No. 1 Mighty Oaks get strong showing from the bench, stay unbeaten in tuneup for Thursday’s showdown at Northampton
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — The players and coaches were too focused on getting off the floor to really notice, but anyone paying attention in the immediate aftermath of the game and connecting the dots figured out the true No. 1 star Tuesday night.
Top-ranked Salem CC had just polished off RCSJ-Cumberland 99-73 and were heading to the locker room when the staffer playing the music in DuPont Fieldhouse cut loose — for the first time this season — the 2010 DJ Khaled victory anthem “All I Do Is Win (Win, Win, No Matter What).”
The only question is what took them so long to play it?
The Mighty Oaks have been undefeated since Opening Day. They ran their record to 19-0 Tuesday and won, won, won for the 21st straight game going back to last year’s run in the national tournament. They are 35-4 since the start of the second l semester last year.
Assistant coach Marvin Kilgore made the connection with the song, but the other coaches and players didn’t put it together until pointed out the irony.
“I didn’t even hear it,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “I was so caught up in the team.
“Good company. Our guys at the table, our guys coming to watch the game, they’re getting comfortable with winning. I guess it feels good.”
The game had the potential to be a real trap for the Mighty Oaks with their showdown at No. 5 Northampton Thursday that would solidify their hold on the Region 19 Division III standings and top seed in the region/district tournament. But they handled their business with a reasonably complete showing except for a stretch in the last six minutes when they suddenly went cold. But they were comfortably ahead by then and scored enough to turn back any comeback thoughts the Dukes entertained.
“The last six minutes were terrible,” Green said. “We want to play all the way through. We don’t have guys who are just playing garbage minutes; you guys’ minutes matter. I’m trying to get them to understand that. You’re expected to go out there and perform. Any time we score six points in six minutes that’s not performing.”
The starters gave the Mighty Oaks what was expected with four scoring in double figures, but the bench was particularly effective on this night. And that’s a good sign for the remainder of the season where all the tough games lie and teams will be on the hunt to make a name by knocking off the No. 1 team in the country.
The reserves combined to outscore the Dukes’ bench 39-16, grab half the team’s 50 total rebounds and had 10 assists. Ten of the 11 players who got in the game scored and 10 grabbed at least one rebound.
Nayeem Johnson, getting more comfortable with each game since joining the lineup last week, scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes – tied for the second most minutes of any Salem player in the game. One of his buckets was a neat little jumper he shot off-balance while slipping backwards that found nothing but net.
Qua Smith had 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals 16 minutes. Jaiayre Wright had nine points and three offensive rebounds in 15 minutes, and Idris Rines, usually one of the Mighty Oaks’ first players off the bench, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
“I feel our ability goes so deep in the bench we can have our starters come off and have the same production from our bench guys,” Johnson said. “That’s what we expect every night and me being on that second unit I feel like I’m able to produce like the starting lineup.”
“Everybody has time to start, everybody’s got time to play, so I feel like at the end of the day you’ve got to get your minutes when you can and be ready all the time,” Wright said. “I’m ready for any game and every game (Green) puts me.”
Starting point guard Saaid Lee had a team-high 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Zyaire Gibson had 14 points with four more 3-pointers. Jarrell Little and Nasseem Wright had 13 points apiece.
The Dukes’ Jameel Purnell led all scorers with 29 points, 22 in the first half to keep the Dukes in it.
Johnson had a “different schedule” to joining the Mighty Oaks than last year’s midyear acquisitions Akeem Taylor and Jyheim Spencer, the two game-changers who completed the Mighty Oaks’ personnel puzzle, and has been settling into his place in the rotation since becoming eligible.
He had 10 points and seven rebounds in 30 total minutes his two games prior to playing the Dukes.
“Today was better than the first two,” Johnson said. “I think it’s all because I’m still getting adjusted to it. Getting (game) reps is different than getting out in practice. I was so tired that (first game). Today I got my legs back under me a little bit. I’m just getting more adjusted.”
Green has called Johnson a combination of Lee and Little. He knows when the newcomer gets back to form the Mighty Oaks will be even more formidable — regardless if he starts or comes off the bench.
“He’s still trying to find his groove,” Green said. “It’s tough when you join a team that’s undefeated and No. 1 in the nation, but I think he’s turning the corner.
“When you add Nayeem, who would be a star on any team and he’s also a star on ours, that bench is going to be good. We’ve got a really good bench (as it was). When you add Nayeem it just gets that much stronger.”
SALEM CC 99, RCSJ-CUMBERLAND 73 RCSJ-CUMBERLAND (7-9): Jameel Purnell 9-18 10-13 29, Jamaal Davis 7-16 4-6 18, Darell Newton 1-4 0-0 2, Daelan Dickerson 1-10 2-4 4, Vance Brown 1-3 2-3 4, Ahzaeah Woodard 1-3 3-4 5, Levar Price 1-2 0-0 2, Exodus DeJesus 0-1 0-0 0, Zion Ingram-Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Amir Elston 1-4 3-4 5, Jaedyn Greene 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Jack Schuler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 24-34 73. SALEM CC (19-0): Jarrell Little 4-11 3-6 13, Saaid Lee 6-10 0-0 15, Zyaire Gibson 5-11 0-0 14, Nasseem Wright 6-9 1-1 13, Stefan Phillips 2-4 0-0 5, Jahseir Sayles 1-4 0-0 3, Jaiayre Wright 3-4 3-3 9, Qua Smith 4-5 3-3 11, Nayeem Johnson 4-10 4-7 12, Idris Rines 2-4 0-0 4, Michael Goodwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-72 14-20 99.
RCSJ-Cumberland
39
34-
73
Salem CC
52
47-
99
3-point goals: RCSJ 1-13 (Purnell 1-3, Davis 0-2, Newton 0-1, Dickerson 0-2, Brown 0-1, Woodard 0-1, DeJesus 0-1, Ingram-Moore 0-1, Elston 0-1); Salem CC 11-31 (Little 2-6, Lee 3-7, Gibson 4-8, Phillips 1-2, Sayles 1-3, Johnson 0-3, Rines 0-2). Rebounds: RCSJ 22 (Purnell 7, Davis 6); Salem CC 50 (Rines 10, Johnson 8). Total fouls: RCSJ 16; Salem CC 25.
