Rams on the run

Monday basketball: Motivated Salem outruns Clayton in second half to win; includes all 10 games involving Salem County teams

GIRLS GAMESBOYS GAMES
Clayton 62, Salem 27Salem 82, Clayton 69
Woodstown 79, Overbrook 28Overbrook 57, Woodstown 48
Pennsville 63, Schalick 20Schalick 61, Pennsville 38
Penns Grove 44, Glassboro 39Glassboro 65, Penns Grove 59
Wildwood 77, Salem Tech 23Wildwood 77, Salem Tech 32

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CLAYTON — Anthony Farmer called time out with four minutes left in the third quarter. He was looking for some leaders.

His Salem basketball team was clinging to a one-point lead in a game that really was that tight against a team capable of scoring 100 in any game it played – it already had twice against Salem County teams this year – and the coach wanted somebody to step up and take charge.

Azhone Burden answered the call. The 6-5 senior transfer, playing in only his fourth game since regaining his eligibility, had 14 points and nine rebounds in the second half to help the Rams pull away from Clayton 82-69.

“Azhone spoke up and kind of rallied the troops,” Farmer said. “He got the guys together, started getting a little more vocal once he got his head together, and I think that was kind of the turning point for us.”

The Rams led 41-40 at halftime and were up 45-44 when Farmer called his decisive time out, which, incidentally, left him with only one for the rest of the game. They went on a 18-4 run that carried into the fourth quarter and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game.

Burden had 10 points in the third quarter, more than the Clippers did as a team, and 12 after the key time out.

“It’s just the fire coming out,” said the senior they call A-Magic. “I’ve been waiting on the bench this whole time, all the fire has been building up. It’s just coming out now.”

In his four game since satisfying his senior transfer requirement, Burden has scored 51 points and grabbed 41 rebounds with two double-doubles.

The Rams, who’d prefer playing at a pace somewhere between Clayton’s break-neck approach and the half-court game they purposely played against LEAP, held their own against the Clippers once they got adjusted to what was coming. As a result, four players enjoyed double-doubles. 

Tymear Lecator had a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Burden finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds and came within two assists of joining Lecator with a triple-double. Deshaan Williams was big for the Rams in the first half and finished with 17 points and 12 boards. And Antwaun Rogers had 10 points and 10 boards.

The Rams were playing only hours after learning they had to forfeit four wins due to an ineligible player, a penalty that knocked them all the way to No. 17 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. The win moved them all the way to No. 13.

Lecator wouldn’t speak on the issue preferring just to focus on playing basketball but said he did come into the game with “a real chip on my shoulder.”

“It’s in the back of our head,” Farmer said. “We know what what’s going on. We know what happened to us. It’s just a little motivation, that’s all. We take it game by game anyway, but the worst thing you can do in Group I South is give us a little motivation.”

SALEM 82, CLAYTON 69
SALEM (4-7): Donovan Weathers 1 0-2 2, Xavier McGriff 4 0-0 8, Neziah Spence 3 0-0 8, Tymear Lecator 7 0-1 16, Deshaan Williams 8 1-2 17, Antwan Rogers 5 0-0 10, Joe Tunis 2 1-2 5, Azhone Burden 8 0-0 16, Giovanni Tuvale 0 0-0 0. Totals 38 2-7 82.
CLAYTON (4-5): Jackson Venuto 1 1-2 4, Princeton Sackor 11 1-1 24, Nazir Davis 4 4-5 13, Demetris Williams 3 0-0 6, Anthony Taylor 0 0-0 0, Nasir Carter 4 1-2 11, Isaiah Aviles 0 0-0 0, Rodney Robinson 0 0-0 0, Anthony Archer 0 0-0 0, Trevor Rehm 0 0-0 0, King Mosley 0 0-0 0, James Fritz 4 1-2 11. Totals 27 8-12 69.

Salem 23181724-82
Clayton2318920-69
3-point goals: Salem 4 (Spence 2, Lecator 2); Clayton 7 (Venuto, Sackor, Davis, Carter 2, Fritz 2). Rebounds: Salem 67 (Burden 13, Williams 12, Rogers 10, Lecator 10). Total fouls: Salem 14, Clayton 12.

SCHALICK 61, PENNSVILLE 38: Reggie Allen hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Cougars to their third win in a row. It’s their longest winning streak since the last three games of the 2019-20 season. Allen’s previous career best was 22 his freshman year against Clayton.
SCHALICK (4-7):
Reggie Allen 10 5-6 29, Nylan Sutton 6 5-8 17, Sherrod Jones 2 2-2 6, Justin Iacona 1 0-0 2, Jamari Whitley 3 2-4 8. Totals 22 14-20 62.
PENNSVILLE (1-8): Jovanni Rios 3-1-7, Cole Johnston 2-0-4, Shiloh Jefferson 3-0-6, Logan Hill 1-0-2, C.J. McDevitt 4-4-12, Daniel Knight 1-1-3, Arturus Franz 1-2-4, Perry Meranti 0-0-0. Totals 15-8-38.

