Pennsville boys lose big early lead, fall to Buena on Senior Night, girls stage big rally in fourth to get past West Deptford; Costacamps makes most of first start for Penns Grove, and more
| GIRLS GAMES | BOYS GAMES |
| Haddon Twp. 61, Penns Grove 36 | Penns Grove 76, Riverside 48 |
| Pennsville 58, West Deptford 51 | Buena 57, Pennsville 49 |
| Schalick 37, Buena 21 | |
| GCIT 52, Salem Tech 22 |
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Senior Night started with such promise for the Pennsville basketball team, on the court and on the scoreboard. But in the end a winnable night turned into a game that got away.
The Eagles raced out to a 15-point lead on Buena early in the second quarter, but they couldn’t hold it. A lack of rebounding and a series of turnovers down the stretch conspired to send them to a 57-49 loss.
“Sometimes you get grapes and sometimes you get raisins,” Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky said. “Tonight we got the raisins. Tomorrow we’ll look to have grapes.”
The teams played a triple-overtime game in their first meeting, but the Eagles (2-16) came out Monday determined not to do that again. They held the Chiefs (6-12) to two points in the first quarter and led 17-2 two minutes into the second. But then Josue Cuadrado got going for Buena and the Chiefs cut their deficit in half by halftime.
“That’s a dagger,” Mecholsky said of the early lead. “17-2, you want to go ahead and put that game away when you can; credit to Buena, they stuck with it, and offensively we shut down again. 17-2, everybody thought it was a good night, let’s blow these guys out, we lost our brains. Young teams will lose their brains sometimes.”
Cuadrado’s run in the second quarter just set the stage for Jaevon Alexander in the second half. Alexander scored 22 of his 25 points in the half and made the biggest plays down the stretch.
His 3-pointer with 5:06 left in the third quarter tied the game at 26 and moments later Cuadrado’s three-point play gave the Chiefs the lead for good.
Buena led 48-46 with one minute to play, then Pennsville committed four straight turnovers off which the Chiefs scored seven points to decide the game. Alexander had three steals in the stretch. The first one he sent Cuadrado off on a layup, the last two he took in himself. Pennsville had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter.
“We got beat by the better team,” Mecholsky said. “When the chips were down we folded. None of us collectively played well tonight. I didn’t coach well, the players didn’t play well and everybody collectively in the Pennsville basketball program has to get better for each other.”
The loss spoiled a 25-point game by Pennsville’s Jovanni Rios. He had eight in the first quarter to get the Eagles going.
The game got off the chain at the end. Moments after Cuadrado beat the buzzer with a final layup, one of the referees tossed his whistle to his officiating partners at midcourt and squared up on a Pennsville assistant. The game video from above the floor clearly shows the official taking a boxer’s stance.
The other two officials moved their partner away from situation and towards the officials’ dressing area with Mecholsky chasing behind. Pennsville police and game security stepped on the floor to restore order and PMHS athletics director Jamy Thomas directed the gym to be cleared.
There appeared to be some additional activity outside the gym, but it had dispersed by the time security still inside rushed out to the scene.
BUENA 57, PENNSVILLE 49
BUENA (6-12): Elwood Taylor 0 0-0 0, Josue Cuadrado 9 3-5 21, Carlo Spreng 1 0-0 2, Troy Gregory 0 2-6 2, Jaevon Alexander 9 3-5 25, Shamel Rivera 2 3-5 7, Ricky Bessix 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-21 57.
PENNSVILLE (2-16): Danny Knight 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 3 0-0 8, Cole Johnston 0 0-0 0, Shiloh Jefferson 1 1-2 4, Jovanni Rios 9 6-9 25, Perry Meranti 2 0-0 4, Logan Hitt 1 0-0 3, C.J. McDevitt 1 0-0 2, Arturus Franzy 0 0-0 0, 30 Owen Noah 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-11 49.
| Buena | 2 | 15 | 21 | 19- | 57 |
| Pennsville | 14 | 10 | 8 | 17- | 49 |
PENNS GROVE 76, RIVERSIDE 48: Red Devils coach Damian Ware gave Jeremy Costacamps his first varsity start and the sophomore made the most of the opportunity.