Region XIX Standings
DIVISION III
R19
ALL
GSAC
Northampton (5)
9-0
15-1
SALEM CC (1)
6-0
19-0
5-0
Union (8)
11-1
14-3
10-1
Brookdale
12-2
12-5
7-2
Ocean
9-2
11-4
7-2
Camden
7-2
10-6
6-4
Montgomery (9)
5-2
8-3
Bergen
9-7
9-10
3-7
RCSJ-Cumberland
6-6
7-9
6-6
Atlantic Cape
5-6
6-9
4-7
Thaddeus Stevens
3-7
7-10
Sussex
4-10
6-13
4-8
RCSJ-Gloucester
4-10
6-14
1-9
Passaic
3-12
3-14
3-9
Delaware County
2-9
3-13
Luzerne
1-7
4-12
Harrisburg Area
1-7
2-13
Philadelphia
1-8
6-8
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking
TUESDAY’S GAMES Salem CC 99, RCSJ-Cumberland 73 Union 90, Luzerne 59 Sussex 97, Passaic 93 Howard CC 74, Essex 67 Mercer 96, Rockland CC 86 Brookdale 74, Montgomery 72 Ocean 97, RCSJ-Gloucester 76 Lackawanna 81, Thaddeus Stevens 76 Bergen 102, Harrisburg Area 99 Camden 90, Delaware County 49 Northampton 72, Atlantic Cape 67 WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Monroe JV at Middlesex Cecil at Delaware Tech THURSDAY’S GAMES Salem at Northampton Sussex at Luzerne Camden at Georgian Court JV Union at Ocean Brookdale at RCSJ-Gloucester Thaddeus Stevens at Albright JV Orange CC at Morris Prince George’s at Harcum RCSJ-Cumberland at Montgomery Raritan Valley at Monroe Passaic at Bergen Essex at Rockland CC Westchester CC at Mercer
Region XIX Women’s Standings
DIVISION II
R19
ALL
GSAC
Harcum (4)
7-0
15-1
Union (11)
8-1
16-2
6-0
Mercer (17)
6-2
11-3
3-1
Essex
6-3
11-4
5-2
Delaware Tech
4-4
5-11
Raritan Valley
3-5
6-8
3-3
Lackawanna
2-6
2-10
SALEM CC
1-5
2-11
0-3
Middlesex
1-6
6-13
0-4
Morris
0-5
0-5
0-3
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking
MONDAY’S GAME Hagerstown 56, Salem CC 54 TUESDAY’S GAMES Brookdale 52, Montgomery 50 Northampton 54, Atlantic Cape 44 Essex 67, Howard CC 50 RCSJ-Gloucester 74, Ocean 41 Philadelphia 60, Bergen 46 Union 74, Westchester CC 39 Harcum 121, Morris 29 Mercer at Rockland CC WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Cecil at Delaware Tech THURSDAY’S GAMES Harcum at Salem Camden at Northampton Passaic at Bergen CCBC Essex at Raritan Valley Brookdale at RCSJ-Gloucester RCSJ-Cumberland at Montgomery Philadelphia at Atlantic Cape Essex at Rockland CC Middlesex at Morris Westchester CC at Mercer
Salem CC women fall in the closing seconds to Hagerstown’s only 3-pointer of the game
By Riverview Sports News
HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Ella Bennett, Hagerstown’s most proficient 3-point shooter, hit her team’s only 3-pointer of the game in the final 10 seconds Monday night to send the Thunder Wolves past the Salem CC women 56-54.
The Mighty Oaks (2-11) held a 54-52 lead and took a time out with 13 seconds left to advance the ball to the front court. Justine Cardona took a shot that would’ve clinched the win, but it didn’t fall and the rebound went right to Bennett, who hit the go-ahead 3. Bri King hit a free throw for the final point.
“No luck at all this season,” Mighty Oaks coach Brian Marsh said.
Bennett had made 17 of the Thunder Wolves’ 29 3-pointers this season entering the game.
Tanijya Shaw led the Mighty Oaks with 25 points. She scored 11 of the Mighty Oaks’ last 14 and 23 of their last 31. Dani Gustin had 10 points and nine rebounds. Bri King scored 25 for Hagerstown.
SALEM CC (2-11): RayNescia King 0 0-0 0, Tanijya Shaw 9-24 7-8 25, Justine Cardona 1-8 3-4 5, Kasey Oliver 3-9 2-2 8, Dani Gustin 5-7 0-0 10, Amiryona Hunter 0-2 0-0 0, Paula Wilson 1-6 0-0 3, Jayda Hunter 1-7 0-0 3. Totals 20-63 12-14 54. HAGERSTOWN (7-7): Cylvia Prout 3 0-0 6, Tyra Hobbs 3 0-0 6, Andrea Elder 2 0-0 4, Ella Bennett 1 2-2 5, Janae Bradley 5 1-2 11, Bri King 9 6-12 25. Totals 23 9-16 56.
Salem CC
12
14
19
9-
54
Hagerstown
21
14
11
8-
56
3-point goals: Salem CC 2-14 (Shaw 0-4, Oliver 0-1, Cardona 0-2, Wilson 1-3, J. Hunter 1-2, A. Hunter 0-2); Hagerstown 1 (Bennett). Rebounds: Salem CC 32 (Gustin 9, J. Hunter 9). Total fouls: Salem CC 13, Hagerstown 12.
Here are the results and highlights from Monday night’s Salem County sports calendar
BOYS BASKETBALL Salem 77, Clayton 64 Overbrook 66, Woodstown 51 Schalick 84, Pennsville 30 Penns Grove 65, Glassboro 50 Wildwood 66, Salem Tech 29 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro 64, Penns Grove 30 Clayton 63, Salem at Clayton 50 Pennsville 57, Schalick 35 Wildwood 53, Salem Tech 22 Woodstown 55, Overbrook 27 SWIMMING At YMCA of Vineland Millville 91, Schalick 79
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The Woodstown junior varsity came back from way downtown in the fourth quarter to win the undercard Monday night. It was the kind of rally that would have electrified the building, but the magic didn’t carry over into the main event for the home team.
The junior Wolverines thrilled the home crowd by coming from 23 down in the fourth to win at the buzzer, but in the main event it was all Overbrook. The Rams led wire-to-wire and although the Wolverines did make a run late left town with a 66-51 win to take the upper hand in the Tri-County Diamond Division.
Both teams were undefeated in the division coming into the game.
“They made things hard for us tonight,” Woodstown coach Ramon Roots said. “Seeing that was incredible by the JV and we had the energy in the locker room when we came out. It came down to great players make big-time plays and we just missed shots. It wasn’t our night.”
Overbrook established its dominance with runs at the start of each half. The Rams (9-2) jumped out 12-3 to start the game and then had the first nine points of the third quarter to set the stage for its 21st straight Diamond Division win.
“I just challenged our kids,” Rams coach Donny Lang said. “It’s a long bus ride, these kids from Woodstown they play hard and I challenged our kids to make sure we matched their energy or came out with more. They did that from the opening tip. They came out with the passion. it’s a division game, we want to win our conference and I credit my kids for coming out with that kind of energy.
“It’s funny. In this game we always say until there’s zeroes on the clock it’s never over. (Woodstown’s Alejandro Vazquez) hit a buzzer beater to cut it to 8 (at halftime). That was a big shot. We knew that kind of gave them some momentum coming into the second half so it was kind of like let’s start over and let’s make sure we win the second half, we’ll win the game.”
Lamar Little and Bilal Robinson, as usual, inflicted the most damage, going for 21 and 20 points, respectively, but the Rams got contributions from throughout the lineup. JR Stanley had nine points and five rebounds, Gavin Cajuste had seven rebounds and Jaden St. John had eight boards off the bench.
Little and Robinson had all but one of the Rams’ points in the 17-point first quarter.
“I’m very fortunate to get coach both of them,” Lang said. “Lamar’s a senior; he’s taken a big step for us. He’s kind of mentored Bilal and Bilal’s grown up fast from his freshman year. He started for us, but his role has changed now. He’s one of our main guys.”
Andrew White and Vazquez led the Wolverines (7-4) with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The game stayed in the 12- to 15-point range after Overbrook’s opening salvo of the third quarter. The Wolverines really went cold to open the fourth quarter and the Rams were able to stretch the lead.
The varsity Wolverines just didn’t have as much time to work with the deficit as the guys in the first game, but they did put together a nice run late to make it respectable. They made a 13-2 closing run that included a pair of 3s by Connor Miller and one by Jack Hood-McGinley, the hero of the JV win.
“They came in and played hard and made shots, that’s what basketball comes down to,” Roots said. “As coaches we’re going to re-evaluate everything. Guys might get a chance to get more opportunities. That’s the message I gave.”
OVERBROOK (9-2): Lamar Little 7 5-6 21, Bilal Robinson 8 0-0 20, JR Stanley 4 0-2 9, Gavin Cajuste 1 2-6 4, Jaden St. John 3 0-0 6, Rashon Jones 1 0-0 2, Damere Vennie 1 0-0 2, Jayden Wilkerson 1 0-0 2, Kyle Johns 0 0-0 0, Jason Boyd 0 0-0 0, Josh Lewis 0 0-0 0, Josh Schoeb 0 0-0 0 WOODSTOWN (7-4): Eli Caesar 1 4-5 6, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 2 1-2 6, Alejandro Vazquez 3 3-4 10, Jack Hood-McGinley 1 2-2 5, Josh King 1 2-2 4, Andrew White 4 2-4 12, Trey Markward 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Bryce Ayars 0 0-0 0, Frankie Hoerst 1 0-2 2, Connor Miller 2 0-0 6. Totals 15 14-21 51.
