Pitman puts Pennsville out

No. 2 Panthers put five scorers in double figures to win South Jersey Group I tournament opener; Wood has 27 for Pennsville, Saulin goes out with double-double

By Nolan Dowell
Special to Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – It was the classic 2-v-15 playoff game that brought together 1,000-point scorers on each side.

The underdog gave the favorite all it could handle for three quarters, but in the end second-seeded Pitman prevailed over Pennsville 80-60 in the first round of the South Jersey Group I basketball tournament Thursday and the two 1,000-point scorers – Pitman’s Elijah Crispin and Pennsville’s Luke Wood – put on a show they all came to see.

Crispin went for a triple-double – 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Wood finished with 27 points and six rebounds. Pitman had five scorers in double figures.

The first quarter started off slow with Wood striking first on a quick layup. But the Panthers were quick to strike back and opened a seven-point lead that wound up five by quarter’s end. Crispin started getting hot, making his first three shots. 

“I played with his dad (former NBA player Joe Crispin), so I kind of know how he plays,” Pitman coach Ron Myers said. “He does a lot of things that make my life easy. When he’s on and he’s playing, making the right reads, he sees the floor so well, we’re a tough team.”

The Panthers led 39-29 at halftime, but the third quarter was a big one for Pennsville, as the Eagles (10-17) started off strong and cut the Pitman lead to three within two minutes of the new half. Wood started the Eagles’ comeback with a big steal and 3-pointer. He had three 3s in the quarter.

The Panthers called time and cut off Pennsville for the next three minutes while going on a 14-4 run that smothered a lot of the Eagles’ hopes.

“I was more proud of the boys being down three with five minutes to go in the third quarter,” Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky said. “We thought we had a chance to really make things happen, but credit to Pitman, they made the open shots when they had to. They were the better team tonight and we wish them luck going forward.”

The Panthers (20-7) now host the Paulsboro in the second round Tuesday.

The fourth quarter wasn’t much different, with the Panthers answering any score the Eagles got. Pennsville fed senior center Daniel Saulin a couple of times before the final horn and he finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and a blocked shot in his final high school game. It was his seventh double-double of the season. He averaged 21.1 points and 10 rebounds in the month of February.

“I’m just glad we made it to the playoffs, and like coach said, not everybody is gonna win,” Saulin said. “At least we ended on a high note, making the playoffs in back-to-back years to finish my career.”

Dowell is a senior at Pennsville Memorial High School with aspirations of going into sports media. This is his first piece for Riverview Sports News.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I BOYS TOURNAMENT
NO. 2 PITMAN 80, NO. 15 PENNSVILLE 60
PENNSVILLE (10-17) – Luke Wood 10-19 1-2 27, Peyton O’Brien 1-4 0-0 2, Daniel Saulin 8-13 3-7 19, Mason O’Brien 2-3 0-0 4, Cohen Petrutz 1-4 0-2 2, Jayden Thomas 2-12 2-2 6. Totals 24-55 6-13 60.
PITMAN (20-7) – Elijah Crispin 12-21 0-0 27, Michael Fisicaro 4-12 0-0 11, Sonny Myers 5-9 0-0 13, Stephen Devanney 5-9 0-0 13, Trey Tinges 1-4 0-0 3, Greg Petersen 0-1 0-0 0, Hudson Rue 0-2 0-0 0, Porter Kostiuk 6-8 1-1 13. Totals 33-66 1-1 80.

Pennsville	13	16	16	15 –	60
Pitman	18	21	20	21 –	80