Penns Grove stands its ground to score mild upset in opening round of South Jersey Group I tournament; Salem pulls away from New Egypt, Wildwood shuts down Woodstown
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
THURSDAY’S GAMES
No. 1 KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy 61, No. 16 Burlington City 40
No. 9 Penns Grove 54, No. 8 Woodbury 46
No. 5 Audubon 61, No. 12 LEAP Academy 44
No. 4 Wildwood 46, No. 13 Woodstown 25
No. 3 Salem 83, No. 14 New Egypt 52
No. 6 Glassboro 64, No. 11 Riverside 41
No. 10 Paulsboro 52, No. 7 Palmyra 46
No. 2 Pitman 80, No. 15 Pennsville 60
TUESDAY’S GAMES
No. 9 Penns Grove at No. 1 KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy
No. 5 Audubon at No. 4 Wildwood
No. 6 Glassboro at No. 3 Salem
No. 10 Paulsboro at No. 2 Pitman
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODBURY – All season long Penns Grove coach Damian Ware has been asking his players to take some for the team and sacrifice their body for the greater good. He’s gotten the occasional taker, but with the season on the line Thursday night the Red Devils stood and delivered.
The ninth-seeded Red Devils took three charges in the second half that changed the game and propelled them to a 54-46 victory over eighth-seeded Woodbury in the opening round of the South Jersey Group I boys basketball tournament.
The Devils trailed by one at halftime, but Willie Slocum and Camren Thompson took charges in the third quarter and Giomar Conrad took one in the fourth and that, Ware said, set the tone for the rest of the game.
“I told the kids that was really the key to the game, taking charges on these guys, because they are driving team, they like to drive and most of them are going to put their head down and try to get to the basket,” Ware said. “Once you start taking charges teams are going to hesitate on that drive, they’re not going to drive it as aggressively.
“The only guy who has taken charges all season was Willie; he had about 12 of them. The next person had one or two. I’ve been trying to get them to do it all season and finally they stepped up and did it in the second half today when it counted.”
Conrad led the Red Devils (11-14) with 21 points, 11 in the second half. Mekhi Ballard had 13 on three 3-pointers and 4-for-4 second-half free throw shooting. The Devils outscored their hosts 17-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away from a tie game.
It was the third year in a row they’ve won a first-round playoff game and the sixth straight year they’ve won a first-round game when they were in it.
The win keeps them alive and on the road, to play top-seeded KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy in the second round Tuesday.
The Thundering Herd (14-14), coached by 2022-23 Penns Grove assistant Mark DiRugeris, had three scorers in double figures, led by Troy Lindsay’s 15 points.
NO. 9 PENNS GROVE 54, NO. 8 WOODBURY 46
PENNS GROVE (11-14) – Brandon Robbins 1 0-2 2, Roman Gipson 1 0-1 2, Giomar Conrad 8 3-6 21, Karon Ceaser 3 3-9 9, Willie Slocum 0 0-0 0, Mekhi Ballard 3 4-4 13, Camron Thompson 2 1-2 5, Luis Colon 0 0-0 0, Mr Peterson 1 0-0 2, Jameel Horace 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-24 54.
WOODBURY (14-14) – Jasuan Solomon 6 0-0 12, Dorian Dunbar 2 0-0 4, R.J. Heigler 4 3-4 12, Troy Lindsay 7 0-2 15, Amoro Sacko 1 0-0 3, Isaiah Duleavy 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 3-6 46.
| Penns Grove | 10 | 14 | 13 | 17 – | 54 |
| Woodbury | 14 | 11 | 12 | 9 – | 46 |
SALEM 82, NEW EGYPT 52: This is the time of the year when a team’s seniors and top players are expected to step up and deliver.
New Egypt rallied in the third quarter to make it a two point game, but the Rams pulled away with a 31-point fourth quarter. Anthony Farmer had 11 of his game-high 29, including 5-for-5 from the foul line, in the fourth quarter. Paul Weathers and Jabez DeJesus combined for 11 in the quarter.
Weathers finished with another double-double, 18 points and 11 rebounds. DeJesus had nine points and seven rebounds. Tymear Lecator had eight points and eight assists.
“Any coach will tell you wins are hard to come by,” Salem coach Anthony Farmer said. “You never want to take them for granted; you can’t get complacent. That’s something that’s hard to teach young kids who think that because they look better on paper or the record may be better, but, man if you don’t bring it you can lose. We’re happy to get another win. Survive and advance.”
| New Egypt | 14 | 7 | 29 | 11 – | 52 |
| Salem | 16 | 18 | 18 | 31 – | 83 |
WILDWOOD 46, WOODSTOWN 25: The fourth-seeded Warriors held Woodstown scoreless in the second quarter and to only 15 points in the second half.
Jordan Fusik led Wildwood with 12 points. Brian Cunniff and Junior Hans added 11 each. Blake Bialecki led the Wolverines with 11 points.
NO. 4 WILDWOOD 46, NO. 13 WOODSTOWN 25
WOODSTOWN (11-13) – Blake Bialecki 4 0-0 11, M.J. Hall 2 0-0 4, Max Webb 0 0-2 0, Garrett Leyman 1 0-0 2, Rocco String 1 0-0 2, Manny Ortega 0 0-0 0, Alejandro Vazquez 0 1-2 1, Anthony Bokolas 1 1-2 3, Connor Sanderson 0 2-4 2, Zaire Caesar 0 0-0 0, Elijah Caesar 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-12 25.
WILDWOOD (15-12) – Brian Cunniff 4 3-4 11, Junior Hans 4 1-4 11, Jordan Fusik 4 0-0 12, Ryan Troiano 3 0-1 6, Lukas Basile 1 0-0 3, Harley Buscham 1 0-0 2, James Wyers 0 1-2 1, Josh Pintella 0 0-0 0, Jordan Dozier 0 0-0 0, Nolan Mawhinney 0 0-0 0, Trevor Troiano 0 0-0 0, R.J. Blanda 0 0-0 0, Vinny Sweeney 0 0-0 0, Gianni Troiano 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-11 46.
| Woodstown (11-13) | 10 | 0 | 6 | 9 – | 25 |
| Wildwood (15-12) | 17 | 7 | 15 | 7 – | 46 |
Riverview Sports News 