Overbrook
17
16
18
15-
66
Woodstown
7
18
11
15-
51
3-point goals: Overbrook 7 (Little 2, Robinson 4, Stanley); Woodstown 7 (Bialecki, Vazquez, Hood-McGinley, White 2, Miller 2). Rebounds: Overbrook 38 (St. John 7); Woodstown 22 (Hoerst 4, White 4). Total fouls: Overbrook 14, Woodstown 14.
SALEM 77, CLAYTON 64: Fatah Paige has only been with the Salem basketball team a short time, but he made his biggest impact to date in helping the Rams to their seventh straight win.
The McLean (Del.) transfer, after scoring a combined 16 points in his first two games with the Rams, went off for 18 points and 14 rebounds, with four thunderous dunks that brought the crowd to its feet.
Xavier McGriff (11) and Neziah Spence (12) also scored in double figures. Deshaan Williams had eight points and 13 rebounds. Marshall Stephens had eight points and seven boards. And BJ Robbins had six points, seven rebounds and eight assists, picking up the slack without floor general Tymear Lecator in the game.
PENNS GROVE 65, GLASSBORO 50: Roman Gipson went for a team-high 18 points and Carson Pearsall went for a career-high 10 in his first varsity scoring of the season, but all five of the Red Devils’ other scorers had seven to nine points. Pearsall’s previous career-high was nine, last year against Kingsway.
PENNS GROVE (6-4): Roman Gipson 18, Carson Pearsall 10, Haneef Frisby 7, Will Roy 9, Geonni Conrad 7, Zane Thomas 7, Luis Colon 7. GLASSBORO (2-8): Alex Adeleye 10, William Boggins 18, Cam Parker-Akins 8, Aiden Harris 4, Maurice Davis 10.
Penns Grove
14
15
19
17-
65
Glassboro
12
7
14
17-
50
SCHALICK 84, PENNSVILLE 30: Freshmen Julian Dickerson led Orion Baldwin led five Schalick scorers in double figures with 20 and 18, respectively, as the Cougars won their third straight to get over .500 for the first time this season. For Baldwin, it tied his career high.
Kade Macom, Sherrod Jones and Dylan Sheehan all scored 11 apiece. Mason O’Brien fought through a sore ankle to led Pennsville with 10 points.
WILDWOOD 66, SALEM TECH 29: Chase Pompper led Salem Tech with 10 points. Aiden Bobo had nine.
Salem Tech (1-7)
12
7
6
4-
29
Wildwood (3-5)
17
17
23
9-
66
1000-Point Watch
PLAYER
TONIGHT
TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown
6 vs. Overbrook
864
Tymear Lecator, Salem
DNP
755
Girls games
PENNSVILLE 57, SCHALICK 35: Sophomore Addie Johnston had the hottest hand of her career, hitting five 3-pointers and going for 22 points as the Eagles (6-3) remained undefeated in the TCC Diamond Division.
She hit four of her treys in the first half while scoring 16 points. She had 10 points in the second quarter as the Eagles erased a five-point deficit and took a 27-16 halftime lead.
“She was just hot in that first half,” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “She missed four layups during the course of the game or could’ve been a really big game for her.”
Johnston hit four 3s twice last season (Haddon Twp. and Wildwood). Her previous career-high scoring was 21 points against Triton.
She had nine 3-pointers this season coming into the game and broke a three-game streak without one when she hit two against Delsea Saturday.
Marley Wood had 15 points, 14 after falling on her wrist in the first quarter. Taylor Bass added 12 points. Izzy Saulin scored eight points, all in the second half.
Willow Davis hit a career-high four 3-pointers for Schalick and matched her career high with 14 points. Neveah Robinson had 12 points.
WOODSTOWN 55, OVERBROOK 27: The Wolverines snapped a five-game losing streak, their longest since the 2018-19 season when they have five- and six-game slides.
GLASSBORO 64, PENNS GROVE 30: Kezia Bracket scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished four assists and had four steals for the Bulldogs (7-3). Lily Czubas scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds. Keziah Patterson (14) and Mikayla Washington (12) combined for 26 points for Penns Grove (1-9).
PENNS GROVE (1-9): Keziah Patterson 5 2-2 14, JaNiyah Cummings 1 1-4 3, Mikayla Washington 5 2-4 12, NyAsia Numan 0 1-2 1. Played with with five, but only four scorers reported. Totals 11 6-12 30. GLASSBORO (7-3): Kezia Brackett 7 9-11 24, Grace Moore 2 1-1 6, Layla Anderson 4 0-0 9, Zoey Bailey 1 0-0 2, Sianna Wedderburn 2 0-0 4, Gianna Askin 1 0-0 3, Marissa Pasquarello 1 0-0 2, Sanaa Thomas 3 1-3 7, Lily Czubas 3 0-1 7, Tatiana Concepcion 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-16 64.
WILDWOOD 53, SALEM TECH 22: Angela Wilber (15) and Rebecca Benichou (12) combined for five 3-pointers while scoring in double figures for the Warriors. The Chargers didn’t hit a 3 in the game or have a scorer in double figures, but Rylee Doerr and Amora Delaine grabbed 15 and 12 rebounds, respectively. Doerr also was credited with four shots.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 12-17
MONDAY, JAN. 12 BOYS BASKETBALL Clayton at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Overbrook at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Salem at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Wildwood at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. SWIMMING Schalick vs. Millville, YMCA of Vineland, 3 p.m. INDOOR TRACK Salem at Ocean Breeze, Staten Island, 4:30 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Hagerstown, 5:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, JAN. 13 WRESTLING Salem, Holy Spirit at Atlantic City, 4:30 p.m. Woodstown at Schalick, 5 p.m. Penns Grove at Cumberland, 6 p.m. Pitman at Pennsville, 6 p.m. BOWLING Salem vs. GCIT at Bolero Lanes, 4 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Kingsway at Westbrook Lanes COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Cumberland at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14 BOYS BASKETBALL DuPont at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Pitman at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Penns Grove at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Pitman, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 15 GIRLS BASKETBALL Medford Tech at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Camden Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m. WRESTLING Salem at Palmyra, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Clayton, 6 p.m. Schalick at Pennsville, 6 p.m. SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Gloucester Catholic at GCIT, 5:45 p.m. Schalick vs. Pitman at GCIT, 7:15 p.m. Salem vs. Deptford at GCIT, 7:15 p.m. INDOOR TRACK State Relays at Bennett Center, Toms River, 4:30 p.m. BOWLING Salem Tech vs. Clayton, Wood Lanes, 3:45 p.m. Salem vs. Gloucester Catholic, Westbrook Lanes, 4 p.m. COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Northampton, 7 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Harcum at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 16 BOYS BASKETBALL Buena at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Lindenwold at Schalick, 4 p.m. Paulsboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Salem at Cumberland, 5:30 p.m. WRESTLING Girls Jamboree at Buena, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 17 BOYS BASKETBALL Penns Grove at Eastern, 10 a.m. Schalick at Haddon Twp., 10 a.m. Woodstown at Cedar Creek, 11:30 a.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Woodstown at Delsea, 11:30 a.m. WRESTLING Woodstown at Buena Quad Penns Grove, Overbrook, Pitman at Salem, 9 a.m. Pennsville, Collingswood, Vineland at Sterling, 10 a.m. Schalick, Haddon Twp., Pemberton at Deptford, 10 a.m. COLLEGE BASKETBALL Passaic at Salem CC, 2 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Middlesex at Salem CC, noon
3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Hengel 2, Young 2, Waterman); Haddonfield 6 (Mulligan, Kadar, Guveiyian, Langel 2, Sinnes).