Schalick 15151121-61
Pennsville78149-38
3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Allen 4). Rebounds: Pennsville 21 (Meranti 7, Rios 5).

OVERBROOK 57, WOODSTOWN 48
WOODSTOWN (5-3):
Blake Bialecki 2 1-2 5, Alejandro Vazquez 4 0-0 10, Elijah Caesar 2 2-4 6, Garry Leyman 3 1-2 7, Rocco String 4 1-3 9, M.J. Hall 4 2-3 11. Totals 19 7-14 48.
OVERBROOK (10-2): Lamar Little 6 2-2 17, Xavier Wright 5 4-5 14, Zair Green 3 8-10 14, Elvin Santiago 1 0-0 2, Bilal Robinson 3 0-0 8, J.R. Stanley 1 0-0 2, Rashon Jones 0 0-0 0, Jaden St. John 0 0-0 0, Cody Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 14-17 57.
Woodstown 922413-48
Overbrook12111816-58
3-point goals: Woodstown 3 (Vazquez 2, M. Hall); Overbrook 5 (Little 3, Robinson 2).

GLASSBORO 65, PENNS GROVE 59
PENNS GROVE (2-7):
Brandin Robbins 5, Roman Gipson 18, Karon Ceaser 15, Antoine Robinson 1, Haneef Frisbee 10, Jameel Horace 6, William Roy 4.
GLASSBORO (4-6): Xavier Sabb 12, Kenny Smith 28, Tashean Thomas 2, Davon Barr 4, Maurice Davis 5, Aiden Harris 14.

Penns Grove 16131416-59
Glassboro17161319-65

WILDWOOD 77, SALEM TECH 32
WILDWOOD (3-6):
Brian Cunniff 15 5-6 40, Nolan Mawhinney 5 3-5 14, Trevor Troiano 3 0-0 8, Jordan Dozier 0 1-2 1, Jack Fullerton 1 0-0 2, R.J. Blanda 1 0-0 2, Gianni Troiano 1 0-0 2, Daniel Benichou 0 0-0 0, Sammy Santiago 1 4-5 6, Jeff Knight 1 0-0 2, Justice Santiago 0 0-2 0. Totals 28 13-20 77.
SALEM TECH (0-10): Ayden Myers 2 0-0 5, Joseph Hayes 1 0-0 3, Luke Kroll 3 0-0 8, Larry Pompper 1 0-0 2, Logan Pace 1 2-2 4, Chase Ayars 1 0-0 2, Chase Pompper 1 0-0 2, Aiden Bobo 2 0-0 5, Alex Thomas 0 0-2 0. Totals 12 2-4 29.

Wildwood 14152325-77
Salem Tech501212-32
3-point goals: Wildwood 8 (Cunniff 5, Mawhinney, Troiano 2); Salem Tech 5 (Myers, Hayes, Kroll 2, Bobo).

Girls Games

PENNSVILLE 63, SCHALICK 20: Nora Ausland returned to the lineup after a brief illness and posted a double-double (21 points, 12 rebounds) to lead the Eagles to their fifth straight win. The game moved Ausland over 900 points on her way to the 1,000-point plateau. Marley Wood, who’s also chasing the 1,000-point milestone, had 16 points and Taylor Bass had 15 points and eight steals.

PENNSVILLE (6-2): Marley Wood 6 2-6 16, Taylor Bass 4 4-4 15, Izzy Saulin 0 2-2 2, Nora Ausland 9 0-0 21, Jaida Burns 1 0-0 2, Addison Johnston 2 0-0 6, Calli Ausland 0 1-2 1, Sofia Belitsas 0 0-0 0, Ashlyn Fredo 0 0-0 0, Kylie Weist 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-14 63.
SCHALICK (2-5): Abby Willoughby 1 0-0 3, Cali Fisler 1 0-2 2, Naveah Robinson 2 0-0 6, Ava Scurry 1 0-0 2, Willow Davis 2 0-0 5, Emily Miller 0 0-0 0, Olivia Lunemann 0 2-2 2, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Carly Vicente 0 0-0 0, Olivia Vanacker 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 2-4 20.

Pennsville 17121420-63
Schalick07112-20
3-point goals: Pennsville 10 (Wood 2, Bass 3, N. Ausland 3, Johnston 2); Schalick 4 (Willoughby, Robinson 2, Davis). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Schalick 11.

PENNS GROVE 44, GLASSBORO 39: RaNiyah Wilson scored 21 points and the Red Devils won the fourth quarter 16-11 to win the game.

