Reaching the bar

Salem CC men match last year’s win total; women’s program dealing with serious personnel issue that postponed Saturday’s game

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — The engine driving this year’s Salem CC basketball team is the desire to clear the lofty bar raised by last year’s national tournament team.

This year’s team can say it’s at least reached the bar after Saturday’s 100-67 win over CC of Philadelphia. By winning, the third-ranked Mighty Oaks (26-1) have matched last season’s win total — in seven fewer games.

“It just adds more fuel to the fire,” freshman Nasseem Wright said. “I always compare us to the last year’s team because they set a real high bar. Coming into the situation I knew we would have to pick up right where they left off.

“They had some unfinished business. They won the regional, but they left nationals and the conference on the table, so this year I wanted to come and get all three. That’s still the goal.”

He’s not the only one who feels that way.

“I feel like we done better than them right now, but we’re not done until we win the national championship,” leading scorer Jarrell Little said. “Once we solidify the national championship, that’s when I feel like we did better than last year’s team.”

“It’s like bragging rights,” added freshman Idris Rines. “We always try to brag and say like we’re better than last year’s team, so just matching their win total with however many games left just means bragging rights.”

This year’s team is ahead of last year’s historic season in so many ways. They are currently statistically better in at least four major categories. Saturday was the 12th time this team has hit the 100-point mark (last year it was four). They are third in JUCO Division III in scoring (95.0), first in field goal percentage and second in assists.

But Mighty Oaks head coach Mike Green would throttle back the enthusiasm just a bit. He’s glad this year’s team has big goals of its own, but right now they’re talking about two different ballgames.

“26-1 don’t raise no banner; you got to win championships, you gotta win games,” he said. “This team is tough, they’re winning games. They’re doing everything they’re supposed to do, I don’t think it’s got nothing to do with last year’s team. Last year’s team was special in its own way. This year is another special year. It’s not complete so it’s hard to measure those two.”

Little and Wright did all they could to make Saturday happen. They both came within one assist of a triple-double. Little had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Wright had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

They would’ve gotten it, too, Green suggested, had the Mighty Oaks not gone through “a five- or six-minute stall” late in the second half. “Every minute counts,” the coach said.

Wright came close to getting his second triple-double of the season. He went on 2-on-1 break with Nayeem Johnson in the closing seconds, passed it over to Johnson for what would have been an easy layup, but instead of taking the shot, Johnson alley-ooped it to Wright for a game-ended slam.

“It definitely feels good to show my versatility on the floor,” Wright said. “Same thing with Jarrell. A lot of people fall in love with the fact he can score, but there is a bunch of other things he can do. That’s what I try to tell him every day. If you use yourself are way more aspects than just scoring that’s what’s going to elevate your game.”

Green said Thursday the team “got Little back” after his leading scorer’s shooting confidence seemed to return in their win over Harrisburg Area. He didn’t think he was even going to play after hurting his shoulder Thursday, but after going 9-for-14 from the floor Saturday – 7-of-9 for 15 points in the second half – Little proclaimed he was “fully back.”

“At halftime MG told me I had seven rebounds,” Little said. “I didn’t know how many assists I had (three) so I was just playing for the double-double. Once we got at the end of the game they told me you need one more assist. I was trying to get it, but it just didn’t happen. The crazy thing is I wasn’t supposed to play today.”

“That’s Jarrell, man,” Green said. “That’s the kid who early in the year was a player of the year candidate. He’s out of his funk it seems and he’s a weapon.”

Three other players scored in double figures. Idris Rines had a career-high 19 in his first college start, Zyaire Gibson had 14 and Johnson had 18 off the bench. Another interesting stat: They had 33 total assists (for 42 buckets) and only 11 turnovers.

Rines and Johnson have been making big contributions off the bench all year. Rines was the natural choice for the start after when Phillips tweaked his knee early in the HACC game and couldn’t go Saturday.

He looked a little uncomfortable early, but quickly settled into his rhythm. He also had four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“I started in high school so it wasn’t really anything big for me, but I think it just shows the trust MG (Green) has in me so that gave me a boost of confidence,” Rines said. “It meant a lot, starting any game, especially in college, because college nowadays it’s hard to start. It didn’t hit me until like two minutes in and then I’m like this is a regular basketball game.”

Johnson seemed to make a pitch to be the next second unit player to make a start, hitting three 3s in a row in the first half to help the Mighty Oaks take control of the game.

To Green, there’s no difference between the starters and the backups.

“People get caught up on starters and all that,” Green said. “Idris plays starters minutes, that’s what he should be doing with them. We’ve got nine guys who can start on any other team in this region and they know it.”

SALEM CC 100, PHILADELPHIA 67
PHILADELPHIA (11-11): Buster Fallah 6-18 11-18 23, Robert Perry 4-4 2-2 10, Amaury Hunter 1-5 2-2 4, Jaques Aurel Silue 2-5 2-4 7, Sekou Kamara 0-0 0-0 0, Christopher Jones 1-10 0-0 2, Jonathan Miller 7-15 3-4 18, Marques Robinson-Myricks 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 22-59 20-30 67.
SALEM CC (26-1): Jarrell Little 9-14 0-0 20, Saaid Lee 4-10 0-0 9, Zayire Gibson 5-12 1-1 14, Nasseem Wright 6-12 1-1 14, Idris Rines 8-11 2-3 19, Jahseir Sayles 1-4 0-0 2, Qua Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Nayeem Johnson 7-14 1-2 18, Mike Goodwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-79 5-7 100.

Philadelphia	25	42-	67
Salem CC	44	56-	100

3-point goals: Philadelphia 3-17 (Fallah 0-4, Hunter 0-3, Aurel Silue 1-2, Jones 0-3, Miller 1-4, Robinson-Myricks 1-1); Salem CC 11-33 (Little 2-6, Lee 1-3, Gibson 3-10, Wright 1-3, Rines 1-3, Sayles 0-3, Johnson 3-5). Rebounds: Philadelphia 30 (Miller 8, Fallah 6); Salem CC 47 (Little 12, Wright 11). Technical fouls: Wright, Green. Fouled out: Lee. Total fouls: Philadelphia 13, Salem CC 23.

Top photo: Idris Rines (24), Jarrell Little (1) and Nasseem Wright all played big roles in Salem CC’s win over Philadelphia.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
SALEM CC (3)	13-1	26-1	18-1
Northampton (10)	14-2	22-3
Brookdale (RV)	14-3	18-7	12-4
Montgomery (8)	12-3	16-4
Camden	11-3	16-9	11-8
Union (9)	12-4	19-7	11-3
Bergen	10-7	13-12	13-11
Ocean	8-7	13-11	9-9
Atlantic Cape	8-7	12-12	9-8
RCSJ-Cumberland	6-8	9-15	7-11
RCSJ-Gloucester	6-9	9-18	3-15
Thaddeus Stevens	5-9	10-12
Philadelphia	4-10	11-11
Harrisburg Area	4-10	5-16
Delaware County	3-13	5-19
Sussex	2-12	7-19	4-11
Passaic	2-14	4-21	3-15
Luzerne	1-13	4-20

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 100, Philadelphia 67
Camden 73, Union 68
Montgomery 70, Bergen 69
Brookdale 87, Luzerne 60
Delaware County 81, Sussex 76
Morris 80, Delaware Tech 77
RCSJ-Cumberland 82, Ocean 77
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
RCSJ-Gloucester 94, Passaic 89 (OT)
Penns State LV at Thaddeus Stevens
Harcum 101, Lackawanna 69
Northampton 75, Atlantic Cape 72 (OT)
Westchester 89, Middlesex 67

Women’s game postponed, issues

CARNEYS POINT — The Salem CC women’s game at Middlesex Saturday was postponed and the remainder of the season in doubt following an incident in Pennsville over the weekend said to involve several players.

Athletics director Bob Hughes confirmed the game’s postponed, citing “a personnel issue” that was “player related,” but declined to give additional details. Pennsville police officials were not immediately available.

Mighty Oaks coach Brian Marsh said they were working to reschedule the game, but Hughes said any decision to continue the season wouldn’t be entertained until Monday at the earliest.

The Salem women are 3-16 and have four games left. The Mighty Oaks don’t play another region game until Saturday, so another postponement is plausible. They are scheduled to play Morris Club on the road Tuesday.

“We don’t play another region game until next Saturday, so if we had to make a decision for Tuesday it would be an easy one just because it’s already a club game because Morris moved to club,” Hughes said. “That’s the most I can say about it. We will evaluate it on Monday.

“Right now we are day by day with this. We could not play the game today due to a personnel issue.”

The team only has eight players so any incident involving multiple players could leave it without enough players to either be competitive or continue altogether. Injuries forced them reschedule three games earlier this season so they would have enough players available to play.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

DIVISION II	R19	ALL	GSAC
Harcum (3)	12-0	21-1
Union (12)	11-2	20-3	8-0
Mercer (14)	10-2	18-3	5-1
Essex	7-5	15-6	4-4
Raritan Valley	4-7	8-15	3-4
Delaware Tech	4-8	8-15
Middlesex	3-9	9-16	0-6
SALEM CC	2-10	3-16	0-5
Lackawanna	1-11	4-15
Morris	0-0	0-7	0-0

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Middlesex, ppd.
Philadelphia 61, Camden 48
RCSJ-Gloucester 59, Passaic 49
Northampton 77, Atlantic Cape 62
Ocean at RCSJ-Cumberland
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
Bergen at Montgomery
Harcum 106, Lackawanna 34

Learning on the go

Pennsville girls win third straight for new coach on Senior Night; Robinson comes to life in second half to lead Schalick

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pennsville 44, Millville 38
Schalick 42, Penns Grove 37

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – There are still some things about this head coaching stuff Robin Efelis is still getting used to.

The interim Pennsville girls basketball coach was down on the floor doing a couple post-game interviews Friday after the Eagles put away Millville 44-38 on Senior Night – an exercise she repeated a couple times that she’s never done before – when assistant coach Ryan Wood ducked his head out of the locker room and asked if she wanted to talk to the team.

Something else she hadn’t done before.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for all this,” she said. “I’m just trying to go from one day to the next, you know.

“This week has been really hard, but the girls are settled, they’re trying their hardest, I can’t ask for any more.

There are a lot of things different from her time as an assistant for the Eagles’ last two girls basketball coaches. When you’re the assistant you can always defer to the head coach. When you’re the head coach, the buck stops here.

Efelis was installed as the interim head coach Monday following the abrupt resignation of former coach Steve Merritt on the eve of one of the Eagles’ biggest games of the season. She accepted the assignment with the aim of keeping the girls together and the team on track to secure a share of its first division title since 1987-88.