Wrestling
BUENA QUAD SCHALICK 66, BUENA 10 106: John Sutton (B) pinned Victor Fenske, 4:27 113: Nicholas Latona (S) pinned Alex Alicia, 1:23 120: E’Shion Underwood (S) pinned Logan Cossaboon, 0:32 126: Caleb Jenkins (S) won by forfeit 132: Jacob Potts (S) pinned Eric Aparicio, 0:08 138: Thomas Hann (B) maj. dec. Coliin Bittle, 12-4 144: Michael Baisch (S) pinned Zach Cohen, 5:45 150: Mason Hollywood (S) dec. Donato Vai, 7-1 157: Ayden Jenkins (S) pinned Gage Forvour, 0:37 165: Anthony Deaver (S) pinned Billy Haslam, 0:37 175: Ricky Watt (S) tech fall over Matt Cohen, 18-2 (1:56) 190: Evan Elliott (S) pinned Larry Spellman, 0:28 215: James Cook (S) maj. dec. Anthony Trainor, 9-1 285: Ezequiel Garcia-Cruz (S) pinned Mason Zaak, 0:54
CUMBERLAND 48, SCHALICK 26 120: Elvis Lima (CR) def. E’Shion Underwood, DQ 126: Kolton Sheppard (CR) pinned Caleb Jenkins, 3:30 132: Jacob Potts (S) pinned Logan Smith 138: Coliin Bittle (S) pinned Matthew Lucas 144: Anthony Aponte (CR) pinned Michael Baisch, 3:06 150: Chase Sooy (CR) pinned Mason Hollywood, 1:05 157: Ayden Jenkins (S) maj. dec. Chase Williams, 17-4 165: Anthony Deaver (S) dec. David Seeger, 15-8 175: Ricky Watt (S) dec. Gary Albert, 4-1 190: Ralph Hitchner (CR) pinned Nicholas Leonard, 3:12 215: Gerardo Felipe (S) maj. dec. Davauhn Petty, 10-0 285: Steve Williams (CR) pinned Ezequiel Garcia-Cruz, 1:20 106: Geno DiJoseph (CR) pinned Victor Fenske, 1:16 113: DeAnthony Harden (CR) pinned Nicholas Latona, 0:47
SCHALICK 43, TIMBER CREEK 27 113: Nicholas Latona (S) won by forfeit 120: E’Shion Underwood (S) tech fall over Dylan Klotz, 24-5 (1:53) 126: Noah Carr (TC) dec. Caleb Jenkins, 8-7 132: Jacob Potts (S) tech fall over Seth Redman, 17-2 (1:51) 138: Coliin Bittle (S) pinned Jaire Williams, 0:38 144: Michael Baisch (S) pinned Alexander Dang, 0:23 150: Mason Hollywood (S) dec. Benjamin Voll, 13-10 157: Ayden Jenkins (S) dec. Matt Cordova, 10-3 165: Anthony Deaver (S) dec. Quasir Pettit, 3-0 175: Ricky Watt (S) pinned Ian Chandler, 3:04 190: Elijah Green (TC) over Evan Elliott, MFFL 215: Julian McCray (TC) won by forfeit 285: Roland Green (TC) pinned Ezequiel Garcia-Cruz, 0:44 106: Jimmy Boone pinned Victor Fenske, 3:13
PENNS GROVE QUAD COLLINGSWOOD 75, PENNS GROVE 6 106: Robbie Penman (CO) pinned Jose Santiago, 2:54 113: Dominic VanZandt (CO) won by forfeit 120: Brody Marks (CO) won by forfeit 126: Kenny Olsen (CO) tech fall over Adam Gonzales, 19-2 (4:30) 132: Sean Byrd (CO) pinned Nyla West, 1:07 138: Julian Carty (CO) won by forfeit 144: Iasah Cruz (CO) pinned Abdul Muta’Ali Ibn Abdul Halim Tart, 2:29 150: Eddie Wittwer-Jordan (CO) pinned Angel Ocasio, 3:21 157: Parker Hackl-Gerenstein (CO) won by forfeit 165: Semaj Trotman (CO) won by forfeit 175: Brett Davis (CO) maj. dec. Richard Simmons, 16-4 190: Julian Maxwell (CO) won by forfeit 215: Chase Miller (CO) pinned Zaviyen Veney, 1:47 285: Antonio Cooper (PG) pinned Rocco Angelucci, 1:37
DEPTFORD 74, PENNS GROVE 0 120: Dennis Ayubzai (D) won by forfeit 126: Aiden Speigel (D)tech fall over Adam Gonzales, 17-0 132: Derek Foy (D) pinned Nyla West 138: Amir Barnes (D) won by forfeit 144: Quentin Boyce (D) dec. Abdul Muta’Ali Ibn Abdul Halim Tart, 7-3 150: Gavyn Henderson (D) pinned Angel Ocasio 157: Odesa Myers (D) won by forfeit 165: Dmitri Campbell (D) won by forfeit 175: Shawn McLaughlin (D) pinned Richard Simmons 190: Double forfeit 215: Dayne McDermott (D) pinned Zaviyen Veney 285: Daniel Maguire (D) pinned Antonio Cooper 106: John Gigante (D) pinned Jose Santiago 113: Corey Hoffman (D) won by forfeit
OVERBROOK QUAD PENNSVILLE 45, MILLVILLE 28 106: Brett Land (P) pinned Aiden Fowler, 0:43 113: Erick Davalos (P) won by forfeit 120: John Sassi (P) won by forfeit 126: Ruben Cruz (M) maj. dec. Mehki Dicks, 17-5 132: Chase Baker (P) pinned Eziar Allen, 3:43 138: Joshua Roman (M) won by forfeit 144: Vincent Grether (P) won by forfeit 150: Double forfeit 157: Patrick Tull (M) pinned Gabe Supernavage, 5:53 165: Robbie McDade (P) dec. Jared Hoffman, 8-4 175: Cristian Blyler (P) won by forfeit 190: Kyelle Corley (M) pinned Stephen Pangle, 1:52 215: Tyshawn English (M) pinned Hunter Coulbourn, 1:07 285: Jacob Hand (P) pinned Andrew Pinnock, 6:34
PENNSVILLE 52, OAKCREST 20 113: Erick Davalos (P) pinned Giovanni Taylor 120: Mason Sanchez (O) maj. dec. Earl Wynn, 12-7 126: Joseph Sanchez (O) pinned Mehki Dicks, 2:00 132: Chase Baker (P) maj. dec. Heriberto Curtidor, 14-3 138: Vincent Grether (P) pinned Keagan Santana 144: Erick Montas-Arias (O) won by forfeit 150: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Aiden Xayaphachan 157: Gabe Supernavage (P) pinned Gavin Gabriel 165: Robbie McDade (P) dec. Adrienn Aponte, 17-11 175: Malik Hughes (O) maj. dec. Cristian Blyler, 14-6 190: Stephen Pangle (P) pinned Gunnar Olivieri 215: Hunter Coulbourn (P) won by forfeit 285: Trevor Waddington (P) dec. Youssef Nosair, 1-0 106: Brett Land (P) won by forfeit
PENNSVILLE 62, OVERBROOK 8 132: Maximos Efelis (P) won by forfeit 138: Vincent Grether (P) tech fall over Jaden Marshall, 15-0 144: Dalton Ammon (P) dec. Matt Kamara, 7-2 150: Double forfeit 157: Gabe Supernavage (P) won by forfeit 165: Robbie McDade (P) won by forfeit 175: Xyon Marshall (O) tech fall over Cristian Blyler, 17-0 190: Jayden Devan (O) dec. Stephen Pangle, 6-3 215: Hunter Coulbourn (P) pinned Shyer Scarborough 285: Trevor Waddington (P) pinned Giovanni Carbarnaro 106: Brett Land (P) won by forfeit 113: Erick Davalos (P) won by forfeit 120: Earl Wynn (P) pinned Kayden Branco 126: Mehki Dicks (P) pinned Alan Marcos
CINNAMINSON DUALS LOWER CAPE MAY 62, WOODSTOWN 16 150: Gabe Tosto (L) pinned Josh Woronicak, 0:58 157: Daniel Byrne (L) pinned Tyrell West, 1:09 165: Ashton Ray (L) pinned Ricky Watts, 0:17 175: Greyson Hyland (WO) maj. dec. Shane Morrell, 14-2 190: David Douglass (L) over Asher Fitzpatrick, inj. 215: Bradley Snitcher (WO) pinned Caden Britton, 1:44 285: Mateo Vinciguerra (WO) pinned John Hearon, 0:36 106: Abraham Caballero (L) pinned T.J. Conto, 0:46 113: Tristan Rosemeyer (L) pinned Jadon Middlemiss, 0:16 120: Bryce Paley (L) dec. Carson Bradway, 7-2 126: Nolan Mormello (L) pinned Hunter Allen, 1:10 132: Ryan Morgan (L) tech fall over Barry Coverly, 19-3 138: Eli Glover (L) pinned Luke Woronicak, 1:10 144: Andrew Brant (L) pinned Nehemiah Carter, 0:41
