Penns Grove puts three scorers in double figures, wins second game in a row for first time this season
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODBURY – The Penns Grove basketball team took a significant step towards their long-range season goal Monday when it beat Burlington City 69-45 in the MLK Showcase at Woodbury High School.
It was the Red Devils’ second straight win constituting their first winning streak of the season. It may not seem like much, but the fact wasn’t lost on coach Damian Ware.
“It’s funny; I told my coaches on the bus that’s our first two-game winning streak all season,” Ware said. “It means a lot because to string wins together is tough, especially with the competition level we play in the non-conference. Our non-conference schedule is always loaded up with biggest schools and prep schools, so it’s tough to string wins together.
“But the goal for me in the regular season is to prepare the team for the second half of the season. Some teams, you want to play and you want to rack up wins. You play lower competition you can rack up wins, but my goal is not to rack up wins, the goal is to prepare the kids for the tough stretch at the end of the season.
“It’s hard to get wins early in the season for us because we’re playing tougher teams, but as we move into our conference and our schedule now, you want to start trying to put wins together. That builds that confidence. The thing about our team now is we’re playing with a lot of camaraderie. We’re really starting to play together now. We’re really starting to understand it.”
Despite having the weakest overall record among the top 12 teams, the Red Devils (4-7) currently sit ninth in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. They play current No. 5 Woodstown in their next game Wednesday night.
The Red Devils placed three scorers in double figures – Karon Ceaser (17), Roman Gipson (16) and Brandin Robbins (13). Ceaser is averaging 18 points a game in the winning streak, 17.0 over the last three games.
They took control of this one with a big start and closed it out with a big finish. They opened a 17-6 lead in the first quarter and finished with a 17-7 fourth. They could have had a similar run in the second had they protected the ball better, but they got moving too fast for their own good and had several turnovers that Burlington City turned into runout layups to play them even.
“The first quarter I always stress to the kids coming out with energy,” Ware said. “There were times in other games where we came out slow and let teams jump on us. I always stress we want to be a team that jumps out on them. That’s part of understanding it and they’re starting to really understand the concepts we teach daily and it’s starting to show on the court now.
“In the fourth quarter we just controlled the game. We ran the clock a little bit and made some really good plays and our defense caused some turnovers as well because they were trying to rush (to get back in it) and we got run-out layups. We learned how to break their press in the fourth quarter.”
MLK SHOWCASE
PENNS GROVE 69, BURLINGTON CITY 45
PENNS GROVE (4-7) – Brandin Robbins 6-1-13, Roman Gipson 7-0-16, Karon Ceaser 6-3-17, Antoine Robinson 2-0-4, Jameel Horace 3-0-6, William Roy 4-0-8, Caleb Fowler 1-0-2, Mishawn Brantley 1-1-3. Totals 30-5-65.
BURLINGTON CITY (7-6) – Chase Downs 4 1-2 10, Jason Brown 7 0-0 14, Jamie Lambing 1 1-2 4, Giper Cosmio 1 2-2 5, Rashard Newkirk 3 0-0 6, Jarrett James 1 4-4 6. Totals 17 8-10 45.
| Penns Grove | 17 | 21 | 14 | 17- | 69 |
| Burlington City | 6 | 20 | 12 | 7- | 45 |
Riverview Sports News 