So far, so good. The Eagles are 3-0 since the change with wins over Woodstown, Schalick and Millville, and have won five in a row overall. They can clinch that elusive division title with a win at Penns Grove Monday and can claim it outright with a win and a Glassboro loss to Clayton Wednesday.

“I think everyone is taking the change well,” senior guard Marley Wood said. “I don’t think anyone’s playing bad. I think everyone’s taking it very well.

“Everyone’s been really pumped up. We made some changes to our offense because of the different coaching styles that Ms. Efelis and Merritt and my dad have. Everyone’s been super pumped. We love basketball, so that’s all we really care about, and being together as a team.”

To give Efelis some help, Eagles athletics director Jamy Thomas reached out late Monday night to longtime Pennsville coach Ryan Wood to be the assistant coach.

The former boys basketball and football coach has coached seven of the players on the team, including all four of the seniors recognized before Friday’s game, which he said makes the transition “a little bit easier.” He was doing the X and O detail during the timeouts in Friday night’s game.

“He’s trying to help me,” Efelis said. “I listen to how he talks. I used to listen to Sam (Trapp) talk, how she talks (to the players), and I get more out of that trying to see how to maneuver the girls to be the best they can be.”

Looking at it as a career coach, Wood said Efelis is doing just fine.

“She is wonderful,” he said. “The girls love her; she’s great with the girls. She does a lot of stuff and I take care of a lot of X and O stuff.

“I don’t think you really learn how to become a head coach until it’s thrust upon you. There’s a big difference between being an assistant and being ‘the guy.’ It’s two different things.”

One of the benefits of being the team’s assistant is it gives him the chance to coach his daughter, Marley, again. It’s been a joy for both of them.

“I had no idea (he was going to be asked),” Marley said. “My dad told me they asked him to coach and I was like, OK. I was excited because I love having my dad as a coach. He coached for a little bit my sophomore and freshman year, which was nice, and then last year and this year he didn’t. Having him back has been nice.”

“Having the opportunity to coach my daughter is always a special thing, for anybody,” Papa Wood said. “I’m just here to support Robin in any way I can.”

Both teams got off to a slow start Friday. The Eagles scored the last five points of the second quarter to take a 16-12 halftime lead. Millville got within one in the third quarter, 22-21, then Taylor Bass made a bucket and Wood hit a 3-pointer and the Eagles never led by less than three the rest of the game.

“We had a slow start, but the second half everyone stepped it up,” Marley Wood said. “It’s really nice to win on your Senior Day.”

To mark the occasion, seniors Wood, Bass, Izzy Saulin and Kylie Harris started with sophomore Addie Johnston. The four senior players and a senior manager, a former player, have combined for 2,835 points and 60 wins in their career.

Wood scored 23 points to move into third place on Pennsville’s all-time girls scoring list, 10 away from No. 2. She also cleared 500 career rebounds and moved closer to 500 career assists.

Getting to No. 1 might be a bit of a stretch. Pennsville’s all-time leading scorer Katie Kline also is Salem County’s all-time leading scorer among the girls with more than 2,100 points.

“I can’t (get that), Katie Kline has 2,000,” Marley said. “I beat my siblings (Ryane and Luke), though. I was trying to get 1,500. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but I’m glad I beat my siblings.”

PENNSVILLE 44, MILLVILLE 38
MILLVILLE (7-12): Kamya Smith 2 1-2 5, Rahnasia Casper 1 0-0 2, Naomi Burkhart 6 2-2 19, Angeliya Cephas 5 1-1 12, Aphrea Robinson 0 0-2 0, Jada hart 0 0-0 0, Brielle Rivera 0 0-0 0, Tatyana Myles 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 4-7 38.
PENNSVILLE (13-6): Taylor Bass 4 0-1 8, Marley Wood 9 4-4 23, Addie Johnston 0 3-4 3, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Jaiden Wilson 1 0-0 2, Jaida Burns 3 2-2 8. Totals 17 9-11 44.

Millville	4	8	12	14-	38
Pennsville	2	14	15	13-	44

3-point goals: Millville 6 (Burkhart 5, Cephas); Pennsville 1 (Wood). Technical fouls: Robinson, Wood. Fouled out: Burkhart. Total fouls: Millville 16, Pennsville 12.

SCHALICK 42, PENNS GROVE 37: The Cougars used a big third quarter to take the lead, then held on in the fourth.

Penns Grove held Neveah Robinson was held in check in the first half, but the Cougars’ leading scorer came to life after the break and scored 11 of her 13 points in a 21-point third quarter that gave here team a 39-28 lead. Robinson also grabbed 13 rebounds.

Ava Scurry led the Cougars (13-5) with 14 points. She also had a career-high 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots. She know has 592 rebounds and 214 blocks for her career. Liv Vanacker came within one point and one steal of a double-double.

Penns Grove’s Keziah Patterson led all scorers with 15 points. Janiyah Cummings had 13, six in the fourth quarter and the Red Devils cut it close.

PENNS GROVE (2-17): Janiyah Cummings 6 1-3 13, Keziah Patterson 5 3-5 15, Mikayla Washington 3 1-3 7, Domari Torres 0 0-0 0, Armani Blackston 1 0-2 2, Jamila Colon 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-13 37.
SCHALICK (13-5): Cali Fisler 0 0-1 0, Ava Scurry 5 4-8 14, Willow Davis 3 0-0 6, Nevaeh Robinson 5 1-3 13, Olivia Vanacker 4 1-4 9, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0. 17 6-11 42.

Penns Grove	14	6	8	9-	37
Schalick	10	8	21	3-	42

3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Patterson 2); Schalick 2 (Robinson 2). Total fouls: Penns Grove 16, Schalick 9.

Top photo: Interim head coach Robin Efelis (R) and assistant coach Ryan Wood talk with the Pennsville girls basketball team in a timeout during Friday’s win over Millville.

Right at right time

No. 3 Salem CC getting back to old form, routs HACC; women fall to Delaware Tech

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Mike Green looked over the box score after another one-sided Salem CC win and saw a lot of what he liked.

The Mighty Oaks had just crushed Harrisburg Area 110-72 Thursday night for its 25th win of the season and the tale of the tape on the table before him was filled with a lot of positive numbers.

Seven scorers in double figures, 14 3-pointers (the most since November), 24 assists, a plus-10 rebound margin, a limited number of turnovers (in the second half). That’s more like it.

“We’re getting back to us,” Green said after collecting the 60th win of his coaching career. “I told them before the game we’re trending down. I feel like we’re trending down. I challenged them. And I’ll challenge them again tomorrow.

“We’re not as scary as we were early on, I don’t believe. We’ve gotta turn this up.”

The Mighty Oaks are 25-1 and ranked third in the country, but truthfully they haven’t been quite the team that was mercilessly dismantling teams on their rise to No. 1. They were winning games, but there just seemed to be something missing. It came to a head when they finally lost a game, and carried on.

They’re not the first elite team to go through a rough patch during what’s developing into a special year. Green was reminded of that earlier in the day.

“I was watching the North Carolina special today,” he said. “I was laying down before the game (and) I could hear the North Carolina special, and it put it all in perspective.

“Those guys, the team with George Lynch that beat (Michigan’s) Fab 5 (for the 1992-93 national championship, the famous Chris Webber no-timeouts game). I watched that. They had a tough time in the ACC when they lost about three or four games, and some of the things those guys were saying put the team back together.

“You winning like that, sometimes you get burned out. Hopefully, it don’t cost us four games, but you’ve got to be at your best. They’re in college, man, they’ve got to be at their best.”

Even this one got off to a slow start. The Mighty Oaks trailed a team with a 5-15 record by nine with nine minutes gone in the game and they trailed the whole first 15 minutes.

The bench played a huge role in bringing them back. The non-starters got them back in the game in the first half, scoring just two points fewer than the starters, grabbing more rebounds and making fewer turnovers.

The bench scored 46 points in the game, shooting 17-for-26 from the field, 5-for-10 from 3-point range, and had 26 of their 46 rebounds.

At one point in the first half, right after Idris Rines finally gave them the lead on a 3-pointer with 4:54 left, Nayeem Johnson had nine straight Salem points that carried them to a 10-point halftime lead. Rines had seven points in the half and provided the Mighty Oaks steady play in the post after Stef Phillips left the game with knee injury after his three-point play six and a half minutes into the half.

“They did their job,” Green said. “A couple guys didn’t do their job early on, we had to bring them out. This ain’t a free opportunity. We don’t owe nobody nothing,. You get what you work for. Those (reserves) got an early opportunity and they did what they’re supposed to and then our guys, the ones who weren’t caught up, caught up.”

Johnson finished with 16 points. Rines had 13 points and seven rebounds. Qua Smith had 10 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes and Jahseir Sayles had seven points and three boards in 19 minutes.

Among the starters, Nasseem Wright had a team-high 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Zyaire Gibson had 14 points (four 3s) and nine rebounds, and Saaid Lee had 14 points and nine assists.

Rines played the most minutes of any Mighty Oaks player in the game – 30. It’s the most he’s played in a game since high school. He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“Me and MG talked yesterday and MG said just keep the energy up when you’re in, just play your minutes.,” Rines said. “I knew coming into Salem it was going to be a commitment going from starting (in high school) to making sacrifices.

“I think everybody makes sacrifices. We all played like 20 out of 32 minutes of high school, then coming here and splitting minutes with guys. I think we are connected with each other and our friendship makes it so we can make sacrifices and makes us a really unselfish team and that really helps us.”

Another thing that helps them is when Jarrell Little scores the ball, which he hasn’t done a lot of lately.

In his last three games the Mighty Oaks’ leading scorer has logged only 23 points on 8-for-28 shooting, 3-for 17 from 3-point range. He took only four shots in the win over Montco and 12 in the last two games.

“It’s not like a slump,” he said. “I feel like it was never gone, I just feel like I didn’t take enough shots.

“When we played Montco I didn’t shoot a lot of shots; it wasn’t me. I feel like the whole game I wasn’t myself. I didn’t shoot the ball at all. Four shots as the leading scorer is crazy and Mike Green got on me about that. It’s the second time this season I shot less shots in a big game.”

He was 4-for-10 from 3-point range against the Hawks, but 6-for-12 overall.

“He’s our leading scorer for a reason,” Green said. “Somewhere along the line he lost that and just started dribbling the ball. He’s better when he’s in attack mode.”

The Salem starters started looking more like themselves in the second half. They original four minus Phillips had 40 of the Mighty Oaks’ 64 points after halftime. Little and Wright had 13 apiece; Little had three 3s.

“As a team we always start off slow and pick it up at halftime,” Little said. “This time one of our coaches came in screaming at us. I feel like we just turned it on.”

