night. They also swamped Salem 64-0.
The Eagles rallied from 15-0 and 24-21 deficits against EHT. Robbie McDade’s 18-second pin at 157 gave them the lead the first time, then after falling behind again they clinched the match with a forfeit victory (190) and pins by Elias Lussi (215) and Waddington (285).
Waddington also scored a pin in the Salem match.
PENNSVILLE 39, EGG HARBOR TWP. 36 120: Tyler Thomas (E) won by forfeit 126: Peter Steed (E) pinned Christopher Daniels, 4:40 132: Dugan Matthew (E) dec. Randy Hall, 7-5 138: Travis Hagan (P) won by forfeit 144: Joseph Maurer (P) pinned Tyler Schumacker, 1:29 150: Sky Eppes (P) dec. Clarence Mays, 5-3 157: Robbie McDade (P) pinned Logan Benson, 0:18 165: Calvin Johnson (E) dec. Cole Campbell, 5-0 175: Reed Orbach (E) won by forfeit 190: Connor Ayars (P) won by forfeit 215: Elias Lussi (_ pinned Kaiden Vakera, 0:40 285: Trevor Waddington (P) pinned Marco Florian, 3:20 106: Jayson Garcia (E) pinned Lucas Thomas, 3:18 113: Aidan Schlemo (E) won by forfeit
Salem opens big lead in first quarter, but Pitman rallies to claim a two-point win on a pair of Fisicaro free throws with 7.3 seconds left
WEDNESDAY’S BOYS SCORE Pitman 64, Salem 62
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – It was an early regular-season game on the eve of the winter solstice. A month from now as teams are jockeying for playoff positions people probably won’t even remember it.
But you can bet the Salem Rams won’t forget.
The Rams opened their Tri-County Classic Division schedule Wednesday night in a game as intense as any you’ll find in February and lost to Pitman 64-62 in a game that went down to the wire. Call it a Classic classic.
“As a team we’re obviously disappointed,” Rams senior Jabez DeJesus said. “We knew they were going to come in and punch us right back; they weren’t going to go without a fight.”
It was a game that had everything for the Rams (1-2) and had to have the Panthers (3-0) hurrying to the bus thinking they got away with one.
The Rams had control of the game early, were tied at halftime, rallied from nine down at the start of the fourth to tie the game after Pitman’s star player fouled out, and then lost it at the end.
Pitman’s Michael Fisicaro hit two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to break a 62-all tie. The Rams had two shots at the end to win it or tie it, but Xavier McGriff missed from the right side and Paul Weathers’ turnaround jumper from the foul line with the rebound and Pitman’s Sonny Myers in his face hit off the backboard as the buzzer sounded.
“I was just thinking I’ll make this shot for my team,” Weathers said. “It was really quick.”
Salem’s Paul Weathers (5) launches a last-second shot hoping to force overtime at the end of Wednesday night’s game with Pitman. The shot missed the mark and the Rams fell 64-62.
The Rams looked like they were going to run the Panthers out of the gym. They jumped out to a 17-2 lead in the first five and a half minutes and led 19-4 with sharp shooting and smothering defense, but then the game started to change.
Salem’s top players started getting in foul trouble, Pitman star Elijah Crispin, Steohen Devanney and Fisicaro started getting involved in the scoring and the Panthers outscored the Rams 46-25 on either side of halftime to take a 53-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We started off strong and once the second quarter came we kind of took our foot off the gas, we got too comfortable,” DeJesus said. “We knew they were coming for a run, but still we didn’t do anything defensively to stop it.”
The Rams have won the first quarter in all three of their games this season and the fourth quarter twice, including Wednesday, but it’s been a different story in the second and third. They’ve won only one of the six middle quarters they’ve played – the second quarter against Woodbury – and only that by two points.
“We just have to get better with the middle quarters,” Salem coach Anthony Farmer said. “We start off pretty hot and then we finish strong. We’ve just got to get the middle quarters. We’ve got to be able to fight through adversity whatever that may be out there.”
It was a 57-51 game with four minutes left when senior guard Anthony Farmer went on a personal tear and outscored the Panthers 11-5, tying the game three times in the final three minutes. Farmer scored 16 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. DeJesus had 14 (seven in the first quarter) and Weathers had 10 points and 12 boards.
Crispin led four Pitman scorers in double figures with 16 points. He also had eight rebounds and eight assists, but fouled out on an offensive foul at midcourt with 37 seconds left and the Panthers leading by 62-60. Devanney (13 points, 8 rebounds) followed him to the bench 12 seconds later.
So with two of the Panthers’ big weapons now out, the game seemed right for the Rams to get. Farmer tied it on two free throws with 25.4 to play. Fisicaro was fouled by McGriff with 7.3 seconds left and sank what proved to be the winning free throws.
“This game right here is going to stay in my head because I’m disappointed we didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” DeJesus said. “But I’m happy that we have a chance to learn from our mistakes. We’ll see them again in the season.
“We’re not going to let this hang into our heads. We’ve got a whole season left – all the way to the beginning of March.”
PITMAN 64, SALEM 62 PITMAN (3-0) – Peter Kostiuk 2 0-1 4, Stephen Devanney 6 0-0 13, Hudson Rue 0 0-0 0, Elijah Crispin 3 9-14 16, Trey Tinges 0 0-0 0, Chris Wylie 0 0-0 0, Michael Fisicaro 4 4-4 15, Sonny Myers 2 2-3 6, Greg Petersen 3 2-4 10. Totals 20 17-24 64. SALEM (1-2) – Ramaji Bundy 2 1-2 6, Anthony Farmer 8 8-12 25, Jabez DeJesus 5 2-2 14, Paul Weathers 5 0-1 10, Xavier McGriff 0 0-0 0, Ty Lecator 2 3-5 7, Joe Tunis 0 0-0 0, Davontae Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 14-22 62.
Pitman
7
23
23
11 –
64
Salem
19
11
14
18 –
62
TRI-COUNTY CLASSIC
OVERALL
DIVISION
Gloucester Cath.
3-0
1-0
Pitman
3-0
1-0
Wildwood
2-1
1-0
Salem
1-2
0-1
Clayton
1-3
0-1
Salem Tech
0-3
0-1
Cover photo: Two of the premier guards in South Jersey, Salem’s Anthony Farmer (R) and Pitman’s Elijah Crispin, went head-to-head for the first time this season Wednesday night. Farmer brought his team back in the fourth quarter after it lost an early lead, but Crispin got the win.
won by forfeit
Riverview Sports News 