Schalick’s Jones rolls in a couple big baskets in second half, while defense denies West Deptford; Salem, Woodstown win showcase games
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Schalick 56, West Deptford 47
Gateway 55, Pennsville 40
Brook Ball Winter Classic
Woodstown 52, Collingswood 45
Marty Derer Classic
Salem 71, Rancocas Valley 45
Westhampton Tech 59, Penns Grove 41
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Schalick basketball coach James Turner used to give the ol’ eye roll when he watched Sherrod Jones get to the basket and try to finish it off with a finger roll at the rim. He just wasn’t sure if the shot was going to have enough steam to get in the hole.
It’s not like that anymore.
Jones has gotten quite proficient at getting the shot to drop this season and it played a pivotal role in the Cougars’ 56-47 win over West Deptford Tuesday afternoon.
The senior used the move he learned from his father on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter to convert turnovers into layups to give the Cougars their first lead since early in the game. He made a outback about 30 seconds later that with the defense they would play gave them the lead for good.
“Comparing this year from last year he’s much better at finishing at the rim,” Turner said. “In years past he’d get there and get a clean shot off but you just didn’t know if they’re gonna go in. This year, just today alone, he finished very, very well.
“This year he just made it look so smooth, so effortless, and that’s a big improvement for him from last year. He’s always been able to get to the rim and now he’s able to finish.”
As much as Jones likes to dunk, the finger roll is typically his first option.
“I just feel like the finger roll is the easiest shot for me to get to,” he said. “I feel like anytime I get to the paint and there’s somebody right there I just wrap around and get that finger roll up.”
Jones was really big in the second half. He scored 11 of his 13 points in the half and had four rebounds and two blocked shots. He had nine points in the third quarter.
“I told myself coming into the second half I was going to get a bucket,” he said. “My whole goal coming into the game was just bringing intensity to the team, hype everybody up. I started off by playing defense, getting blocks, and then the finger roll came into play.”
The Cougars (2-3) took a big step in their development in the second half and particularly the third quarter. They learned a lot about playing together.
They went into halftime trailing by one. They took the lead in the third quarter and stayed out front by holding the Eagles (1-5) without a field goal over the final 11 minutes of the game.
“That showed me how much they wanted it,” Jones said. “The first half we would play defense like we did today and it’d be great, (but) the second half people would get tired and it’d fall off. This time we played defense all the way through and we just kept going.”
The last bucket West Deptford scored came on a putback with three minutes left in the quarter. From there to the final horn the Eagles went 0-for-11 from the field with 13 turnovers. The Cougars, meanwhile, outscored them 20-8.
Freshman Orion Baldwin scored six of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and Justin Iacona had five.
“The one thing we do have is we have really good young players who really love the game and play the game well, and those guys allow the other guys to play together,” Turner said. “When you have young kids on the team that are energetic, that play the game very well, other teammates around them will also kind of (elevate their game).
“We haven’t all played together long enough to learn from each other, so the growth that happened today was those guys learning how to play together.”
SCHALICK 56, WEST DEPTFORD 47
WEST DEPTFORD (1-5): Zamir Davis 1 2-4 4, Dylan Gloeckner 0 0-0 0, Michael Joseph 0 1-2 1, Cole Stanish 3 0-0 6, Talib Bogar 2 2-3 6, Kyle Eason 6 0-5 12, Anthony Martello 4 2-2 10, Curtis Pearson 1 2-2 5, Yassien Abdel-Hamid 1 1-1 3. Totals 18 10-19 47.
SCHALICK (2-3): Sherrod Jones 6 0-0 13, Dylan Sheehan 5 2-2 12, Justin Iacona 1 2-4 5, Orion Baldwin 5 4-6 16, Kenny Bartee 0 1-4 1, Kade Macom 1 0-0 2, Julian Dickerson 3 0-2 7. Totals 21 9-18 56.
| West Deptford | 11 | 16 | 14 | 6- | 47 |
| Schalick | 8 | 18 | 16 | 14- | 56 |
GATEWAY 55, PENNSVILLE 40
PENNSVILLE (1-5): Daniel Knight 5 0-0 13, Mason O’Brien 4 4-4 12, Jake Layfield 4 2-2 12, Jacob Farina 1 0-0 3, Gavin Spears 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-6 40.