HADDONFIELD 49, WOODSTOWN 26 157: William Barker (H) tech fall over Tyrell West, 17-2 165: Hutch Rhyne (H) tech fall over Logan Warfield, 15-0 175: Greyson Hyland (WO) pinned Parker Bawidamann 190: Rafael Lyle (H) won by forfeit 215: Logan Rhea (H) maj. dec. Bradley Snitcher, 18-4 285: Mateo Vinciguerra (WO) pinned John Talton 106: Michael Scocca (H) tech fall over T.J. Conto, 22-5 113: Jadon Middlemiss (WO) tech fall over Cole Spence, 16-0 120: Carson Bradway (WO) pinned Harrison Carroll 126: Ethan Shevchenko (H) pinned Keanan Houtz 132: Michael Lamb (H) pinned Barry Coverly 138: Pierce Hoffman (H) pinned Luke Woronicak 144: Nehemiah Carter (WO) dec. Charles Miller, SV-1, 6-3 150: William Dietz (H) pinned Josh Woronicak
PAULSBORO 48, WOODSTOWN 34 165: Josias Torres (P) pinned Ricky Watts, 3:11 175: Greyson Hyland (WO) pinned Malachi Harris, 1:23 190: Frank Damming (P) won by forfeit 215: Bradley Snitcher (WO) pinned Jason Yandach, 0:56 285: Mateo Vinciguerra (WO) won by forfeit 106: Ethan Nguyen (P) pinned T.J. Conto, 0:52 113: Jadon Middlemiss (WO) maj. dec. Ben Pacheco, 17-8 120: Will Cruz (P) won by forfeit 126: Carson Bradway (WO) pinned Patrick Hold, 0:28 132: Antonio Chila (P) pinned Luke Woronicak, 3:10 138: Barry Coverly (WO) won by forfeit 144: Ben Price (P) pinned Nehemiah Carter, 1:11 150: Julian Sosa (P) pinned Josh Woronicak, 2:23 157: Grayson Lane (P) pinned Tyrell West, 0:34
WASHINGTON TWP. QUAD WASHINGTON TWP. 75, SALEM 6 106: Frank Albright (WT) won by forfeit 113: Zylan Hetzel (WT) won by forfeit 120: Colin Hoopes (WT) pinned Zachary Tortella 126: Christian Hoopes (WT) pinned Hayden Stauble 132: Colton Hagerty (WT) pinned Hayden Stauble 138: Samuel Estrada (WT) pinned Brodie Parker 144: Giovanni Goffredo (WT) pinned Joseph Goetaski 150: Michael Horn (WT) pinned Christian VanTonder 157: Jacob Gledhill (WT) pinned Ziyon Moore 165: Gio Zurzolo (WT) pinned Jordan Brown 175: Landon Stone (WT) pinned Jaivion Sydnor 190: Kaleb Ewald (S) won by forfeit 215: Jaylen Suarez (WT) won by forfeit 285: Gunner McFall (WT) dec. Abdullah Jenkins, 2-1
Indoor track
SCTA MEET 11 Bennett Center, Toms River (Salem County top 6) BOYS 55: 5. Kyle Reitz, Woodstown 6.80 SMR: 2. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Ben Lippincott, Kyle Reitz, Josh Crawford) 3:39.54 DMR: 4. Woodstown (David Farrell, Pacey Hutton, Tortsen Duva, Jacob Marino) 11:30.22 4×800: 6. Woodstown (Jacob Marino, David Farrell, Tortsen Duva, Nicolas Law) 8:49.63 4:400: 1. Woodstown (Kyle Reitz, Karson Chew, Jacob Marino, Josh Crawford) 3:34.45 Shot put: 3. Aiden Taulane, Woodstown 43-6.5 GIRLS SHR: 4. Woodstown (Kami Casiano, Josephine Federando, Arianna Mott, Lia Covely) 38.73 DMR: 4. Woodstown (Aubree Covely, Angelina Lindenmuth, Lia Covely, Abby Marino) 14:00.60 High jump: 4. Kami Casiano, Woodstown 5-0
Top-ranked Mighty Oaks overcome slow start to stay undefeated; women fall under a barrage of 3s
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SEWELL – For the better part of the first half Saturday it looked like this was going to be it, the day somebody finally gets the Salem CC basketball team and hands the Mighty Oaks their first loss of the season.
RCSJ-Gloucester came out hitting shots and the Mighty Oaks came out, well, not. The top-ranked team in the land was down 13 eight minutes into the game and again at the 10-minute mark of the first half.
At that point Salem coach Mike Green had seen enough to know he had seen too much. He called a 30-second timeout to tell his team to get on the stick, and they responded.
They clawed back into it and actually built a six-point lead before going into the break up by one. They never lost the lead in the second half and eventually pulled away from the Roadrunners 96-84 to hold onto all the good things they have built to this point in the season.
“I think this was the first time this year we took somebody a little lightly,” Green said. “I told them their coaches were really good, they’re players we really good. They ain’t got nothing to lose. They’re coming to play against the No. 1 team, so you’ve got to be locked in. I don’t think we were locked in to start the game.
“It gets like that when you’re complacent. You’re 17-0, you’re No. 1 in the country, sometimes you ain’t fired up. But we woke up pretty quick. They got fired up some really quickly after that.”
It was easy to see how that could have happened. The Mighty Oaks (18-0) were coming off a win over No. 7 Union that was the biggest threat to their undefeated record to date, they were winning games by an average of 20 points a game, and they beat Saturday’s hosts by 28 in their first meeting in December.
But the Roadrunners (6-13) had different ideas. They ran out to leads of 22-9 and 28-15 in the first 10 minutes by using tenacious defense that forced Salem at one point into eight straight empty possessions and sharp 3-point shooting.
They were 7-of-8 from beyond the arc in the first half. They hit their first three 3s in a 15-2 run that produced the 22-9 lead. Two more 3s – one by former Salem High standout Jabez DeJesus – pushed it 28-15 with about 10 minutes left in the half. That’s when Green called time to reset the mindset.
“We definitely came out a little slow; we definitely looked over them a little bit,” gunner Zyaire Gibson said. “It’s hard to win, win, win and keep the same mentality all the time, but our coach does a great job of keeping us together and playing hard. After he called the time out, he talked to us and made sure everybody knew what they were supposed to do and we went out and figured it out.”