SALEM CC 110, HARRISBURG AREA 72
HARRISBURG AREA (5-16): Zhamire Chaplin-Carter 0-1 0-1 0, Eli Vega 2-6 5-6 10, Jaiden Wiley 3-15 1-2 9, William Byrd 6-10 4-6 17, John McNeil 6-22 7-10 21, Dustin Littles 1-4 0-0 3, Ziveon Kyle 2-7 2-2 6, Kaden Folk 2-8 2-2 6, Duane Woodson 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Floyd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-74 21-29 72.
SALEM CC (25-1): Jarrell Little 6-12 0-0 16, Saaid Lee 6-10 2-2 14, Zyaire Gibson 5-13 0-0 14, Nasseem Wright 7-10 2-4 17, Stefan Phillips 1-3 1-1 3, Jahseir Sayles 2-6 2-2 7, Qua Smith 4-5 2-2 10, Nayeem Johnson 6-8 3-3 16, Idris Rines 5-6 0-0 13, Mike Goodwin 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 42-74 12-15 110.

Harrisburg Area	36	36-	72
Salem CC	46	64-	110

3-point goals: HACC 7-21 (Chaplin-Carter 0-1, Vega 1-3, Wiley 2-7, Byrd 1-2, McNeil 2-4, Littles 1-2, Kyle 0-2); Salem CC 14-35 (Little 4-10, Gibson 4-11, Wright 1-3, Phillips 0-1, Sayles 1-4, Johnson 1-2, Rines 3-4). Rebounds: HACC 36 (McNeil 10), Wiley 7); Salem CC 46 (Gibson 9, Smith 8, Rines 7). Fouled out: Little. Total fouls: HACC 16, Salem CC 24.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
SALEM CC (3)	12-1	25-1	18-1
Northampton (10)	13-2	21-3
Brookdale (RV)	13-3	17-7	12-4
Union (9)	12-3	19-6	10-2
Montgomery (8)	11-3	15-4
Camden	10-3	15-9	10-7
Bergen	10-6	13-11	13-10
Ocean	8-6	13-10	9-8
Atlantic Cape	8-6	12-11	9-8
RCSJ-Cumberland	5-8	8-15	6-11
RCSJ-Gloucester	5-10	8-18	1-14
Philadelphia	4-9	11-10
Thaddeus Stevens	4-9	9-12
Harrisburg Area	4-10	5-16
Passaic	3-13	4-20	3-14
Sussex	2-10	7-17	4-11
Delaware County	2-13	4-19
Luzerne	1-12	4-19

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 110, Harrisburg Area 72
Compass Prep at Morris
Montgomery 97, Passaic 75
Essex at Monroe
RCSJ-Gloucester 79, Camden 76
Delaware County 75, RCSJ-Cumberland 72
Atlantic Cape 91, Ocean 82
Rockland 89, Lackawanna 86
Mercer 77, Middlesex 69
Northampton 73, Brookdale 67
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Philadelphia at Salem CC
Union at Camden
Bergen at Montgomery
Brookdale at Luzerne
Delaware County at Sussex
Delaware Tech at Morris
Ocean at RCSJ-Cumberland
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
RCSJ-Gloucester at Passaic
Penns State LV at Thaddeus Stevens
Lackawanna at Harcum
Northampton at Atlantic Cape
Westchester at Middlesex

Women can’t shake slide

CARNEYS POINT — The Salem women lost their fourth in a row in a winnable game that came down to too many turnovers and too many fouls.

The Mighty Oaks were charged with 32 turnovers off which Delaware Tech scored 26 points. They were hit with 26 fouls, including a pair of technicals. Del Tech was 24-of-41 from the free throw line.

Salem recovered from a cold start to tie the game at 30 with 5:22 left in the third quarter. But Del Tech (8-15) scored the next nine points and never lost the lead again. The Mighty Oaks got within four several times, but couldn’t get closer.

TJ Shaw led Salem (3-16) with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Paula Wilson had 11 points and three of their four 3-pointers. Dani Gustin had 10 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.

Del Tech’s Kai Burnett led all scorers with 30 points. She was 10-of-24 from the field, 10-of-13 from the free throw line.

DELAWARE TECH 65, SALEM CC 56
DELAWARE TECH (8-15): Bria Harker-Brown 2-11 2-4 6, Kai Burnette 10-24 10-13 30, Laila Jacobs 1-3 0-0 2, Talaney Pierce 4-15 4-8 12, Maddie August 1-8 0-0 2, Sabrina Washington 0-1 0-0 0, Aaliyah Smith 2-8 6-14 11, Ciara Whittle 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 20-73 24-41 65.
SALEM CC (3-16): RayNescia King 0-7 1-2 1, TJ Shaw 3-19 10-12 16, Kasey Oliver 3-9 2-2 8, Paula Wilson 4-13 0-0 11, Jayda Hunter 1-5 1-2 3, Justine Cardona 3-7 0-0 7, Dani Gustin 2-4 6-8 10. Totals 16-64 20-26 56.

Delaware Tech	14	11	15	25-	65
Salem CC	9	14	11	22-	56

3-point goals: Del Tech 1-14 (Harker-Brown 0-6, Burnette 0-5, Smith 1-3); Salem CC 4-23 (King 0-5, Shaw 0-2, Oliver 0-1, Wilson 3-11, Hunter 0-1, Cardona 1-3). Rebounds: Del Tech 50 (Pierce 14, August 11); Salem CC 50 (Shaw 12, Gustin 14). Technical fouls: Shaw, Cardona. Fouled out: Oliver. Total fouls: Del Tech 18, Salem CC 26.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

DIVISION II	R19	ALL	GSAC
Harcum (3)	11-0	20-1
Union (12)	11-2	20-3	8-0
Mercer (14)	10-2	18-3	5-1
Essex	7-5	15-6	4-4
Raritan Valley	4-7	8-15	3-4
Delaware Tech	4-8	8-15
Middlesex	3-9	9-16	0-6
SALEM CC	2-10	3-16	0-5
Lackawanna	1-10	4-14
Morris	0-0	0-7	0-0

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Delaware Tech 65, Salem CC 56
RCSJ-Gloucester 70, Camden 55
Atlantic Cape 93, Ocean 67
Northampton 72, Bergen 28
Montgomery at Brookdale
Monroe 98, Raritan Valley 58
Philadelphia 70, Sussex 52
Mercer 103, Middlesex 29
Union 65, Essex 59
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Middlesex
Camden at Philadelphia
RCSJ-Gloucester at Passaic
Northampton at Atlantic Cape
Ocean at RCSJ-Cumberland
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
Bergen at Montgomery
Lackawanna at Harcum

Making their way

Salem boys clinch TCC Classic division title in big way; Pennsville girls settling in with new coach, win second with Efelis; also scores and highlights from the rest of Thursday night’s Salem County sports calendar

BOYS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove 66, Glassboro 52
Salem 110, Clayton 77
Schalick 63, Pennsville 33
Overbrook 51, Woodstown 46
Buena 57, Salem Tech 42
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Glassboro 65, Penns Grove 31
Salem 54, Clayton 40
Woodstown 54, Overbrook 16
Pennsville 52, Schalick 35
WRESTLING
Oakcrest 67, Salem 9

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – The second time around was a little bit easier for Robin Efelis and the Pennsville girls basketball team.

With a lot less chaos and a bit more preparation, the Eagles won their second game in three days under their new coach Thursday night, topping Schalick 52-35 to remain on pace for a Tri-County Conference Diamond Division crown.

“They named Ryan Wood assistant coach, so with his knowledge and skill it made it a lot easier,” Efelis said. “Right now I’m just trying to get used to the thought (of being head coach). The girls are good. They’re handling it well, all the changes this week. They just pushed and pushed tonight and they did really good.

“I was just letting the girls be the girls. We had a few things that we tweaked here and there, but for the most part this week we were just letting them play.”

Efelis was installed as the Eagles’ interim head coach Monday night, less than 24 hours before they took on their biggest county rival in a game that could have derailed their title hopes. They beat Woodstown that night, but Efelis admitted “I was just a little bit overwhelmed. Everything happened so fast. I don’t mind stepping up, but I kind of miss my partner, too.”

She was promoted following the abrupt resignation of coach Steve Merritt after Monday’s practice. It’s her first time as a head coach in basketball, although she spent two seasons as the Pennsville track coach earlier in her career.

Neither Merritt nor Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas would comment on the internal nature of the resignation when the news broke. And neither would Efelis, except to express loyalty and appreciation for the coach she aided both years of his tenure.

“Steve’s heart was in the game,” Efelis said. “He had basketball in his heart. My opinion is not going to change.”

The Eagles (12-6) are a veteran team so Efelis wasn’t worried about them being able to handle the adversity. They got off to a slow start Thursday, falling behind 14-7 in the first quarter, but the fortunes swung on the last two minutes of the second quarter and first two minutes of the third. It was Pennsville’s fourth straight win.

Taylor Bass and Marley Wood led the offense with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Bass had 13 in the second half. Addie Johnston, who hit five 3-pointers in the Woodstown game, hit three more against the Cougers (12-5) and finished with 11 points. Jaida Burns and Izzy Saulin played key roles defensively.

Nevaeh Robinson and Ava Scurry led Schalick with 11 points apiece. Robinson hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Cougars’ first-quarter surge, but was held to five the rest of the night.

“The Pennsville girls kind of ran the show tonight,” Efelis said. “They got it together. They were a little lax the first quarter and then they took off.

“My coaching thing is I’m in it for the girls. I love watching them play. I love everything. Whether they lose or whether they win, I love seeing them compete. Tonight was a good night for us.”

They don’t time to rest on it. They have another emotional game Friday, hosting Millville for Senior Night.

PENNSVILLE 52, SCHALICK 35
PENNSVILLE (12-6): Taylor Bass 7 2-2 18, Marley Wood 5 6-8 17, Addie Johnston 4 0-0 11, Izzy Saulin 2 0-0 4, Jaiden Wilson 0 0-0 0, Jaida Burns 1 0-2 2. Totals 19 8-12 52.
SCHALICK (12-5): Cali Fisler 1 1-4 3, Ava Scurry 4 3-8 11, Willow Davis 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Robinson 4 0-0 11, Olivia Vanacker 3 2-2 8, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neill 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 6-11 35.

Pennsville	7	16	20	9-	52
Schalick	14	5	9	7-	35

3-point goals: Pennsville 6 (Bass 2, Wood, Johnston 3); Schalick 3 (Robinson 3). Total fouls: Pennsville 13, Schalick 10.

SALEM 54, CLAYTON 40: Dyaira Anderson scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season, Carlysia Pierce scored 16 points and Jaryn Weathers had 10 as the Rams won their second straight and got back to .500 (8-8) on the season. Pierce also had eight rebounds, six steals and two blocked shots.