Costacamps drew the start because the Red Devils were down in the post and he responded with 10 points.
“He’d gotten into a car accident and hurt his knee, so he’s been out a couple weeks,” Ware said. “He just came back last week and looked really good so I said let’s throw him in the starting lineup, let’s give him a chance.
“He did what he’s supposed to do. He did what I expected him to do, actually.”
Costacamps had been making his bones on the JV team, but played in one varsity game before Monday night. He scored four points in a January game against Pennsville shortly before the accident. Ware already has decided the sophomore would start again Tuesday against Overbrook.
“You play well, you play, you keep playing well, you play more,” Ware said. “It’s all about opportunities and maximizing your opportunities, and he did that tonight.”
Eleven players scored for the Red Devils (9-8). Roman Gipson led the way with 13 points. Karon Ceaser had 10 and Luis Colon tied his career high with nine.
RIVERSIDE (2-17): Isaiah Ali-Lewis 2-0-5, Cameron Brown 8-1-18, Shane Stoney 2-0-4, Andrew Weaver 2-0-6, Dan Ventura 1-0-2, Jeremiah Boston 2-0-6, Justin Porter 2-0-5, Brett Grinnam 0-2-2. Totals 19-3-48.
PENNS GROVE (9-8): B.J. Robbins 2-1-6, Roman Gipson 5-1-13, Karon Ceaser 3-2-10, Antoine Robinson 0-1-0, Jameel Horace 3-2-8, Will Roy 3-0-7, Geonni Conrad 1-0-3, Luis Colon 4-1-9, Caleb Fowler 2-0-4, Mishawn Brantley 2-1-5, Jeremy Costacamps 4-2-10. Totals 29-11-76.
| Riverside | 6 | 12 | 8 | 22- | 48 |
| Penns Grove | 11 | 24 | 20 | 21- | 76 |
Girls games
PENNSVILLE 58, WEST DEPTFORD 51: A steady and successful march to the foul line and a switch on defense midway through the fourth quarter powered the Eagles to their second straight win in the tuneup for their TCC Diamond Division showdown with Woodstown.
The Eagles (13-5) went 13-of-14 from the line and switched to a man defense to power a 25-9 fourth-quarter uprising that won them the game.
Pennsville trailed by nine entering the fourth quarter. Marley Wood went 7-for-7 from the line and scored 13 points in the quarter. Nora Ausland went 6-for-7 and had eight in the frame.
“They had a lead and I could see that West Deptford’s coach wanted to hold the ball; naturally, we couldn’t allow that,” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “I handed out assignments and told them to personal responsibility if their player got the ball or scored. To their credit, they stepped up.”
Wood led all scorers with 23 points and moved to within 35 of 1,000 for her career. Ausland, who went over 1,000 last week, finished with 13. Taylor Bass had 12 with two 3-pointers.
A win over the Wolverines Tuesday night would give the Eagles a split of their season series and a one-game lead in the division race.
PENNSVILLE (13-5): Taylor Bass 5 0-0 12, Marley Wood 6 11-15 23, Addie Johnston 2 0-0 4, Izzy Saulin 2 0-0 4, Calli Ausland 0 2-2 2, Sofia Belitsas 0 0-0 0, Nora Ausland 2 8-9 13. Totals 17 21-26 58.
WEST DEPTFORD (7-12): Julia Barger 1 0-0 2, Juana Abdelhamid 1 3-4 5, Reyanna Jamison 2 3-4 8, Alyssa Taylor 2 0-0 4, Carleen Connelly 5 1-2 12, Deanna Lawrence 4 4-6 12, Addison Fronza 3 0-0 8. Totals 18 11-16 51.
| Pennsville | 11 | 12 | 10 | 25- | 58 |
| West Deptford | 11 | 14 | 17 | 9- | 51 |
SCHALICK 37, BUENA 21: The Cougars took control of the game with a 14-4 second quarter and got more separation with an 11-2 third. The win snapped a four-game losing streak.