The Mighty Oaks (18-0) got back in it by doing what the Roadrunners were doing to them early in the game. They came out of the timeout, turned up the defensive intensity and promptly went on a 15-0 run to take the lead.
“Since we beat them by 30 the first time we came here thinking as a team they were going to lay down, but they didn’t,” Jerrell Little said. “It’s probably the first or second time we’ve taken a team lightly; maybe the first game of the season too we took them lightly.
“Our coach always says we’re the No. 1 team in the nation so we’re gonna get everybody’s best game and especially being at home we’re going to get double people’s best game. We came in (complacent) a little bit, but at least we picked it up, got the win. But now we know, like people are hunting. We just have to be the hunters next time.”
Gibson played one of the biggest roles in keeping the Mighty Oaks out front. He hit five of his career-high six 3-pointers in a 21-point second half and finished the game with a career-high 26. He opened the second half with a 3 and a layup to extend the lead, then drained four 3s in a row from both corners in a personal 16-point run over the final five minutes to ice the game.
He was 9-of-18 from the floor overall, 6-of-15 from 3-point range. His previous high for 3s was five against Bergen in the home opener and at Ocean.
“They got a real soft rim; it makes it a little easier to shoot,” he said. “At the home gym we’re shooting every day, it’s kind of routine. Here it took me a little while to get in the groove, but I figured it out.”
ACORNS: Gibson (top photo) was one of four Mighty Oaks scoring in double figures. Saaid Lee had 17 points, nine assists and four steals. Nasseem Wright had 16 points and Little 15 …. Wright and Idris Rines combined for five blocked shots that all seemed to come at crucial points in the game … Ace Lassiter led RCSJ with 24 points, but the Mighty Oaks held him to six in the second half.
SALEM CC 96, RCSJ-GLOUCESTER 84 SALEM CC (18-0): Zyaire Gibson 9-18 2-2 26, Saaid Lee 7-11 2-3 17, Nasseem Wright 6-9 4-6 16, Jarrell Little 6-14 0-0 15, Stefan Phillips 2-3 1-2 5, Idris Rines 2-4 1-1 5, Nayeem Johnson 1-5 2-2 4, Qua Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Jaiayre Wright 2-3 0-2 4, Jahseir Sayles 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 37-71 12-18 96. RCSJ-GLOUCESTER (6-13): Nasir Williamsbey 5 2-2 13, Ace Lassiter 7 7-9 24, Julian Johnson 2 0-0 6, Amara Secho 1 0-0 2, Hajir Davis 8 6-7 23, Aiden Cramner 3 1-2 7, Jabez DeJesus 3 2-2 9. Totals 29 18-22 84.
Salem CC
44
52–
96
RCSJ-Gloucester
43
41–
84
3-point goals: Salem CC 10-32 (Gibson 6-15, Lee 1-3, N. Wright 0-1, Little 3-10, Rines 0-1, Sayles 0-2); RCSJ 8 (Williamsbey, Lassiter 3, Johnson 2, Davis, DeJesus). Rebounds: Salem CC 36 (Phillips 7, Gibson 6); RCSJ 25 (Lassiter 7, Davis 5). Total fouls: Salem CC 11, RCSJ 12. Officials: Davis, Popper, Quick.
Region XIX Standings
DIVISION III
R19
ALL
GSAC
SALEM CC (1)
12-0
18-0
11-0
Northampton (5)
9-0
14-1
Union (7)
10-2
13-3
10-2
Montgomery (9)
5-1
8-2
Ocean
9-2
10-4
6-3
Brookdale
11-3
11-5
7-3
Camden
6-3
9-6
6-5
RCSJ-Cumberland
6-5
7-8
6-6
Bergen
7-8
8-10
3-7
Atlantic Cape
5-7
6-8
4-7
Thaddeus Stevens
3-5
6-9
RCSJ-Gloucester
4-11
6-13
1-7
Sussex
3-11
5-13
3-9
Delaware County
2-8
3-12
Passaic
3-12
3-13
3-9
Luzerne
1-6
4-11
Harrisburg Area
1-6
2-12
Philadelphia
1-8
6-8
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking
SATURDAY’S GAMES Salem CC 96, RCSJ-Gloucester 84 Montgomery 95, Harrisburg Area 86 Ocean 95, Thaddeus Stevens 86 Chesapeake 91, Raritan Valley 67 Delaware County at Luzerne Union 67, Atlantic Cape 53 Mercer 71, Montgomery (Md.) 69 Bergen 77, RCSJ-Cumberland 68 Northampton 90, Sussex 70 Morris 76, Delaware Tech 72 Essex 72, Camden 63 Middlesex 142, Kingsborough 66
Women’s game
SEWELL – Story posting soon.
SEWELL – Salem CC women’s coach Brian Marsh knew how good a player RCSJ-Gloucester’s Shannon Pierman was from the way he recruited her out of Woodstown High School and one of the focuses for his team Saturday was to limit her effectiveness inside as much as possible.
But the Roadrunners found a way around those plans. They killed it from the outside.
They hit 12 3-pointers and shot down the Mighty Oaks 71-54.
The Roadrunners, No. 15 in JUCO Division III, hit 10 3-pointers in the first half to open a 45-23 lead. Anna DiPiero hit six of her seven 3s in the first half — five in the second quarter. Alaina LaMonica hit three in half and Hadley Rodriguez had the other.
DiPiero and LaMonica both finished with 21 points. Pierman, the team’s overall leading scorer and rebounder, had 13.
“Our goal was to stop Shannon, and then No. 22 (DiPiero) went, what, 7-for-8 from 3-point land in the first half,” Marsh said. “They shot 80 percent as a team from 3-point land in the first half and that’s really hard to come back from. We tried, it’s just I think our defense wasn’t there today.
“I tell the girls Salem basketball is defense and rebounding and we’re going to get our offense out of that. It’s just one of the things we’ve got to keep working.”
The Mighty Oaks (2-10) did get it back to 14 with two and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, but got no closer.
RayNescia King led Salem with 14 points. Tanijya Shaw had 12. King had 10 of her points in the second half and Shaw had eight.
“I thought they played hard, but I just don’t think were consistent enough and I think that’s showing in our record,” Marsh said. “Minute by minute, quarter by quarter, there’s just some inconsistencies.
“I thought we played really well the last four games even though there are a couple losses there. Against Monroe I thought we played really well and just today it kind of seems we regressed a little bit.”
3-point goals: Salem CC 6 (King 3, Wilson, Cardona, J. Hunter); RCSJ 12 (DiPiero 7, LaMonica 4, Rodriguez). Total fouls: Salem CC 16, RCSJ 17. Officials: Beliz, Forlidassi, Kearney.
Region XIX Women’s Standings
DIVISION II
R19
ALL
GSAC
Harcum (5)
6-0
14-1
Union (7)
8-1
14-3
6-0
Mercer (18)
6-2
10-3
3-1
Essex
6-3
10-4
5-2
Delaware Tech
4-4
5-11
Raritan Valley
3-5
6-8
3-3
Lackawanna
2-6
2-9
SALEM CC
1-5
2-10
0-3
Middlesex
1-6
6-13
0-4
Morris
0-5
0-5
0-3
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking
SATURDAY’S GAMES RCSJ-Gloucester 71, Salem CC 54 Bergen at RCSJ-Cumberland Delaware Tech 94, Morris 46 Northampton 72, Sussex 43 Essex 86, Camden 55 Mercer 102, Montgomery (Md.) 44 Cecil 77, Middlesex 55
Triton buries Pennsville under a barrage of early 3s, Salem gets past LEAP for sixth straight win, Schalick beats Buena to get to .500; on the girls side, Schalick stifles Buena early, Kingsway handles Penns Grove
BOYS BASKETBALL Triton 65, Pennsville 53 Salem 44, LEAP 41 Schalick 64, Buena 42 GIRLS BASKETBALL Kingsway 53, Penns Grove 20 Schalick 45, Buena 16
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Long bus rides aren’t necessarily good for a basketball player’s legs, but the Triton Mustangs didn’t seem to have any trouble with it Friday night.