WOODSTOWN 54, OVERBROOK 16: The Wolverines got balanced scoring and played a tough defense that held the Rams to two points in three of the four quarters. Kendall Young led Woodstown’s offense with 14 points. Lauren Hengel had 10. Kemma Perry and Autumn Paleschic had eight apiece. For Paleschic, a sophomore in her first year on varsity, it was a career-high and doubled her season point total.

GLASSBORO 65, PENNS GROVE 31. Keziah Patterson scored 20 points for Penns Grove, but Glassboro got 27 from Kezia Brackett and 19 from Lily Czubas to remain on track with Pennsville to tie for the TCC Diamond Division crown,

Boys games: Salem clinches

CLAYTON — Salem scratched off a big box on their to-do list Thursday night, clinched its first Tri-County Classic Division title in five years and did it in a most emphatic way.

The Rams placed five scorers in double-figures, got double-doubles from Tymear Lecator and Marshall Stephens, and scored the most points in a game under coach Anthony Farmer, outgunning Clayton 110-77.

With their fourth straight win, the Rams (16-3) opened a two-game lead on Wildwood with one division game to play.

“It’s one of the first goals that you try to accomplish as you move forward to the ultimate goal, which is winning a state title,” Farmer said. “The first one you’ve got to get is the division. So, definitely a good feeling for the boys and the program to claim a division again, but there’s more work to be done.”

It was the second time this season and fifth time in Farmer’s five-year tenure the Rams have scored 100 or more in a game. Four of those games were against Clayton.

Lecator led the Rams with 17 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Stephens had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Xavier McGriff (15), Neziah Spence (15) and Deshaan Williams (14) also scored in double figures. All of Spence’s points came on 3-pointers. Clayton’s James Fritz led all scorers with 30 points.

The Rams led 46-34 at halftime, then erupted for 38 points in the third quarter to give themselves a chance at 100.

“That’s what our pregame was about, mentally preparing for the task at hand and going to play the right way,” Farmer said. “We have been playing better lately and we wanted to keep it rolling. We know Clayton forces you into some bad things and some bad habits with their style of play, so we wanted to be conscious of the things we’ve been working on and continuing to take steps forward. I’m proud of the way they finished today.”

It was another big game for Lecator. The junior moved to within 52 points to becoming a 1,000-point scorers. He’s scored 71 points in three games this week and he’s been averaging 20.7 in the 11 games since Pitman held him to seven points on Jan. 6. He’s also had 63 assists in the same stretch.

“Ty is a true student of the game,” Farmer said. “He’s a hard worker so I’m proud as coach to see those type of guys rewarded. He’s a heck of a player and he’s improving day by day. The sky’s the limit for that kid if he continues to listen and do the right things. He’s just gotten better each year.”

The Rams have a big test in their next game, facing SJ Group 4 No. 1 Cherry Hill East (18-2) Saturday in the Battle by the Bay in Atlantic City.

SALEM 110, CLAYTON 77
SALEM (16-3): Donnie Weathers 2 1-2 5, Xavier McGriff 7 0-0 15, Neziah Spence 5 0-0 15, Tymear Lecator 6 2-2 17, Fatah Paige 3 0-0 6, Deshaan Williams 7 0-0 14, BJ Robbins 4 0-0 9, Cole Sayers 2 0-0 4, Kaden Robinson 1 0-0 2, Jovanni Rios 3 0-0 6, Marshall Stephens 5 1-2 11, Darrelle Johnson 3 0-0 6. Totals 48 4-6 110.
CLAYTON (7-11): Jackson Venuto 2 2-3 7, James Fritz 10 8-9 30, Nasir Carter 5 1-1 12, Kevin Mosley 3 1-4 10, Isaiah Aviles 1 0-0 2, Dominic Lemon 1 0-0 2, Trevor Rehm 1 0-0 3, King Mosley 2 0-0 5, Enok Figeruoa 1 0-0 2, Anthony Archer 1 2-2 4. Totals 27 14-19 77.

Salem	25	21	38	26-	110
Clayton	15	19	19	24-	77

3-point goals: Salem 10 (McGriff, Spence 5, Lecator 3, Robbins); Clayton 9 (Venuto, Fritz 2, Carter, Ke. Mosley 3, Rehm, Ki. Mosley). Rebounds: Salem 58 (Stephens 11).

1000-POINT WATCH	TODAY	TOTAL	NEXT
Tymear Lecator, Salem	17 vs. Clayton	948	vs. CHE, Saturday in Atlantic City

PENNS GROVE 66, GLASSBORO 52: The Red Devils jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 3:30 of the game and maintained the lead. Penns Grove’s three double-digits scorers outscored Glassboro’s three by 13 points. Roman Gipson led Penns Grove with a season-high 21 points and Haneef Frisby scored 16, his best game in a Penns Grove uniform. Geonni Conrad added 10. Glassboro was led by Xavier Sabb’s 13.

OVERBROOK 51, WOODSTOWN 46: Newly minted 1,000-point scorer Blake Bialecki had 12 points and hit four 3-pointers to set Woodstown’s all-time record for career treys and Elijah Caesar had 10, but the Wolverines couldn’t overcome three double-digit scorers by the Rams. Bialecki now has 1,013 career points and 190 career 3-pointers.

SCHALICK 63, PENNSVILLE 33: Danny Knight had 22 points for Pennsville.

Wrestling

OAKCREST 67, SALEM 9
106: Giovanni Taylor (O) won by forfeit
113: Mason Sanchez (O) won by forfeit
120: Joseph Sanchez (O) tech fall over Zachary Tortella, 23-4 (4:00)
126: Romas Rivera (O) dec. Hayden Stauble, 15-11
132: Heriberto Curtidor (O) tech fall over Guylherme Quintanilha, 18-3 (4:00)
138: Kevin Longo (O) pinned Brodie Parker, 4:00
144: Aiden Xayaphachan (O) won by forfeit
150: Joseph Goetaski (S) pinned Gavin Gabriel
157: Roberth Quiroz (O) won by forfeit
165: Malik Hughes (O) won by forfeit
175: Gunnar Olivieri (O) won by forfeit
190: Nyree Montford (O) won by forfeit
215: Nicholas Bellace (O) won by forfeit
285: Abdullah Jenkins (S) dec. Youssef Nosair, 7-2.

TCC tournament

Conference tournament goes to two tiers, division winners earn first-round byes, official seeding done Super Bowl Sunday

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

The Tri-County Conference basketball tournament will have a different look this year, one that expands the championship bracket to 12 teams and rewards division champions.

The tournament will be split into two sections rather than three divisions, a 12-team “championship bracket” and an 11-team “post-season bracket.” It will be seeded by conference officials on Super Bowl Sunday.

The championship bracket will be contested Feb. 13, 17 and 19, with the championship games on both the boys and girls side being played Feb. 21 at Washington Twp. Teams in the post-season bracket are guaranteed two games, but can drop the second if mutually agreed upon.

All games leading to the championship bracket final as well as all post-season bracket games will be played at the higher seed.

The four division winner will draw first-round byes. All seeds will be determined by the NJSIAA power points standings after Saturday’s games, with some teams leapfrogging the one directly above them if they have the head-to-head advantage.

“They felt like we were cutting teeth between the 8 seed in the A bracket and the 9, 10, even down to the 11 seed, in the B bracket,” said Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas, who assists the TCC in the seeding process.

“There were a couple things at play,” he continued. “If you were that 8 seed in the A, often times you’d rather be the 9 seed in the B. It made it more competitive.

“We often didn’t have all four division champs in the A bracket – I think that happened last year – because of power points and they were basically like that shouldn’t happen. You should at least get something for winning your division.”

Based on the power points standings Wednesday morning, the projected bracket looks like this:

The four byes: 1. Deptford, 2. Kingsway, 3. Salem, 4. Overbrook.

Seeds 5-12: 5. Cumberland, 6. Williamstown (head-to-head over Delsea), 7. Delsea, 8. Timber Creek, 9. Penns Grove, 10. Clearview, 11. Woodstown, 12. Gloucester Catholic.

The bracket would have 8v9 playing the 1 seed, 5v12 playing 4, 6v11 playing 3, and 7v10 playing 2.

Seeds 13-23: Washington Twp, GCIT, Triton, Glassboro, Wildwood (head-to-head over Pitman), Pitman, Highland, Clayton, Schalick, Pennsville, Salem Tech.

And the girls projected seeds based on Wednesday’s power points standings are …

The four byes: 1. Gloucester Catholic, 2. Wildwood, 3. Glassboro, 4. Timber Creek.

Seeds 5-12: 5. Washington Twp. 6. Clearview, 7. Kingsway, 8. Delsea (beat Pennsville), 9. Pennsville, 10. Triton, 11. Woodstown, 12. Cumberland

Seeds 13-23: Schalick, Williamstown (beat Deptford), Deptford, GCIT, Clayton, Salem, Pitman, Highland, Penns Grove (beat Overbrook twice), Overbrook, Salem Tech.

Of course, it all becomes official Sunday,

“I think this will probably make it go a little smoother,” Thomas said. “Because you really only have the one cutoff between the two divisions and, honestly, power points should lock that down.”

Personal matters

No. 3 Mighty Oaks hold off Montco in Top 10 battle after dropping in the polls; women’s team loses to No. 12 Union

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – All of a sudden, a midweek game against the No. 8 team in the country became the most important game of the year for the Salem CC basketball team. But they handled it, just as they have all year, albeit with a little drama in the second half.

In a game that figured to carry a lot of post-season implications and even more personal connections throughout the roster, the now third-ranked Mighty Oaks enjoyed some early success and then held off No. 8 Montgomery County 77-71.

The game was important for a number of reasons. Chiefly, it was good to have another one Top 10 win in the bank for at-large bid consideration to the national tournament if they don’t win the region/district tournament.

“Won against another good team,” Salem coach Mike Green said. “Who else beats Top 10 teams other than us? We’re the only ones kicking Top 10 teams asses around here, so hopefully the committee will look at that when they see it.”

Then there was the issue of pride. The Mighty Oaks had been No. 1 in JUCO Division III since the Dec. 15 (Week 6) poll, but falling out of the top spot after just one loss — their only loss — didn’t sit well with the players.

“I can’t speak for everybody but I know it bothered me, for sure,” said sophomore Stefan Phillips, the only holdover from last year’s national tournament team. “I love saying we’re No. 1 in the country. Seeing we’re No. 3, it bothered me. I want to be ranked No. 1.”

“I was irked by that,” Nayeem Johnson said. “I was highly upset about that because we got one loss. There’s not a lot of teams in the country that got one loss and we dropped two slots in the poll.”

When told the new No. 1 team has six losses, more than the next three teams in the poll combined, he said, “that’s crazy.”

But on top of all that, the players said this one was personal.