“We challenged the girls to be more aggressive scoring inside and they did a nice job,” Schalick coach John Whalen said. “Likewise, defensively we were aggressive and very disciplined when we decided to press in the middle two quarters.”
Freshman Navaeh Robinson led the Cougars (4-11) with nine points.
SCHALICK (4-11): Abby Willoughby 5, Cali Fisler 3, Ava Scurry 6, Olivia Vanacker 3, Navaeh Robinson 9, Willow Davis 5, Olivia Lunemann 4, Carly Vicente 2.
BUENA (1-15): Mya Nicole 11, Jones Jiavonni 2, Leylani Muniz 2, Kayla Lafferty 2, Athena Bradley 2, Isabella Adkins 2.
| Schalick | 8 | 14 | 11 | 4- | 37 |
| Buena | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12- | 21 |
HADDON TWP. 61, PENNS GROVE 36
PENNS GROVE (8-8): Syanna Robbins 3 0-0 9, Brianna Robbins 2 0-0 4, RaNiyah Wilson 4 2-2 10, Keziah Patterson 2 2-2 6, JaNiyah Cummings 14 5-8 36.
HADDON TWP. (17-3): Kiersten Callahan 9 0-0 18, Samantha Farnham 0 0-0 0, Sammy Martin 1 0-0 3, Arianna Turkot 1 0-0 2, Maeve Sheenan 1 0-0 2, Reagan Maher 0 0-0 0, Madi Kamulda 4 3-4 11, Abby Weideman 4 1-2 11, Kaitlyn Martin 0 0-0 0, Alli Kamulda 3 3-6 11, Emory Shaw 0 2-2 2. Totals 23 9-14 61.
| Penns Grove | 7 | 7 | 11 | 11- | 36 |
| Haddon Twp. | 14 | 20 | 11 | 16- | 61 |
GCIT 52, SALEM TECH 22
GLOUCESTER TECH (11-4): Maggie Duer 5 0-0 13, Gina Sheehan 3 0-0 7, Savanna Shute 1 0-0 2, Leanne Riddick 2 0-0 4, Reis Hartman 2 0-0 4, Ingrid Giannone 1 1-2 4, Addison Tinges 1 0-0 2, Grace Popoff 1 0-0 2, N. Woods 1 0-0 2, Averie Clement 5 0-0 12. Totals 22 1-2 52.
SALEM TECH (2-15): Demajae White 3 2-2 8, Kaylin Beardsley 4 0-0 10, Amora Elaine 1 0-0 2, Rachel Reed 1 0-0 2, Lavae Scott 0 0-0 0, Tiara Bazemore 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 2-2 22.
| GCIT | 22 | 14 | 11 | 5- | 52 |
| Salem Tech | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11- | 22 |
| SALEM COUNTY ALL-TIME SCORING LIST (GIRLS) | TODAY | POINTS |
| Katie Kline, Pennsville (2004) | 2110 | |
| Amanda Young, St. James (1995) | 1762 | |
| Sharias Hill, Penns Grove (2009) | 1661 | |
| Brittany Smith, Salem (2007) | 1623 | |
| Tia Furbush, Schalick (2021) | 1574 | |
| Tori Smick, Woodstown (2013) | 1566 | |
| Talia Battavio, Woodstown | DNP | 1479 |
| Megan Donelson, Woodstown | DNP | 1473 |
| 1000-POINT WATCH | ||
| Nora Ausland, Pennsville (Salem 462/Pennsville 588) | 13 vs. West Deptford | 1050 |
| RaNiyah Wilson, Penns Grove (Kingsway 251/PG 772) | 10 vs. Haddon Twp. | 1023 |
| Marley Wood, Pennsville | 23 vs. West Deptford | 965 |
Riverview Sports News 