The Mustangs spent 45 minutes on the bus getting here, then came out and hit nine 3-pointers in the first half like they were layups to open a big lead on Pennsville before bringing home a 65-53 victory.
The Mustangs hit their first five 3s to open a 15-point lead and were 6-of-7 in the first quarter if you discount the heave they launched from midcourt at the buzzer. They hit three more in the second quarter and then added their 10th of the game early in the third.
At that point they were 10-of-13 from beyond the arc.
“I don’t ever expect that, but I know we have the ability to shoot well as a team,” Mustangs coach Andrew Canzanese said. “Early in the season we did and then we’ve been kind of going through a little bit of a rough patch recently.
“The other day, in Wednesday’s practice, we spent a lot of time from the ground up working on our feet. Our feet were all kinds of wrong, so we built it from the ground up and just got those shots back.
“Last night when we played Gloucester Catholic we got it back and we played more the way I knew we could and it carried into tonight, especially in the first half.”
The Mustangs (4-5) hit 10 treys in that game, too, and that energy clearly carried over to this one.
Joel Almarez-Olivares hit three in the first quarter and four in the game to finish with 14 points. Michael Revero hit one in the first quarter and led the Mustangs with 18 points. Noah Karwowski, who had five against Gloucester Catholic, and Chase Potts each had two, and Scott Cave had the other one.
The early barrage caught new Pennsville coach Ray Heine a little off guard.
“There are teams out there (that can shoot it like that), but I didn’t see that coming from them,” Heine said. “I’d seen two games they played and neither one of them I don’t think they broke 50. They certainly didn’t shoot it like that.
“We just don’t have the horses to play man-to-man. We don’t have the knowledge or the horses. We’ve got to play zone.”
Pennsville’s Mason O’Brien led all scorers with 24 points, but came off the floor limping at the end of the game. The junior guard went for 37 in a game earlier this week and is averaging 17.9 a game, but teams are starting to realize he’s the Eagles only game-changer and are starting to play him accordingly.
The 10 3-pointers were the difference in the Mustangs’ big lead. They led 58-30 going into the fourth quarter before the Eagles (1-9) cut it back against the Triton reserves.
“I appreciate the effort in the last four or five minutes when we could have kind of rolled over and just played dead,” Heine said. “We did continue to play.”
SALEM 44, LEAP 41: Big players make big plays in big games and that certainly applied to Tymear Lecator. The Salem junior guard scored 18 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished four assists as the Rams won the battle of top four teams in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.
The Rams (8-1) trailed by one at halftime, but took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Marshall Stephens had eight points and his third straight 10-rebound game. Deshaan Williams had nine points and seven rebounds. Fatah Paige had seven points and eight boards.
It was LEAP’s second game since the NJSIAA ruled Wednesday to ban the Lancers from the state playoffs as the result of a benches-clearing brawl involving players, coaches and spectators in the second quarter of their game with St. Joseph (Hammonton) Tuesday. St. Joe also was banned from the playoffs.
1000-Point Watch
PLAYER
TODAY
TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown
DNP
858
Tymear Lecator, Salem
18 vs. LEAP
755
SCHALICK 64, BUENA 42: Freshman Julian Dickerson had the second-best game of his career, scoring 19 points to lead three Schalick scorers in double figures. He has gone for 16, 18 and 19 in his last three games and is now averaging 15.0 for the season.
Kade Macom hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points and Dylan Sheehan had 10.
SCHALICK 45, BUENA 16: The Cougars put together another big defensive first half to take control. They held their hosts to three points in the first half while building a 26-3 lead. In their five wins this season, the Cougars have held their opponents to 10 points in the first quarter and 29 in the first half.
Schalick’s Neveah Robinson led all scorers with 17 points. Willow Davis scored all nine of her points in the first half.
KINGSWAY 53, PENNS GROVE 20: Annika Dohlen came out with the hot hand, scoring 10 of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter to help the Dragons take control. Penns Grove’s Janiyah Cummings hit three 3-pointers and led Penns Grove with 11 points.
Salem’s Stephens back with his buddies, has big game in Rams’ fifth straight win; includes boys and girls basketball, wrestling, swimming, track and bowling results By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM –Marshall Stephens is back playing with his basketing buddies again and he couldn’t be happier.
Stephens enjoyed his best game on the court since returning to Salem Thursday night, and it helped the Rams win their fifth in a row, 61-46 over Glassboro. He scored a career-high 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots.
The 6-6 senior post, who took the nickname “Bop” from a character on Barney & Friends and has carried it since his freshman year, scored in 11 games for the Rams’ varsity as a sophomore, but moved to New York the next year and didn’t play basketball because it just didn’t feel right with all his basketball buddies back in Salem.
The coaches at Evander High School in the Bronx were after him every day to play for them. He missed it not playing and thought about it every day, but he stuck to his guns.
“Everything there was just out of place; it just didn’t feel like home,” he said. “It just didn’t feel right playing with these guys. I can play practice with y’all, I can play with you trying to get better, but as far as being on the team (he wasn’t feeling it).
“And I knew I was coming back. I’ll just wait until I come back. I was like if I come back to Salem I want to be the best I can for that program. That’s where I see myself playing and I can see myself graduating from.”
Rams coach Anthony Farmer, needing post following Antwuan Rogers’ early departure to play Division I football at Temple, welcomed Stephens back to the court when he returned and the player has been steadily getting comfortable with the game again. He had 10 points and eight rebounds in his first game back against Woodstown, which happened to be coach Anthony Farmer’s 100th career coaching win.
The game Thursday was his first since the opener scoring in double figures and his second in a row with 10 or more rebounds.
“I can say I have gotten comfortable to the point where a game could be starting and I won’t even be nervous; I’ll be excited,” he said. “I’m definitely getting there. The excitement is definitely coming back. I’m just hoping I can keep that momentum going.”
If he does, people will need to start getting his name right. In other media he’s called “Marshall Stevenson.” His name has neither a “son” nor a “v” in it. It’s S-T-E-P-H-E-N-S. You’re welcome.
He looked comfortable enough against the Bulldogs, scoring 10 points in the first quarter as the Rams opened an 18-8 lead.
“I just wanted to make my coaches proud because they told me be strong off the jump,” Stephens said. “Before the game they said we can get our seventh win and go on a championship run. I’ve got to be more physical on the back end. I’ve got guys looking at me and looking up to me, so I’ve gotta step up.”
Deshaan Williams had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (7-1). Tymear Lecator had 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Fatah Paige, a transfer from McKean (Del.), had nine points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists in his Salem debut.
3-point goals: Glassboro 2 (Sabb); Salem 5 (McGriff, Spence, Lecator 3). Rebounds: Salem 41 (Stephens 10, Williams 8, Paige 8). Technical fouls: Santiago 2. Fouled out: Stephens, Santiago. Total fouls: Glassboro 17, Salem 19..
Photo credit: Amo Alleyne
WOODSTOWN 56, WILDWOOD 40: Blake Bialecki and Eli Caesar each hit three 3-pointers and combined for 30 points as the Wolverines won for the seventh time in their last eight games. Bialecki scored 17 points to move within 142 of 1,000 for his career.
WILDWOOD (2-4): Nolan Mawhinney 5 0-0 13, Owen Bannon 1 0-0 3, Gianni Troiano 1 1-2 3, Jordan Dozier 4 0-0 8, Eric Jordan 2 1-2 5, Vinny Sweeney 1 0-0 2, Michael Sciarra 2 0-0 6. Totals 16 2-4 40. WOODSTOWN (7-3): Eli Caesar 5 0-2 13, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Alejandro Vazquez 2 1-2 6, Andrew White 3 2-4 6, Blake Bialecki 6 2-2 17, Frank Hoerst 1 0-0 2, Josh King 3 2-4 8. Totals 21 7-14 56.