“No. 8 team in the nation, they beat us in the summer; that stung,” freshman Nasseem Wright said. “All our guys were freshmen and all of us never played with each other (at the time). They still won, but it was kind of personal. Those guys have been watching us all year. We knew it was going to be a war.”

“We’re all from Philly,” Phillips said. “I knew I took it personally. They didn’t recruit me out of high school, so every time I get a chance to beat a team from Philly that hadn’t recruited me, I;m gonna take personally.”

Curiously, the one player you’d think would take this game personally the most – Johnson, because he played for Montco last year and helped beat the Mighty Oaks in the regular-season meeting – just went about it as any other game. There was another emotion he felt afterwards, though.

“I don’t take any game personal; I don’t have no vendetta against anybody or no type of beef,” he said. “I will say everybody in the locker room is ecstatic. I’m ecstatic about the win. No. 1, we didn’t lose, and they came in talking a lot of trash so it definitely was satisfying to win the game.”

The win extended Salem’s home winning streak to 16 games over the last two seasons. All of their remaining regular season games are at home.

Expecting a war, the Mighty Oaks came out with gun blazing. They hit five of their first seven 3-point shots to open a 20-2 lead six minutes into the game and were up 20 at the break. The difference was their seven 3s in the half to none by the Mustangs.

Phillips, usually a force on the inside, hit the first one, followed in rapid succession by Zyaire Gibson and Jarrell Little, and had three in the half. He now has 21 treys on the year and is hitting at a 46.7 percent clip.

“Today, really, it started with me,” Phillips said. “Once they saw me hitting a shot early we were like ‘All right, Stef’s hot, we’re all hot.’ That’s how it starts really.”

As for stepping out and shooting the 3, the sophomore said, “it’s called player development, man. You gotta work on your game, all facets. You can’t just do one thing if you want to get to the highest level you can get to, so I work on everything, not just staying in the post.”

The lead swelled to 22 on Saaid Lee’s first bucket of the second half, but then the Mustangs (14-4) started attacking the rim and were rewarded with multiple and-ones while Mighty Oaks went cold and were dreadful at the free throw line (15-of-30 in the game, 7-of-19 in the second half). Montco ended up tying it at 71 on Issac Cole’s bucket with 1:58 to play.

“Just the way you want to start it,” Green said. “Move the ball, take open shots, run our stuff. When we did it, we looked good. When we didn’t, we looked like we were getting punched on just trying to survive.

“I try to tell them don’t get into the personal stuff, because it’s not personal, it’s you team winning the game. The second half it got personal and they pulled back in it. Everybody taking a chance doing their own stuff and you find yourself in a dogfight. That’s what scares me when my team plays against familiar faces. They get sidetracked. They start thinking about selfish things. Not selfish, but just bragging rights. They look for bragging right. Just win the game.”

That’s what they did down the stretch. Wright broke the tie on a flagrant foul free throw with 1:30 left and Gibson buried a 3 from the right corner on the accompanying possession to give the Mighty Oaks some breathing room.

“Saved the game,” Green said of Gibson’s 3. “Saved the game.”

The Mustangs missed two shots from underneath and two more shots on their next possession before Lee sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 16.8 seconds to play.

Wright led the Mighty Oaks with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and six steals. Lee had 14 points and three assists, while Gibson knocked down three 3s on his way to 11 points. Phillips also had 11 points.

Despite hitting his first 3, Little continued to struggle with his shot, but he came up big in other ways, grabbing 10 rebounds and dealing six assists. Johnson had 10 points and six rebounds against his former team.

SALEM CC 77, MONTGOMERY 71
MONTGOMERY (14-4): Alantay Dawson 7-16 1-1 15, Quire Bennett 1-3 1-1 3, Tariq Jennings 2-5 3-5 7, Issac Cole 5-9 4-6 14, Julius Marshall 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Williams 3-8 3-4 9, Steven Hill 1-6 0-0 2, Brandon Bush 9-18 1-2 19, Ryan Homburg 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 29-70 13-19 71.
SALEM CC (24-1): Jarrell Little 1-4 0-4 3, Saaid Lee 5-10 4-4 14, Zyaire Gibson 4-8 0-1 11, Nasseem Wright 6-8 5-12 17, Stefan Phillips 4-5 0-0 11, Jahseir Sayles 0-1 0-0 0, Qua Smith 2-4 0-0 5, Nayeem Johnson 3-13 2-5 10, Idris Rines 1-4 4-4 6. Totals 26-57 15-30 77.

Montgomery	29	42-	71
Salem CC	49	28-	77

3-point goals: Monaco 0-11 (Dawson 0-2, Cole 0-1, Williams 0-2, Hill 0-1, Bush 0-2, Homburg 0-3); Salem CC 10-23 (Little 1-3, Lee 0-2, Gibson 3-6, Phillips 3-3, Smith 1-2, Johnson 2-6, Rines 0-1). Rebounds: Montco 38 (Hill 7, Bush 7); Salem CC 40 (N. Wright 10, Little 10). Technical fouls: N. Wright. Fouled out: Cole. Total fouls: Montco 22, Salem CC 17.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
SALEM CC (3)	11-1	24-1	17-1
Northampton (10)	12-2	20-3
Brookdale (RV)	12-2	16-6	11-4
Union (9)	12-3	19-6	10-2
Montgomery (8)	10-3	14-4
Camden	10-3	15-8	9-7
Bergen	12-7	13-11	10-6
Ocean	10-6	13-9	9-7
Atlantic Cape	10-6	11-11	8-8
RCSJ-Cumberland	5-8	8-14	6-11
Philadelphia	4-9	11-10
Thaddeus Stevens	4-9	8-12
Harrisburg Area	4-9	5-15
RCSJ-Gloucester	5-12	7-18	1-12
Sussex	4-12	7-17	4-11
Passaic	3-14	4-18	3-11
Delaware County	2-13	3-19
Luzerne	1-12	4-19

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Montgomery at Salem CC
Atlantic Cape 99, Delaware County 67
Camden 91, Luzerne 65
Philadelphia 70, Union 67 (OT)
Lackawanna at Raritan Valley
Morris at Harcum
Mercer 78, Delaware Tech 68 (OT)
Middlesex 105, Essex 93
Thaddeus Stevens at Williamson Trades
Passaic at Brookdale
Northampton 93, RCSJ-Gloucester 37
Bergen 78, Ocean 76
RCSJ-Cumberland 81, Harrisburg Area 78
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Harrisburg Area at Salem CC
Compass Prep at Morris
Montgomery at Passaic
Essex at Monroe
Camden at RCSJ-Gloucester
Delaware County at RCSJ-Cumberland
Atlantic Cape at Ocean
Rockland at Lackawanna
Middlesex at Mercer
Northampton at Brookdale
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Philadelphia at Salem CC
Union at Camden
Bergen at Montgomery
Brookdale at Luzerne
Delaware County at Sussex
Delaware Tech at Morris
Ocean at RCSJ-Cumberland
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
RCSJ-Gloucester at Passaic
Penns State LV at Thaddeus Stevens
Lackawanna at Harcum
Northampton at Atlantic Cape
Westchester at Middlesex

JUCO DIVISION III POLL (1st place votes)	REC	PTS
Dallas College Richland (9)	15-6	105
Riverland	22-1	98
SALEM CC	23-1	91
Northern Essex	21-3	84
Dutchess	16-3	77
Dallas College Eastfield	14-7	70
Dallas College North Lake	13-8	63
Montgomery County (Pa.)	14-3	56
Union (N.J.)	19-5	49
Northampton	19-3	42
North Country	17-2	35
Mohawk Valley	11-4	28
Sandhills	16-8	21
Herkimer	14-4	7
Monroe-Bronx	17-5	3

Receiving votes: Brookdale, Joliet, Oxford College of Emory, Ridgewater

Women’s game

CARNEYS POINT — The Salem CC women’s basketball suffered another lopsided loss to a nationally ranked team, but there was something about the way it looked early that seemed different somehow.

The Mighty Oaks have getting boat-raced the last couple games, but in the first half Tuesday night at least they looked competitive. Sure, they were down 22 at the break, but coming off a practice sophomore forward Kasey Oliver called “probably better than a lot of our practices,” they came out with an enthusiasm for attacking the basket, battling for loose balls, grabbing rebounds and genuinely giving No. 12 Union a hard time.

The second half it just got away and the Owls went on to bury them 105-39.

“I thought we played hard,” coach Brian Marsh said. “When they were in a zone we did really well against it. We struggled when they went man.

“I thought our team played hard. We got worn down. Union is No. 12 in the country for a reason – they’re good and they come at you in waves. When we’re playing hard we can do a lot of damage. We were just a little overwhelmed today. If we can have that same effort (they showed in the first half) for the last six games I really like our chances in most of them.”

In spite of the Mighty Oaks’ best effort, they still trailed 46-24 at halftime.

The second half was all Union. The Mighty Oaks were outscored 59-15 in the half, 30-2 in the fourth quarter, with the only two points coming from the free throw line. They had more turnovers (45) in the game than points (39), off which the Owls scored 52 points.

Union put all five starters and six players total in double figures. Oliver was the Mighty Oaks’ leading scorer with 13 points.

It has been a tough stretch for the Mighty Oaks. They’ve lost their last three game since their last win by a combined 172 points

“We know we’re a good team,” Oliver said. “Given our record, we really want to prove that to a lot of people, but it’s just not working out. I guess we want to prove to (Marsh) we can work hard.”

UNION 105, SALEM CC 39
SALEM CC (3-15): RayNescia King 3-6 1-1 8, TJ Shaw 3-13 0-1 6, Kasey Oliver 5-10 3-4 13, Paul Wilson 0-3 0-0 0, Jayda Hunter 3-7 0-2 6, Justine Cardona 2-4 1-2 5, Dani Gustin 0-3 1-4 1, Breanne Ruhl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-46 6-14 39.
UNION (19-3): Jasmin McKay 7-9 8-11 22, Zakiyyah Lindsey 5-17 3-4 14, Cianna Papineau 5-10 0-0 13, Darrian Jackson 4-6 0-1 10. Zanaya Parsons 11-18 2-3 24, Aaliyah Littles 1-4 1-1 3, Gracie Cruz 0-4 0-0 0, Kada Rodgers 4-8 3-4 13, Emani Resto 1-4 1-1 3, Maria Paula Urena Rojas 0-3 1-2 1, Brianna Patterson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 39-85 19-27 105.

