Eagles break away from a tie game with last seven points of third quarter, hold on to snap three-game losing streak
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WESTMONT – The game was going back and forth for so long, it was almost like you were watching a tennis match. It was like the lead changed with every possession. Everyone was just waiting for something to break it open.
“I was waiting for something, that’s for sure,” Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky said with a laugh.
The break in the back and forth finally came late in the third quarter. Pennsville scored the last seven points of the quarter for its biggest lead at the time and went on to beat Haddon Twp. Monday, 51-46, to snap a three-game losing streak.
The game was close throughout. There were six lead changes and three ties in the first half, which ended on Jayden Thomas’ 3-pointer at the buzzer that made it 24-24.
The Brooklyn-born bomber opened the second half with a 3-pointer, too, to put Pennsville on top for good, but the Hawks tied it three more times before the Eagles made the run that gave them control of the scoreboard.
They broke a 33-33 tie with a 7-0 run over the final two minutes of the third quarter when the basket simply closed to the home team. The Hawks missed 10 straight shots in the final two minutes of the quarter, including one possession that had six shots.
“In the first half there both teams just mirrored each other,” Mecholsky said. “They’d miss, we’d miss. They’d make, we’d make. It was back and forth, and then I thought our defense picked it up there in the third quarter and that’s what got us to extend our lead.”
Daniel Saulin, back in the lineup after missing the last game following a previously scheduled oral surgery, broke the tie with an inside bucket and followed it with a three-point play. The 6-foot-7 senior finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.
“Danny stabilizes everything, that’s for sure,” Mecholsky said. “He’s just a presence. I think it was obvious they were trying to drive into him to get him into foul trouble and he stood his ground. He played pretty well on the defensive end and just helped calm things down when we weren’t finding our shot.”
Thomas led the Eagles with 14 points. Luke Wood had seven, moving within 19 of 1,000 for his career. Cohen Petrutz, picking up the slack inside with Peyton O’Brien missing the game to attend a baseball showcase, had eight points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
“We were very balanced today,” Mecholsky said. “That was the definition of a team win.”
Pennsville 51, Haddon Twp. 46
PENNSVILLE (5-6) – Luke Wood 2-11 1-2 7, Malik Rehmer 1-3 3-4 5, Cohen Petrutz 3-9 2-2 8, Jayden Thomas 5-10 2-6 14, Daniel Saulin 5-12 3-3 13, Mason O’Brien 1-1 2-2 4, Cole Johnston 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Starn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 13-19 51.
HADDON TWP. (3-10) – Owen Lamba 2 0-0 4, Joe Sheehan 2 0-0 4, Cavan McGovern 2 0-0 4, Axel Mohr 7 5-8 19, Eamonn Sheehan 2 1-2 7, Peter Black 1 1-1 3, Colin Feeley 0 0-0 0, Sean Crawford 2 0-0 5. Totals 18 7-11 46.
| Pennsville | 7 | 17 | 16 | 11 – | 51 |
| Haddon Twp. | 8 | 16 | 9 | 13 – | 46 |
Riverview Sports News 