Schalick knocks off winless Gateway to guarantee winningest season in four years; Camden Catholic denies Woodstown, Deptford dumps Penns Grove
FRIDAY’S BOYS SCORES
Camden Catholic 60, Woodstown 41
Deptford 70, Penns Grove 51
Schalick 61, Gateway 47
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem at Cherokee, 12:30 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Getting to and staying at .500 is one of Schalick basketball’s biggest focuses this season, because there is so much that goes with it, but there was something even more special about getting back there – for the fourth time this season – Friday night.
When the Cougars put away winless Gateway 61-47, it allowed them to eclipse last season’s win total and guaranteed them their winningest season since the 2019-20 season. The four wins match their combined total of the last two years and has them thinking about something they haven’t dare consider since 2018-19 – a berth in the state tournament.
“Going into the game our goal is to always fight to be a .500 team and coming into today we had a chance to go back to that,” Schalick coach James Turner said. “I know that’s important to the kids as well because they know if we can stick to staying being a .500 team we have a good chance of getting into the playoffs. They really wanted that win today.”
The Cougars (4-4) had to work for it. They trailed the Gators (0-12) by two after the first quarter, but they made a defensive adjustment during the break and it produced turnovers and quick transition points that allowed them to pull away.
While all that was going on, Reggie Allen, Nylan Sutton and Dan Lis hit the Cougars’ three 3-pointers and they took a seven-point lead into halftime. The same defensive approach let them to stretch the lead to 13 going into the fourth quarter.
The Cougars know they have to keep winning. The 2019-20 team didn’t make the playoffs with nine wins, but the 2018-19 team did with seven. The last time the program had a winning season was 2015-16 when they were 22-8 and played in the South Jersey Group I final.
“They know that if we want to make the playoffs we have to get wins, so the .500 thing isn’t always the most important thing ,” Turner said. “We had certain things in front of us in the beginning of the season that we knew we had a great chance to be competitive in and the kids know that as well. When we’re playing those games we put more emphasis on winning the ones we’re supposed to be competitive in.”
They’re still looking for that signature win. The four teams they have beaten this season – Salem Tech, Cape May Tech, Pennsauken Tech, Gateway — have a combined record of 4-38. They are currently No. 20 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, 35 points behind current No. 16 Pennsville.
Sutton led the Cougars with a career-high 20 points. Allen had 19, including nine in the second quarter, and Lis had 11.
SCHALICK 61, GATEWAY 47
GATEWAY (0-12) – Sean Simmons 10 1-2 22, Justin Dugan 4 2-4 13, Benji Contarino 1 0-1 2, Akey Talley 0 1-2 1, Steven Marlachatta 2 3-5 7, Sean Cawley 0 0-0 0, Cody Shaw 0 0-0 0, Jahmeire Rowe 1 0-0 2, Peter Franbach 0 0-0 0, Cole Tice 0 0-0 0, D.J. Bink 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-14 47.
SCHALICK (4-4) – Reggie Allen 7 4-7 19, Nylan Sutton 9 1-3 20, Dan Lis 4 2-3 11, Jake Siedlecki 1 0-0 2, Jordan Johnson 1 3-6 5, Levi Mason 1 2-2 4, Ryan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Jase Volovar 0 0-0 0, Lincoln Murphy 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 12-21 61.
| Gateway | 10 | 11 | 11 | 15 – | 47 |
| Schalick | 8 | 20 | 17 | 16 – | 61 |
Camden Catholic 60, Woodstown 41
WOODSTOWN – Luke Kennevan and Bryce Clark combined for five 3-pointers and 35 points and the Irish put forth a defensive effort that shut down Woodstown’s hottest player while snapping the Wolverines’ two game winning streak.
Kennevan scored 20 with three 3-pointers and Clark had 15 with a pair of treys. The teams played to a 13-13 tie in the first quarter before the Irish pulled away.
Blake Bialecki had scored 23 and (4) and 29 (8) in the Wolverines’ previous two wins, but he was held scoreless for only the second time in his career. M.J. Hall, who hit the big 3-pointer in their win over Pennsville, led the Wolverines with 15 points. Max Webb had 13.
CAMDEN CATHOLIC 60, WOODSTOWN 41
CAMDEN CATHOLIC (5-4) – Luke Kennevan 8 1-2 20, Seamus Bieg 2 1-2 6, Sean Welde 1 1-2 4, Bryce Hillman 1 0-0 2, Bryce Clark 7 2-3 15, Mel Jones 1 0-2 2, Zach Winkler 1 0-0 2, Azyris Richmond 1 0-1 2, Charlie Neal 0 2-2 2, Andrew Granroth 0 2-2 2. Totals 22 9-16 60.
WOODSTOWN (6-3) – Manny Ortega 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 0 0-0 0, Alejandro Vazquez 1 1-1 3, M.J. Hall 5 2-4 15, Garrett Leyman 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Max Webb 4 4-6 13, Rocco String 2 3-4 7, Elijah Caesar 1 0-0 3. Totals 13 10-15 41.
| Camden Catholic | 13 | 13 | 16 | 20 – | 60 |
| Woodstown | 13 | 8 | 9 | 11 – | 41 |
Deptford 70, Penns Grove 51
PENNS GROVE – The Red Devils went through one of the nights where nothing would fall for them and Deptford hit everything.
The Red Devils had numerous shots in and around the basket, but watched in frustration as shot after shot either went in and out or came up short. Deptford, meanwhile, made 27 buckets, including seven 3-pointers, four in the first quarter as it opened a 22-15 lead.
Aydan Copestick hit four of the 3s and led three Spartans in double figures with 18 points. Cairee Cooper had 15 and Deyon Rowland had 14.
“They shot the lights out and we couldn’t buy a bucket,” Penns Grove coach Damian Ware said.
Mekhi Ballard led Penns Grove with 16 points. He hit three of the Red Devils’ four 3-pointers and has drained seven in the last four games.
DEPTFORD 70, PENNS GROVE 51
DEPTFORD (6-5) – Bryce Dunn 1 0-1 2, Cairee Cooper 6 3-4 15, Deyon Rowland 5 2-4 14, Aydan Copestick 6 2-2 18, Brian Orio 4 1-2 9, Luke Vilary 1 1-2 3, Jordan Williams 3 0-0 7, Alanzo Hernandez 0 0-0 0, Braheem Korleh 1 0-0 2, Joe Crowley 0 0-0 0, Shakeem Green 0 0-0 0, Kenny Cockerill 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 9-15 70.
PENNS GROVE (4-6) – Brandon Robbins 0 0-0 0, Roman Gipson 2 0-0 5, Giomar Conrad 4 4-7, Karon Ceaser 3 2-9 8, Mehki Ballard 5 3-5 16, Camron Thompson 1 0-0 2, Khiry Higgs 1 0-2 2, Mr Peterson 1 0-0 2, Dameon Wilson 2 0-0 4, Neziah Spence 0 0-0 0, Will Roy 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 9-23 51.
| Deptford | 22 | 13 | 18 | 17 – | 70 |
| Penns Grove | 15 | 12 | 16 | 8 – | 51 |
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