Pennsville gets off to solid start, but bad fourth quarter sends it to third straight loss, Lecator lighting it up for Salem
THURSDAY’S BOYS SCORES
Clearview 56, Pennsville 39
Salem 77, LEAP 64
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – There were so many games within the game between Pennsville and Clearview Thursday night, you needed a Broadway-like Playbill program instead of a scorecard to keep them all straight.
Were the Pioneers going to be emotionally drained after the night before playing their first game back on the floor after losing their best player to a broken collarbone on a dirty play over the weekend?
How would the Eagles hold up in the post with Danny Saulin out of the lineup after undergoing previously scheduled oral surgery earlier in the day?
Would Peyton and Mason O’Brien hold their own against the Pioneers two best remaining players while the rest of the starters held each of their assignments to six points or less?
And how much closer would Eagles guard Luke Wood get to the 1,000-point mark or would he bust out with a big game to reach the milestone?
The Eagles checked all the boxes in the first quarter and led by 10 early in the second, but a disastrous fourth quarter doomed them to their third straight loss, 56-39.
“I just think we got tired; I think the grapes went to raisins tonight,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “With the guys we had on the floor tonight I think we got gassed in the fourth quarter. Clearview picked it up and they dominated the game in the second half.
“Once they took the lead we could not get it back. They played a nice game, they ran nice plays and they deserved to win tonight.”
The Eagles (4-6) had everything going their way in the first quarter and opened a 10-2 lead before the Pioneers (5-5) scored their first field goal. They led 17-7 early in the second quarter, but in a preview of what would come later, they got careless with the ball against an increasingly aggressive Clearview defense and stopped making shots.
They were outscored 17-2 in the final seven minutes of the quarter and trailed by five at halftime.
They picked it back up in the third quarter and regained the lead. Then it all collapsed.
From the time Wood gave them a 36-35 lead with 1:45 left in the third to the time Mason O’Brien hit a 3 from in front of the Pennsville bench with 57 seconds left in the game, the Eagles went 0-for-10 from the field with five turnovers and two missed free throws.
The Pioneers scored 21 straight points during Pennsville’s second-half drought to decide the game.
After hitting seven of their first 14 shots to open their 17-7 lead, the Eagles finished 15-of-43 from the field, 4-of-17 from 3-point range
“”We were fresh and we then we dropped off,” Mecholsky said. “Whether I should have rotated more off of my bench, trusted the guys on the back of the bench more, that’s on me.
“I definitely think the starting five tonight played too much and I should have had a little bit more trust in the back end of the bench.”
The plan was to have Peyton O’Brien clamp down on 6-4 Clearview sophomore Daulton Phalines and Mason O’Brien shadow Kaprice Stewart, and it worked early. Phalines had five points in the first quarter and Stewart was scoreless, but they finished with 18 and 16, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Eagles wanted to hold the other Clearview starters to six points or less. They did that with two, but Jonah Turner wound up with 10.
Wood, meanwhile, led Pennsville with 15 points. It brought him within 26 points of becoming the second player in his household to reach the 1,000-point mark.
His first chance to get it comes Monday in a late-scheduled game at Haddon Twp. If it doesn’t happen there, the Eagles play at Glassboro on Tuesday.
“I’m definitely excited to get it,” the junior said. “It’s definitely at the top of the bucket list, score 1,000 points. It’s a really cool thing to do in high school. But I think the most important thing for me is coming out and helping my team win, just trying to make sure I do everything I can on the court.”
CLEARVIEW 56, PENNSVILLE 39
CLEARVIEW (5-5) – Kaprice Stewart 6 3-4 16, Daulton Phalines 7 3-3 18, Jake Slotter 1 0-0 2, Russ Manel 1 2-2 5, Jonah Turner 4 2-2 10, Michael Guy 2 0-0 5. Totals 21 10-11 56.
PENNSVILLE (4-6) – Luke Wood 7-16 0-0 15, Peyton O’Brien 3-7 3-4 10, Jayden Thomas 1-6 0-0 2, Malik Rehmer 0-5 0-0 0, Cohen Petrutz 2-5 1-1 5, Mason O’Brien 2-4 1-4 6. Totals 15-43 5-9 39.
| Clearview | 7 | 17 | 16 | 16 – | 56 |
| Pennsville | 15 | 4 | 17 | 3 – | 39 |
Salem 77, LEAP 64
CAMDEN – Every time Tymear Lecator steps on the court he gets more and more comfortable with his varsity surroundings.
The freshman transfer from Winslow scored a career-high 25 points for his fifth straight game in double figures, which coincides with the Rams’ five-game winning streak. It was the second time in three games he’s gone for 20 points or more and he’s averaging 16.8 in his last five games.
“Tymear in my eyes is the best freshman in South Jersey and plays well beyond his years,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said.
Anthony Farmer scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half as the Rams (6-3) opened a 16-point halftime lead. Lecator scored 17 points in the second half. Jabez DeJesus also scored in double figures for Salem, going for 14 points.
SALEM 77, LEAP 64
SALEM (6-3) – Anthony Farmer 7 6-8 21, Ramaji Bundy 1 0-0 2, Jabez DeJesus 5 3-4 14, Tymear Lecator 8 6-7 25, Donovan Weathers 1 0-0 2, Xavier McGriff 1 2-2 4, Antwone Rogers 3 3-4 9, Davonte Johnson 0 0-0 0, Joseph Tunis 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 20-25 77.
LEAP (6-6) – Xavion Ayala 8 1-2 18, Gregory Shoultz 5 6-12 17, Angel Mieses 5 0-0 10, Benjamin Noel 3 4-6 10, Terrell Hurst 2 2-2 7, RaeJon Anderson 0 0-0 0, Jalen Thomas 1 0-0 2, Dwayne Perez 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 13-22 64.
| Salem | 18 | 23 | 16 | 20 – | 77 |
| LEAP | 14 | 11 | 20 | 19 – | 64 |
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