“They played great in the fourth quarter — poised, together on both ends of the floor,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “I saluted them as a team today. The coaches are proud of them.”

PENNS GROVE (6-2):
RaNiyah Wilson 9 1-2 21, Brianna Robbins 3 0-0 7, JaNiyah Cummings 4 5-9 13, Mikayla Washington 0 1-4 1, Keziah Patterson 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 7-15 44.
GLASSBORO (4-5): Sanaa Thomas 4 3-4 14, Tamia Smith 3 2-4 10, Kezia Brackett 1 3-4 5, Kimora Miles 1 1-2 3, Sianna Wedderburn 0 2-2 2, Lily Czubas 2 0-0 5. Totals 11 11-16 39.

Penns Grove 515816-44
Glassboro6101211-39
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, Robbins); Glassboro 6 (Thomas 3, Smith 2, Czubas).

WILDWOOD 77, SALEM TECH 23
SALEM TECH (2-6):
Shelby Drummond 0 0-0 0, Kaylin Beardsley 2 0-0 5, Shelby Liber 3 0-0 6, Lavae Scott 1 0-0 2, Evening Amedee 2 0-0 4, Payton Fitzpatrick 3 0-0 6. Totals 11 0-0 23.
WILDWOOD (7-1): Macie McCracken 8 4-4 26, Angela Wilber 7 0-0 16, Rebecca Benichou 6 0-0 14, Cydnee Kilian 0 0-0 0, Kiana D’Antuono 1 0-0 3, Addison Troiano 3 0-0 6, Lily Atkinson 1 0-0 3, Talia Fathi 1 0-0 3, Julia Ennis 1 1-2 4, Janet Gonzalez 1 0-0 2. Totals 32 5-6 77.

Salem Tech5648-23
Wildwood 2328206-77
3-point goals: Salem Tech 4 (Beardsley, Fitzpatrick 3); Wildwood 10 (McCracken 2, Wilber 2, Benichou 2, D’Antuono, Atkinson, Fathi, Ennis). Rebounds: Wildwood 35 (Troiano 10, McCracken 7).

WOODSTOWN 79, OVERBROOK 28: Megan Donelson scored 13 points and Kendall Young and Lauren Hengel scored 11 points apiece to lead the Wolverines. For Young, a sophomore, it was a career high and came all in the second half. Hengel, a junior, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double.

“Kendall has worked her butt off this season,” Woodstown coach Matt Smart said. “She has a high basketball IQ and watches a ton or film. Whenever I have to call on her she seems ready.

“My favorite part of Lauren’s game today wasn’t the scoring, it was the 14 rebounds. She’s a tough kid who will run through a brick wall if you asked her to do so. When she’s confident with the basketball she is dangerous.”

OVERBROOK (1-9): Leslies Rosario 1 0-0 3, Jael Pressley 5 3-7 13, Lelani Knight 1 2-2 4, Ahlani White 1 0-0 2, Kayla Reynolds 1 1-2 3, Lily LaFountain 0 0-0 0, Taija Wiggins 0 0-2 0, Rosetta Loibman 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 6-13 28.
WOODSTOWN (8-2): Megan Donelson 5-9 2-2 13, Talia Battavio 3-10 3-4 9, Gianna Maiorini 3-5 2-2 8, Lauren Hengel 4-7 3-5 11, Kyia Leyman 1-6 1-4 3, Emma Perry 2-2 0-0 4, Ryann Foote 1-4 3-6 5, Kendall Young 5-10 0-0 11, Jala Thomas 4-4 1-2 9, Talia Guardascione 1-2 0-0 2, Lizzy Daly 0-1 0-0 0, Brynley Ecret 0-1 0-0 0, Mia Waterman 0-0 0-0 0, Kailyn Kennedy 1-2 0-0 2, Ava White 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 31-64 15-25 79.
Overbrook74512-28
Woodstown16281520-79
3-point goals: Overbrook 2 (Rosario, Loibman); Woodstown 2-18 (Donelson 1-4, Young 1-4, Battavio 0-4, Hengel 0-3, Kennedy 0-1, Foote 0-2). Rebounds: Woodstown 47 (Hengel 14, Donelson 8, Daly 6). Total fouls: Overbrook 16, Woodstown 9. Officials: McGaffeny, Brown.


Active scorers watch

SALEM COUNTY SCORING LIST TODAYPOINTS
Talia Battavio, Woodstown 91371
Megan Donelson, Woodstown131340
1000-POINT WATCH
Nora Ausland, Pennsville
(Salem 462/Pennsville 448)
21910
Marley Wood, Pennsville16827
RaNiyah Wilson, Penns Grove
(Kingsway 251/PG 573)
21824

Through games of Jan. 13

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