PITMAN 51, PENNS GROVE 43: Roman Gipson hit four 3-pointers and led Penns Grove with 18 points. Joey Zubert led a balanced Pitman scoring attack with 10 points. Lucas Razze had nine points, seven assists and five steals.
PENNS GROVE (5-4): Roman Gipson 7 0-0 18, Haneef Frisby 3 1-2 7, Will Roy 4 0-0 8, Geonni Conrad 1 1-2 4, Luis Colon 0 2-4 2, Zane Thomas 1 2-4 4. Totals 16 6-12 43. PITMAN (4-6): Lucas Razze 2 4-6 8, Parker DeChristipher 3 1-2 9, Joey Zubert 2 4-4 10, Jay Craig 3 2-4 8, Jake Bowen-Ashwin 1 3-4 6, Micah Frost 3 1-2 9. Totals 14 15-22 51.
SCHALICK 60, SALEM TECH 43: Schalick 3-4, Salem Tech 1-6
1000-Point Watch
PLAYER
TODAY
TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown
17 vs. Wildwood
858
Tymear Lecator, Salem
17 vs. Glassboro
737
GIRLS BASKETBALL SCHALICK 48, SALEM TECH 27: Nevaeh Robinson scored 19 points and Willow Davis had 14 as the Cougars got back on the winning track after having its three-game season-opening winning streak snapped last time out. Robinson scored 12 points in the second half. Davis hit three 3-pointers
3-point goals: Salem Tech 2 (Liber, Drummond); Schalick 3 (Davis 3). Total fouls: Salem Tech 7, Schalick 9.
WILDWOOD 63, WOODSTOWN 37: Addison Troiano went 11-of-15 from the foul line on the way to 21 points and Rebecca Benichou hit three 3-pointers on the way to 18 for the Warriors. Lauren Hengel led Woodstown with 11.
WRESTLING PAULSBORO 42, PENNSVILLE 32 106: Brett Land (PV) tech fall over Ethan Nguyen, 16-0 (2:33) 113: Ben Pacheco (PB) tech fall over Erick Davalos, 26-11 (5:15) 120: Will Cruz (PB) pinned John Sassi, 0:35 126: Antonio Chila (PB) tech fall over Mehki Dicks, 17-2 (5:07) 132: Maximos Efelis (PV) tech fall over Patrick Zold, 21=5 (5:22) 138: Chris Baker (PV) pinned Logan Shipman, 1:30 144: Ben Price (PB) maj. dec. Nathaniel Mason, 16-4 150: Julian Sosa (PB) pinned Travis Hagan, 4:38 157: Gabe Supernavage (PV) tech fall over Grayson Lane, 21-3 (3:10) 165: Robbie McDade (PV) tech fall over Anthony Muniz, 17-1 (5:29) 175: Josias Torres (PB) pinned Juan Velasquez Hernandez, 2:58 190: Frank Damminger (PB) pinned Cristian Blyler, 1:11 215: Jason Yandach (PB) maj. dec. Hunter Coulbourn, 12-1 285: Trevor Waddington (PV) won by forfeit
INDOOR TRACK (At The Bubble, Toms River) (Salem County Top 6 finishes) BOYS Pole vault: 3. Salvatore Longo, Schalick 11-6 GIRLS High jump: 2. Kallie Morrison, Pennsville 4-10
BOWLING LINDENWOLD 4, SALEM TECH 0: Jean Pierre Pozo rolled Salem Tech’s high game (214) and series (563). Lindenwold’s Connor Piotrowski bowled the high game of the match (233).
From small town to big time, Woodstown’s 4×800 relay team qualifies for Millrose Games with best time in the nation this year
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
NEW YORK – From small town America to the fastest track in the world, the Woodstown boys 4×800 relay team is going places.
The Wolverines qualified for the historic Millrose Games Wednesday when they came out of the unseeded heat to win the boys 4×800 Invitational at the Millrose Trials at the Armory in Washington Heights with the fastest time in the country.
They ran a 8:00.24 on “the fastest track in the world.” It was announced as the fastest time in the United States this season and the new No. 1 in New Jersey, although the MileSplit website lists Hickory, N.C., with a 7:58.94 from December.
“It’s absolutely amazing and surreal,” leadoff man Karson Chew said from somewhere on the Jersey Turnpike as the group drove back from the meet. “The U.S. number one 4×8 team being the small-school Woodstown from rural Salem County is an absolutely amazing story and it’s something I will genuinely never forget.
“The fact we were able to go into the unseeded heat that was technically the slow heat and still win the entire meet is absolutely amazing.”
The other three members of the team – Jacob Marino, David Farrell and Josh Crawford – echoed Chew’s sentiment, calling the feat awesome, amazing and unique.
The Wolverines led the race wire-to-wire and stayed on top even though the results of the seeded heat.
Chew started them off with a season PR 1:58.665, going out in 27.65 that was a little faster than he had planned. Marino (2:02.101) and Farrell (2:04.518) ran personal bests to maintain the lead and Crawford brought in home with a 1:54.956.
“I knew from the outset when Karson went up in the first leg in 27 if he held that we were going to be in a really good position,” coach Sam Alvira said while the runners awaited their trip to the podium. “The two guys I really wanted to pay attention to was Jacob and David and both of them ran PRs.
“We had a specific training plan to do this week. We specifically told them to get some good rest yesterday. They did it. They came out hard and strong. It really helped that we’ve got the No. 4 800 meter runner in the country. Josh came in and did his job and now we’ve got the No. 1 4×800 team in the country.”
They went into the race with something to prove. They ran an 8:20 at the Ott Center in Philadelphia on Saturday that was neither wanted nor acceptable.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Marino said. “It was a tough lead up to the race. We were fighting to the end to get in it and get a chance to do this. Coming out Saturday running 8:20 we knew we had so much left to prove and we left it all out on the track here today. It was stressful but we knew we could get it done and seeing Josh bring it in we knew we had it.”
“We all knew going into it we had a lot more in our tank than what we put out there,” Crawford said. “We knew 8:20 just wasn’t going to cut it. Our goal is winning state champs, but we didn’t think 8:20 was going to cut it. The drive we had going into it wasn’t really looking at the clock but knowing we had to run faster than we have before.”
Chew, Marino and Crawford have been regulars at beating the clock. Farrell is the newcomer to the unit, filling the spot occupied by graduated Cole Lucas, and he was running Wednesday just a few weeks back from nasal surgery to correct an issue that affected his breathing during competition. From Saturday to Wednesday he dropped three seconds off his time.
“It’s just so crazy that I can be on this team,” Farrell said. “I’ve been just trying to hang on with these guys and not drop their chances at any fast times and just compete with them. I was pretty terrified, but it’s been a big motivator to push myself and work hard to hang with them.”
As he waited in the exchange zone to accept the baton for his anchor leg, a big smile crossed Crawford’s face as he saw Farrell coming down the track with the lead.
“I was proud of my teammates and pretty confident we could bring it home from there,” Crawford said.
He then went out in an excitable 25.404 and realized he had to dial it back to maintain a steady stride to secure the win.
Alvira called the accomplishment “very profound.”
“They’re personality is absolutely fantastic,” he said. “Four really humble guys. Small, rural town in South Jersey, Woodstown, (that) most people don’t even know about and they just come up out of nowhere and do something absolutely fantastic and put their name in a list to a point where everybody in the country has to pay attention. I just feel really privileged to be able to coach these guys and to be a part of something special.”
The Millrose Games, a staple at Madison Square Garden until 2012, returns to the Armory Feb. 1.
Riverview Sports News 