GATEWAY (3-2): Eddie Coryell 5 1-2 15, Ben Runner 6 2-4 14, Evan Haase 4 0-0 11, Ben Cook 3 1-4 7, Matt Cawley 1 0-0 2, Devin Forman 1 0-0 2, Darnell Pretlow 1 0-0 3, Jake Finger 0 1-2 1, DJ Bink 0 0-0 0, Max Hohl 0 0-0 0, Pierce Kaeferie 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-12 55.
| Pennsville | 12 | 6 | 14 | 8- | 40 |
| Gateway | 10 | 14 | 22 | 7- | 55 |
BROOK BALL WINTER CLASSIC
WOODSTOWN 52, COLLINGSWOOD 45
WOODSTOWN (5-2): Eli Caesar 2 1-1 5, Blake Bialecki 3 1-2 9, Alejandro Vazquez 6 1-1 16, Josh King 3 0-0 6, Andrew White 2 1-2 5, Frank Hoerst 4 3-6 11, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Brayden Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-12 52.
COLLINGSWOOD (0-6): Courtney Bunch 4 0-2 8, Croix Kelly 1 0-0 3, Mekhi Tingle 0 0-0 0, Zack Washington 1 0-0 3, Aaron Young 5 0-0 14, Amandi Ekezie 1 0-1 2, Gavin Wife 0 0-0 0, Jayden Diaz 4 0-0 10, Isiaha Clement 2 1-2 5. Totals 18 1-5 45.
| Woodstown | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10- | 52 |
| Collingswood | 12 | 11 | 14 | 8- | 45 |
MARTY DERER CLASSIC
SALEM 71, RANCOCAS VALLEY 45
RANCOCAS VALLEY (4-2): Griffin Fair 2 0-0 4, Christian Phinisee 4 4-5 13, Jaylen Washington 2 3-4 8, Colin Seal 1 2-2 5, Chris Lee 3 1-2 7, Andre Birdsong 2 0-2 6, Amare Shelton 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 10-15 45.
SALEM (4-1): Tymear Lecator 4-0-9, Deshaan Williams 8-3-19, Marshall Stevens 2-0-4, Neziah Spence 3-4-12, Xavier McGriff 6-0-13, BJ Robbins 4-1-10, Cole Sayers 1-2-4, Kyvion Parsons 1-0-2. Totals 29-10-73
| Rancocas Valley | 14 | 10 | 13 | 6- | 45 |
| Salem | 18 | 14 | 22 | 17- | 71 |
WESTHAMPTON TECH 59, PENNS GROVE 41
WESTHAMPTON TECH (5-2): Tristen Dickerson 1 0-0 3, Damien Moragne 1 0-0 3, Henry Njoga 5 0-0 10, Alexander Jeanty 7 2-2 17, Jason Livingstone 4 1-2 9, Dewill Andre 2 2-2 6, Javon Ford 3 0-0 7, Christian Price 0 0-0 0, Todd Young 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 5-6 59.
PENNS GROVE (4-2): Roman Gipson 2 0-0 4, Haneef Frisby 1 0-0 2, Will Roy 2 0-0 4, Mishawn Brantley 5 0-0 12, Luis Colon 2 2-2 6, Geonni Conrad 3 0-0 7, Eli Pearsall 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Costacamps 1 0-0 2, Ahkeen Edwards 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 2-2 41.
| Westhampton Tech | 18 | 14 | 20 | 7- | 59 |
| Penns Grove | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12- | 41 |
1000-POINT WATCH
| PLAYER | TODAY | TOTAL |
| Blake Bialecki, Woodstown | 9 vs. Collingswood | 812 |
| Tymear Lecator, Salem | 9 vs. Rancocas Valley | 694 |
Riverview Sports News 