Salem CC	13	11	13	2-	39
Union	20	26	29	30-	105

3-point goals: Salem CC 1-11 (King 1-2, Shaw 0-2, Wilson 0-3, Hunter 0-3, Cardona 0-1); Union 8-21 (Lindsey 1-4, Papineau 3-5, Jackson 2-4, Cruz 0-1, Rodgers 2-4, Urena Rojas 0-2, Patterson 0-1). Rebounds: Salem CC 34 (Hunter 8, Gustin 9); Union 45 (Parsons 12, Lindsey 9). Fouled out: King, Gustin. Total fouls: Salem CC 21, Union 14.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

DIVISION II	R19	ALL	GSAC
Harcum (3)	11-0	20-1
Union (12)	10-2	19-3	7-0
Mercer (14)	9-2	17-3	4-1
Essex	7-4	15-5	4-3
Raritan Valley	3-7	7-14	3-4
Middlesex	3-8	9-15	0-5
Delaware Tech	3-8	7-15
SALEM CC	2-9	3-15	0-5
Lackawanna	1-9	4-13
Morris	0-0	0-7	0-0

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Union 105, Salem CC 39
Passaic 68, Brookdale 62
Bergen 74, Ocean 52
Lackawanna at Raritan Valley
Northampton 72, RCSJ-Gloucester 59
Essex 67, Middlesex 62
Mercer 100, Delaware Tech 43
Camden 74, Sussex 49
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Delaware Tech at Salem CC
Camden at RCSJ-Gloucester
Atlantic Cape at Ocean
Bergen at Northampton
Montgomery at Brookdale
Monroe at Raritan Valley
Philadelphia at Sussex
Middlesex at Mercer
Union at Essex
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Middlesex
Camden at Philadelphia
RCSJ-Gloucester at Passaic
Northampton at Atlantic Cape
Ocean at RCSJ-Cumberland
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
Bergen at Montgomery
Lackawanna at Harcum

Bialecki hits 1,000

Woodstown senior reaches milestone on 2 FTs with 2.4 seconds left in Wolverines’ win; plus scores and details from Tuesday night’s Salem County sports calendar

BOYS BASKETBALL
Woodstown 45, Cherry Hill West 40
Salem 73, Pitman 35
Glassboro 69, Schalick 23
Overbrook 52, Penns Grove 39
Clayton 80, Salem Tech 60
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pennsville 47, Woodstown 33
Penns Grove 60, Overbrook 39
Clayton 42, Salem Tech 26
Salem 67, Pitman 51
Glassboro 52, Schalick 8
BOYS BOWLING
Salem Tech 4, ACIT 0
Lindenwold 3, Salem 1

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CHERRY HILL — Blake Bialecki became the latest member of the Salem County 1,000-Point Club Tuesday and he took the bid all the way down to the wire.

The Woodstown senior needed 14 points to become the 11th boys player to join the list. He got a game-high 15. He reached the milestone on two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play to seal the Wolverines’ 45-40 bounce back win at Cherry Hill West.

“They were actually really important free throws,” he said. “It was, I needed to ice the game and get my 1,000 points at the same time.

“I wasn’t worried about it. I just wanted to get the win. They face-guarded me. They definitely didn’t want me to get it against them. I didn’t get many shots off today, but when I did I made it.”

For the longest time it looked like he might to extend the celebration to another day. The Lions (6-13) face-guarded him in such a manner “they definitely didn’t want me to get it against them” and limited his touches.

He had eight points with 4:30 to play and the game tied at 34. His 3-pointer from the right side with 3:15 left gave the Wolverines (12-7) a 39-34 lead. He hit two free throws with 1:01 left to make it 41-36, then hit the milestone after being fouled on an inbounds play in the backcourt.

“There are a lot of emotions,” he said. “Me and my parents have worked so hard for it and it’s been a goal of mine since middle school. There’s been countless hours in the gym with my dad. I’m just super excited and happy.

“Over COVID I really fell in love with training and getting better at basketball and I really fell in love with the sport. I set a lot of goals and one of them was 1,000 points.”

The fourth-quarter 3 was his third of the game and equally historic. It tied him with 1,600-point girls scorer Talia Battavio for Woodstown’s all-time 3-pointer record (186), a mark he covets as much as the 1,000-point mark.

“It’s definitely important to me because I define myself as a shooter and I work really hard on shooting 3s,” he said. “I train shooting 3s like a ton. Most of my workouts are focused on 3-point shooting. I still work on other stuff, but it’s mostly based around shooting. I want to be known as a shooter.”

He is the 68th player to make the Salem County boys 1,000-point list. He made sure to credit his coaches and teammates to reaching the milestone, calling it “our award, our 1,000 points and not just mine.”

WOODSTOWN 45, CHERRY HILL WEST 40
WOODSTOWN (12-7): Elijah Caesar 3 4-6 11, Jalen Markward 2 2-2 6, Blake Bialecki 3 6-6 15, Alejandro Vazquez 2 0-0 5, Josh Kiing 4 0-0 8, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-2 0. Totals 14 12-16 45.
CHERRY HILL WEST (6-13): Jordan Wise-Jones 1 2-2 4, Andre Blalock 3 0-0 7, Korey Morton 3 0-0 8, Hayden Boyle 3 2-2 8, Rasheed Braxton 5 3-4 13. Totals 15 7-8 40.

Woodstown	11	13	6	15-	45
Cherry Hill West	7	9	11	13-	40

3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Caesar, Bialecki 3, Vazquez); Cherry Hill West 3 (Blalock, Morton 2).

1000-POINT WATCH	TODAY	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	15 vs. Cherry Hill West	1001
Tymear Lecator, Salem	26 vs. Pitman	931

SALEM 73, PITMAN 35: The Rams’ Tymear Lecator connected on six 3-pointers and scored 28 points to move closer to becoming the 69th player on the Salem County boys 1,000-point list. The junior was 10-for-18 from the field, 6-of-12 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds and five assists. He’s gone for at least 25 in four of his last six games. Twelve players scored for the Rams in the game.

GLASSBORO 69, SCHALICK 23: Xavier Sabb went for 30 points as the Bulldogs beat a Salem County opponent for the second day in a row. The Bulldogs started the year 2-9 but have won four of their last seven.

“We’re just trying to put it all together at the right time,” Bulldogs coach Lynell Payne said after his team dispatched Woodstown Monday. “I don’t want to speak too soon, but I will say we’re understanding what needs to be done. We will be the most dangerous 16 seed in the tournament.”

OVERBROOK 52, PENNS GROVE 39: Lamar Little filled the boxscore with 13 points, two rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals as the Rams clinched the Tri-County Diamond Division title. Bilal Robinson (11) and Gavin Cajuste (10) also scored in double figures. Penns Grove got balanced scoring, but didn’t have a scorer in double figures.

CLAYTON 80, SALEM TECH 60: Aiden Bobo scored a career-high 22 points, but the Chargers couldn’t overcome 12 Clippers hitting the scoring column with half of them going for at least eight points. James Fritz led the winners with 15 points.

Girls games

PENNSVILLE — Robin Efelis didn’t really know what to expect. She was just hoping for the best.

In the 24 hours prior to Tuesday night’s game with Woodstown, Efelis has gone from assistant coach to head coach and had to prepare for her team’s biggest basketball rival.

The new head coach and her Pennsville girls came through it well, taking down the Wolverines for the second time this season, 47-33 to remain on pace to share the Tri-County Diamond Division crown with Glassboro. Both teams are 7-1 in the six-team division and split their series during the season.

Efelis landed in the position after Eagles head coach Steve Merritt abruptly resigned after practice Monday night.

The teams battled it out in the first half with Pennsville going into the break with a 16-13 lead, but the Eagles dominated the second half, outscoring the Wolverines 31-20. They took control with a 12-4 third quarter.

Addie Johnston led the Eagles (11-6) with 20 points, just missing her career high. Taylor Bass had 13 points and Marley Wood had eight. Kendall Young led Woodstown with 11 points.

Among Merritt’s parting words to the team Monday was they had a good chance to win the game if they played like a five-man unit and protected the ball.

“The girls played extremely well tonight,” Efelis said.

PENNSVILLE 47, WOODSTOWN 33
WOODSTOWN (8-12): Lauren Hengel 4 0-2 8, Kyia Leyman 2 0-0 4, Emma Perry 3 0-0 6, Kendall Young 4 2-2 11, Talia Guardascione 1 3-4 6, Totals 14 5-8 33.
PENNSVILLE (11-6): Taylor Bass 5 1-2 13, Marley Wood 2 2-2 8, Addie Johnston 8 2-2 20, Izzy Saulin 2 0-0 4, Jaida Burns 1 0-0 2, Jaiden Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-6 47.

Woodstown	7	6	4	16-	33
Pennsville	9	7	12	19-	47

3-point goals: Woodstown 2 (Young, Guardascione); Pennsville 4 (Bass 2, Johnston 2).

SALEM 67, PITMAN 51: The Rams got a combined 56 points from their big three — Carlysia Pierce, Dyaira Anderson and Maddie Dixon — produced a pair of double-doubles and outscored Pitman in the fourth quarter 21-6 to pull away. Pierce had a team-high 19 points, 14 rebounds and six steals. Anderson delivered 18 points and 17 boards, and Dixon scored 16 points (with five rebounds and four steals).

GLASSBORO 52, SCHALICK 8: The Bulldogs did to Schalick wahat the Cougars usually do to their opponents: D them up. The Bulldogs held their visitors to one points in the first quarter and shut them out in the third to snap their seven-game winning streak. Kezia Brackett led their offense with 27 points. Sianna Wedderburn and Lily Czubas both grabbed 11 rebounds and Sanaa Thomas dealt 10 assists.

CLAYTON 42, SALEM TECH 26: India Bryant led Clayton with 14 points. Shelby Drummond led the Chargers with seven.

PENNS GROVE 60, OVERBROOK 39: The Red Devils collected their second win of the season and snapped a nine-game losing streak. Their other win came over the Rams in early January.

Abrupt ending

Pennsville girls basketball coach Merritt resigns after two winning seasons with the team, Efelis promoted to head coach

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – On rhe day of one of its biggest games of the season the Pennsville girls find themselves a team in transition following the abrupt resignation of head coach Steve Merritt.

The long-time county coach, in his second year with the Eagles after coming out of retirement, stepped down after practice Monday night.

Assistant coach Robin Efelis immediately was promoted to head coach. The Eagles host county rival Woodstown tonight in a game that has some bearing on the Tri-County Diamond Division race.

Neither Merritt nor Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas would comment on the elements of what led to the resignation.

“It was a very, very, very difficult decision to make,” Merritt said. “In part, for my health, both mental and physical, it’s just not a good idea to continue.”

Merritt, 73, was 28-16 in his two seasons at Pennsville. He came out retirement last year and directed the team to an 18-10 record and the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Group I tournament. He helped produce three 1,000-point scorers – Nora Ausland, Marley Wood and, this year, Taylor Bass.

His all-time record as a basketball coach, including 19 years at Salem, is 285-246. He was inducted into the Salem County Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.

This year’s team is 10-6 and currently tied with Glassboro for first place in the TCC Diamond Division. It beat Woodstown 47-46 in their first meeting in January, ending the Wolverines’ 39-game winning streak against in-county competition.

“I was under the impression the kids had learned some things,” Merritt said of his time with the team. “This freshmen group that came in, the six players who came in, they made some significant improvements over the skills that I saw when they first started, and I’m not going to say it was solely because of me. But they learned some things and I did my best to teach them some things. Hopefully in the future that will carry on, but who’s to say.

“Beyond that, the numbers speak for themselves. We were successful. They have a genuine shot at winning today and if they take care of business against Penns Grove and Schalick then they can share the title with Glassboro. I told them yesterday at the start of practice they needed to do two things – play as a five-person group, not a four, not a three, but as a five-person group, and they needed to take care of the ball.”

Efelis, meanwhile, has been with the program for the last five years, through the tenures of former coach Sam Trapp and Merritt. Thomas said in a statement “the administration is confident that Coach Efelis is the perfect person to help lead us through this transition.”

The Eagles made Efelis’ coaching debut a success, overcoming the turmoil to win the game 47-33.

Top photo: Steve Merritt makes a point during a timeout in one of his first games as coach of the Pennsville girls basketball team.

Monday sports report

Glassboro denies Bialecki bid for 1000, Salem takes control of division, Schalick girls set up Willoughby for special Senior Night experience and more

BOYS BASKETBALL
Gateway 64, Salem Tech 31
Glassboro 71, Woodstown 49
Salem 55, Wildwood 43
Schalick 54, Cape May Tech 40
West Deptford 58, Pennsville 15
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Millville 46, Woodstown 39
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
Overbrook 55, Salem Tech 35
Schalick 34, Cape May Tech 16
WRESTLING
Schalick 65, Salem 12

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

GLASSBORO — The banner had been prepared and was folded neatly in the car. The plan was to bring it in sometime during the second half if Blake Bialecki was getting close to the milestone.

The Woodstown senior has been closing in on the 1,000-point barrier, but Glassboro — and Mekhi Parker — were determined not to have it happen on their watch.

The Bulldogs played what their coach, Lynell Payne, called “one of our better” defensive games of the season. They held Bialecki to nine points and stuffed the “sleepwalking” Wolverines, 71-49.

The nine points left Bialecki with 986 for his career. His nine points came on three 3-pointers – one in each of the last three quarters – and moved him within four of breaking the school’s all-time record for 3s, currently held by Talia Battavio (186).

“We made it a point,” Payne said. “He was sitting at 977 and I told the guys we don’t let anybody get that 1,000th point on us, so they collectively took it upon themselves and said OK we’re going to have some pride. We’re playing at home, we’ve been up and down all year ,so today we’re going to have some pride and definitely stop him because he torched us last time.”

Bialecki went for 25 when the teams played right before Christmas. He needed almost that many Monday to reach the milestone, but was held to single digits for just the fifth time this season and the first time in six games.

“When you look at our games people have been scoring on us,” Payne continued. “The LEAP guy (Gabriel Shoultz) had 30. Last week, the guy from Camden County Tech (Charles Barbour) had like 25. So, we’ve got to take some pride on defense and not let anybody score on us and I think tonight we actually locked in and did that.”

Actually, they’ve had an opposing player go for at least 25 in three of their previous four games.

The assignment to keep Bialecki in check fell to Parker. The 6-foot-4 sophomore never let his man get more than arm’s length away and held him to 3-for-16 shooting.

“When I said we cannot let this guy go off on us, he said, ‘Coach, I got him,’” Payne said of Parker “That’s what I look for. I can assign any of you, but whoever’s comfortable and you don’t want to let your brothers down, you guard him. And then he said ‘I got him’ and we all trusted him.”

“They definitely played very good defense on me today,” Bialecki said. “They did a really good job. My shot was rushed, took away my confidence kind of.”

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs dictated the pace. Xavier Sabb led all scorers with 19 points. Parker had 16 and Will Boggans 10. Alejandro Vazquez was the only Woodstown scorer in double figures. He hit three 3s and finished with 14.

The Wolverines held a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, then starting going the other way. They were outscored 13-5 in the second quarter and 46-30 in the second half. Sabb, Parker and Maurice Davis combined for 33 points in the second half.

“Sleepwalking,” Woodstown coach Ramon Roots said. “We were sleepwalking. They played tougher. They played stronger. That’s what it came down to. (His team) didn’t play tough tonight.”

Bialecki’s next shot at the milestone is Tuesday, when the Wolverines — and the banner — travel to Cherry Hill West. He’s not pushing it.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to help us win,” he said. “If that comes, it comes.”

WOODSTOWN (11-7): Eli Caesar 1 0-0 2, Jalen Markward 1 2-4 4, Blake Bialecki 3 0-0 9, Alejandro Vazquez 5 1-3 14, John Hood-McGinley 0 0-0 0, Josh King 1 0-0 2, Andrew White 2 2-2 7, Trey Markward 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Bryce Ayars 0 0-0 0, Frankie Hoerst 0 0-2 0, Connor Miller 3 2-2 9, Brian Booker 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-13 49
GLASSBORO (5-12): Xavier Sabb 7 5-8 19, Mehki Parker 7 0-2 16, Will Boggans 5 0-0 10, Riley Brown-Dispensa 1 4-4 6, Marley Crowl 3 2-2 8, Maurice Davis 3 3-4 10, Wolfgang Donoway 0 0-0 0, Cam Parker-Akins 0 1-2 1, David Gillis 0 0-0 0, Lorenzo Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 15-22 71.

Woodstown	14	5	14	16-	49
Glassboro	12	13	23	23-	71

3-point goals: Woodstown 8 (Bialecki 3, Vazquez 3, White, Miller); Glassboro 2 (Parker 2). Rebounds: Woodstown 22 (White 7); Glassboro 29 (Sabb 5, Parker 6, Brown Dispensa 6). Total fouls: Woodstown 17, Glassboro 12).

Top photo: Glassboro’s Mekhi Parker (5) keeps a close eye on Woodstown’s Blake Bialecki during Monday’s game.

SALEM 55, WILDWOOD 43: The Rams solidified their hold on the Tri-County Classic Division lead by completing their season sweep of the Warriors.

The game was tight throughout, but the Rams carried a four-point lead into the fourth quarter, never lost it and closed it out with six straight Tymear Lecator free throws in the final minute. Lecator was 8-for-8 from the line in the game — all in the fourth quarter — and finished with 28 points.

“I believe we’re starting to become a more disciplined team down the stretch,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “That has helped us come out on the other side of some really tough games. I’m proud of my guys.”

The Rams, still No. 2 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, are the only undefeated team in the Classic with three divisions games to play. They hold a two-game lead in the loss column over Wildwood, which has one division game left, and a three-game lead in the loss column over Clayton, which has three division games left.

SALEM (14-3): Tymear Lecator 8 8-8 28, Deshaan Williams 3 2-7 8, Neziah Spence 2 0-0 6, Marshall Stephens 2 0-0 4, Xavier McGriff 1 0-2 2, Donnie Weathers 2 1-3 5, Darrelle Johnson 0 2-2 2, BJ Robbins 0 0-0 0, Harlem Parsons 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-22 55.
WILDWOOD (7-11): Owen Bannon 7, Gianni Troiano 1, Jordan Dozier 4, Trevor Troiano 14, Nolan Mawhinney 12, Michael Sciarra 3, Vinny Sweeney 2.

Salem	16	9	8	22-	55
Wildwood	13	12	4	14-	43

3-point goals: Salem 6 (Lecator 4, Spence 2). Rebounds: Salem 41 (Williams 8, Stephens 8, Johnson 7). Technical fouls: Farmer.

GATEWAY 64, SALEM TECH 31: Evan Haase hit five of the Gators’ 11 3-pointers and scored a game-high 15 points.

SALEM TECH (2-13): Chase Pompper 3 2-4 9, Ayden Myers 4 0-0 9, Luke Kroll 2 0-2 4, Brody Kroll 1 0-0 3, Raphael Busch 1 0-0 2, Micah Cavanaugh 1 0-0 2, Sterling 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 2-6 31.
GATEWAY (8-9): Evan Haase 5 0-0 15, DJ Bink 4 3-4 13, Eddie Coryell 3 0-0 8, Naqwon Langston 3 0-0 7, Ben Runner 3 0-0 6, Ben Cook 2 0-0 4, Devin Forman 2 0-0 5, Tamil James 3 0-0 6, Pierce Kaeferie 0 0-0 0, Max Hohl 0 0-0 0, JaQuahn Smith-Carney 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 3-4 64.

Salem Tech	8	4	6	13-	31
Gateway	17	16	18	13-	64

3-point goals: Salem Tech 3 (Pompper, Myers, B. Kroll); Gateway 11 (Haase 5, Bink 2, Coryell 2, Langston, Forman). Rebounds: Salem Tech 23 (Cusch 8, Lewis 5, Myers 5); Gateway 36 (Runner 8, Cook 7).

WEST DEPTFORD 58, PENNSVILLE 15: Michael Joseph scored 13 points and West Deptford got points from 11 players. West Deptford opened a 24-3 lead in the first quarter.

PENNSVILLE (3-15): Danny Knight 2 1-2 5, Shamir Watkins 1 0-0 2, Gavin Spears 1 0-0 3, Colt Willis 1 1-3 3, Aidan Clark 1 0-2 2. Totals 6 2-7 15.
WEST DEPTFORD (6-12): Curtis Pearson 3 0-2 6, Kyree Eason 2 0-0 4, Thomas Cross 2 2-2 7, Carter Watson 2 0-0 5, Yasmine Abdel-Hamid 1 0-0 2, Anthony Martello 2 1-2 5, Michael Garcia 1 0-0 2, Michael Joseph 6 1-3 13, Zamir Davis 1 0-2 2, Talib Bogar 1 3-4 5, Cole Stanish 3 1-1 7. Totals 24 8-16 58.

Pennsville	3	5	4	3-	15
West Deptford	24	11	19	4-	58

3-point goals: Pennsville 1 (Spears); West Deptford 2 (Cross, Watson).

1000-POINT WATCH	TODAY	TOTAL	NEXT
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	9 vs. Glassboro	986	at CHW, Tues.
Tymear Lecator, Salem	28 vs. Wildwood	905	vs. Pitman, Tues

Girls games: Special moment

PITTSGROVE — Schalick recognized its seniors Monday night and orchestrated a special moment for one of them.

Abby Willoughby hasn’t been able to play this basketball season while recovering from an injury during the soccer season, but the but the Cougars gave her a chance to score one more time in their 34-16 win over Cape May Tech.

It came right out of the gate. They positioned Willoughby under the basket, Ava Scurry directed the opening tip to Vicky Basich, who then passed to Willoughby for a layup.

“It was a special moment for her as I know she has missed being on the court,” Cougars coach John Whelan said. “Abby has been a big part of this program the last four years and she without a doubt earned this moment. I’m glad she was able to celebrate it with her teammates and family.”

After the bucket the Cougars subbed her out and allowed CMT to get the points back.

“Cape May Tech showed great sportsmanship and we truly appreciate their understanding,” Whelan said.

She played in 65 of 69 games over her first three years and wraps her high school career with 158 points, 242 rebounds and 138 steals.

The game was tight in the first half, but the Cougars (12-3) pulled away in the second for their seventh straight win. They outscored their visitors 22-5 in the second half.

Olivia Vanacker scored seven of her team-high nine points in the second half. Scurry had six of her eight and Cali Fisler five of her seven in the half.

CAPE MAY TECH (6-11): Sam Cabral 0 0-0 0, Bobbi Fashaw 2 0-2 4, Camryn James 2 0-0 4, Sofia Alegre 0 0-0 0, Bella Culican 0 0-0 0, Hayli Estes 1 0-0 2, Kiley Dicta 0 0-0 0, Aryanna Crawley 0 0-0 0, Emma Oravits 2 0-0 6, Olivia Kiser 0 0-0 0, Riley Puvilla 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 0-2 16.
SCHALICK (12-3): Abby Willoughby 1 0-0 2, Cali Fisler 1 5-10 7, Ava Scurry 4 0-0 8, Vicky Basich 2 0-0 4, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Robinson 1 0-0 2, Willow Davis 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 1 0-0 2, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Olivia Vanacker 4 0-2 9. Totals 14 5-12 34.

Cape May Tech	7	4	3	2-	16
Schalick	8	4	12	10-	34

3-point goals: Cape May Tech 2 (Oravitss 2); Schalick 1 (Vanacker). Total foul: Cape May Tech 11, Schalick 5.

MILLVILLE 46, WOODSTOWN 39: The Wolverines had everything going on early, jumping out to a 10-2 lead, then the game completely changed. Millville’s Naomi Burkhart scored a game-high 20 points. Lauren Hengel and Kendall Young led Woodstown with 10 points each.

WOODSTOWN 8-11): Lauren Hengel 5 0-0 10, Kyia Leyman 3 3-8 9, Kendall Young 5 0-0 10, Talia Guardascione 3 2-5 8, Jaelyn McDonald 1 0-4 2. Totals 17 5-17 39.
MILLVILLE (7-10): Kamya Smith 1 1-2 3, Rahnasia Casper 3 5-7 11, Naomi Burkhart 6 7-8 20, Angeliya Cephas 2 1-3 5, Aphrea Robinson 0 0-0 0, Brielle Rivera 2 2-4 7, Anya Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 16-24 46.

Woodstown	10	6	10	13-	39
Millville	2	13	16	15-	46

3-point goals: Millville 2 (Burkhart, Rivera).

OVERBROOK 54, SALEM TECH 37: Gianna Simon had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rams. She also had five assists and four steals.

Salem Tech (2-11)	9	5	18	5-	37
Overbrook (4-13)	8	14	15	17-	54

Wrestling

SCHALICK 65, SALEM 12
106: Victor Fenske (SC) won by forfeit
113: Nicholas Latona (SC) won by forfeit
120: E’Shion Underwood (SC) pinned Adrien Morales, 0:30
126: Caleb Jenkins (SC) tech fall over Zachary Tortella, 17-2 (2:30)
132: Guilherme Quintanilha (S) dec. Jacob Potts, 11-6
138: Aiden Piernikowski (SC) pinned Brodie Parker, 0:23
144: Michael Baisch (SC) pinned Joseph Goetaski, 1:30
150: Ziyon Moore (S) pinned Gabriel McFeeley, 3:30
157: Mason Hollywood (SC) won by forfeit
165: Anthony Deaver (SC) pinned Jordan Brown, 3:30
175: Ricky Watt (SC) pinned Josthen Jimenez, 1:16
190: Gerardo Felipe (SC) pinned Kaleb Ewald, 0:56
215: James Cook (SC) won by forfeit
285: Abdullah Jenkins (S) dec. Jeff Edmonds, 7-0

Tough finish, great time

Woodstown 4×800 relay finishes seventh at Millrose Games, runs sub-8:00, were first and fourth at various stages of the race

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

NEW YORK — It wasn’t quite the placing they were shooting for, but you’ll get no argument from Woodstown’s boys 4×800 relay team over the time they posted.

The Wolverines turned in Salem County’s best indoor time ever in the event and finished seventh in the 13-team Peter Diamond 4×800 at the 118th Millrose Games in The Armory in Washington Heights this afternoon.

Running under the banner of Woodstown TC, the team of Karson Chew, Jacob Marino, David Farrell and Josh Crawford ran a 7:55.62. They had hoped to finish fifth. Union Catholic won the race in 7:37.96, a facility and meet record and a second and a half off the national high school record.

“None of us were upset, none at all,” Crawford said. “We’re all happy for one another. Each one of us did our jobs, ran great legs. We dropped five seconds from our school record. A 7:55 is nothing to fret over. We’re all really happy with it.”

“Honestly, it couldn’t get better than that for us,” added Chew. “It just showed how well we can stick with the bigger competition and those big, huge school teams that are just bringing powerhouses every year.

“The target was fifth or better, but the fact we ran 7:55 I think that kind of counteracts it, like, OK we got seventh, but we ran a pretty damned good time.”

The Wolverines led the race three times in the first 600 meters of Chew’s opening leg and were second behind IMG Elite after he pulled in at 1:56.42, his fastest relay split ever. Marino ran 2:01.39 in the second leg, but they were in sixth at the exchange and were eighth after Farrell’s leg (2:03.40).

“I ended up opening a little flow,” Chew said. “I got out in front, which is definitely what needed to happen; I needed to solidify the position up front for a little bit to be able to hold my position.

“I knew going into it I had the ability to beat every single person on that track, given the day, given the time. I went into it knowing I was just as nervous as everybody else on that track and I was just as adrenaline high as everybody else on that track. I took the lead like I wanted to and tried to hold it the best I could until IMG took over towards the end.”

Crawford ran a 1:54.42 anchor leg and got all the way back to fourth with 200 meters to go, then his body started to rebel down the stretch and he began losing track position. His split was a half-second faster than his open 800 indoor PR, run in the Dr. Sander Scorcher here last week.

“My coach going into this told me that sometimes I have to take risks and this is the stage to take those type of risks,” Crawford said. “Taking the baton I saw I was in eighth, but I knew I could get up to fourth or whatever it was, but I just think I did it a little bit too quick.

“I ran 25 my first lap, 27 my second lap and for a 400 split that’s a 52; that’s what the pros are running. I got a little ahead of myself and tried to run what the pros were running just so I could catch up to that (lead) group of kids, which ended up nipping me in the butt the last 50 meters.

“I got ahead until the back straightaway and the lactic acid just built up. I was ahead and then I just started dropping places. I just locked up. It’s really only like a hundred-meter improvement that I’ve got to do and when I find that endurance that I need I think I’ll definitely be able to run some great times.”

PETER DIAMOND 4X800	FINAL
Union Catholic (NJ)	7:37.96
IMG Elite (FL)	7:38.47
St. John’s College (DC)	7:48.43
McCallie (TN)	7:52.95
Hickory Hawks (VA)	7:54.00
Haverford Twp. (PA)	7:54.35
WOODSTOWN (NJ)	7:55.62
State College (PA)	7:59.37
East Side Prep (MD)	8:00.49
North Hunterdon (NJ)	8:02.95
Northport (NY)	8:03.80
Manhasset (NY)	8:03.80
Bronx Science (NY)	8:12.64

TCC Showcase

TOMS RIVER — Here are the athletes who scored points during Saturday’s rescheduled Tri-County/Olympic Showcase at The Bubble.

BOYS
Team scores: Williamstown 57, SCHALICK 37, Timber Creek 35, Highland 33, Glassboro 28, PENNS GROVE 25, Cumberland 24, Kingsway 22, SALEM 21, Clearview 16, WOODSTOWN 5, Deptford 4, Wildwood 2, PENNSVILLE 1.
(Salem County scorers)
55 Dash: 4. Jelani Beverly, Salem 6.72; 5. David Stewart, Schalick 6.73; 6. Kylee Goodson, Penns Grove 6.79
400: 1. Kylee Goodson, Penns Grove 51.14; 4. Tommy White, Penns Grove 53.76
800: 4. Steve Chomo, Schalick 2:06.53
1600: 6. Tortsen Duva, Woodstown 4:59.21
55 Hurdles: 4. Timothy Gregory, Salem 8.39; 6. Gradin Buzby, Salem 8.71
4×400: 1. Schalick (Jacob Carter, Steve Chomo, David Stewart, Salvatore Longo) 3:39.93; 4. Woodstown (Maximus Csaezar, Michael Turner, Ben Lippincott, Anthony Costello) 3:43.42
Long jump: 4. Jerry Seals, Salem 20-1.5; 5. Ahmad Tucker, Salem 19-10
Pole vault: 1. Salvatore Longo, Schalick 11-6; 2. Gradin Buzby, Salem 11-0; 6. Josh Weiner, Schalick 9-0
Shot put: 1. Ethan McLean, Schalick 44-4.5; 2. JaKai Ingram, Penns Grove 42-4.5; 5. Raymond Brown, Penns Grove 40-11; 6. Connor Wariwanchik, Pennsville 40-5

GIRLS
Team scores: Kingsway 94, Glassboro 56, Williamstown 47, Clearview 25, WOODSTOWN 18, Cumberland 15, Deptford 12, Highland 11, SALEM 10, SCHALICK 10, PENNS GROVE 9, Pitman 2.
(Salem County scorers)
55 Dash: 5. Dynastie Tucker, Salem 7.72
400: 4. Brooke Valentine, Schalick 1:05.23
1600: 3. Abby Marino, Woodstown 5:35.33
Mixed 3200: 2. Abby Marino, Woodstown 12:17.84
55 Hurdles: 6. Josephine Federanko, Woodstown 10.61
4×400: 3. Schalick (Sarah Torpey, Brooke Valentine, Emma Wilbur, Helen Lillia) 4:42.79
High jump: 1. Kami Casiano, Woodstown 5-2
Long jump: 3. Ramiyah Jones, Salem 16-0.5; 4. Dynastie Tucker, Salem 15-2.5; 5. Arianna Dowe, Penns Grove, 15-0.75
Shot put: 4. Zoey Ceasar, Penns Grove, 30-2.5; 5. Sara Lodge, Woodstown 29-10.75