Then there was one

Salem boys survive Woodstown’s best shot to become the last Salem County team standing in South Jersey Group I playoffs

SJ GROUP 1 TOURNAMENT
BOYS
No. 1 Salem 64, No. 8 Woodstown 53
No. 4 KIPP 50, No. 12 Glassboro 49
No. 14 New Egypt 47, No. 6 Penns Grove 38
No. 2 Palmyra 57, No. 10 Audubon 33
GIRLS
No. 1 Haddon Twp. 49, No. 8 Woodbury 34
No. 4 Glassboro 57, No. 5 Palmyra 35
No. 3 Audubon 48, No. 11 Woodstown 29
No. 2 Wildwood 51, No. 7 Gateway 41

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – There really is only one mindset to have when it comes playoff time – survive and advance – and Salem was definitely in survival mode in the second half of its South Jersey Group I playoff game Monday night.

The top-seeded Rams were stuck in one of those cold spells that have hit them on occasion this season and they trailed county rival Woodstown by seven with five minutes left in the third quarter. But they turned to Deshaan Williams and Fatah Paige to get it inside, they got back on track and, with the Wolverines tired from all the energy they spent to get that lead, shook the doldrums and eventually the Wolverines, 64-53.

They now host No. 4 KIPP in Wednesday’s sectional semifinals. KIPP edged No. 12 Glassboro, 50-49.

Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Paige had six points and 12 boards. Williams had 12 straight points for the Rams during their third-quarter comeback.

The Rams appeared headed for a blowout. Xavier McGriff “got the party started” as they like to put it, hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help forge a 28-10 lead two minutes into the second quarter. But then Woodstown turned up the pressure and shut Salem down. 

From that point to the end of the half, the Wolverines held their hosts to 0-for-4 shooting and forced them into eight turnovers and trailed only 29-25 at the break. The run was fueled by back-to-back 3s by Blake Bialecki and Elijah Caesar sandwiched between three-point plays by Frankie Hoerst.

They continued it on the other side of halftime, opening the second half on an 11-0 run to grab a 36-29 lead. 

Blake Bialecki gave them the lead with 6:33 left in the third quarter and Alejandro Vazquez and Caesar hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend it before Williams scored Rams’ first bucket of the half with 4:53 left in the quarter. Salem was 0-for-5 with two turnovers in that spree.

Hoerst, a freshman, played a huge role in their comeback. He scored six points, had six points and four rebounds in the second quarter. He finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Caesar had 11 points, Bialecki had 13 and Vazquez had nine.

This story will be updated.

SALEM 64, WOODSTOWN 53
WOODSTOWN (17-12): Elijah Caesar 4 1-2 11, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 4 3-5 13, Alejandro Vazquez 3 2-3 9, Josh King 2 0-0 4, Andrew White 2 2-4 6, Trey Markward 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Frankie Hoerst 4 2-5 10, Connor Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-19 53.
SALEM (21-5): Xavier McGriff 3 1-2 10, Naziah Spence 1 2-3 5, Tymear Lecator 3 5-5 12, Fatah Paige 3 0-0 6, Deshaan Williams 9 1-3 19, BJ Robbins 2 4-6 8, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0, Donnie Weathers 0 0-0 0, Marshall Stephens 1 0-0 2, Darrelle Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 13-19 64.

Woodstown1015208-53
Salem 2091421-64
3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Caesar 2, Bialecki 2, Vazquez); Salem 5 (McGriff 3, Spence, Lecator). Rebounds: Woodstown 27 (Hoerst 13); Salem 39 (Williams 11, Paige 12). Total fouls: Woodstown 17, Salem 15.

NEW EGYPT 50, PENNS GROVE 41
NEW EGYPT (13-14): Nolan Arnold 8-4-20, Clyde Ferris 5-3-16, Dylan Harper 0-0-0, Paul Kennedy 1-3-5, Ryan Reynolds 2-1-6, Jake Milicia 0-0-0, Thomas Marabuto 0-0-0. Totals 16-11-47.
PENNS GROVE (17-12): Roman Gipson 6-0-16, Geonni Conrad 4-1-10, Will Roy 0-1-1, Haneef Frisby 1-1-3, Mishawn Brantley 0-0-0, Jameel Horace 2-0-4, Carson Pearsall 1-0-2, Luis Colon 1-0-2. Totals 15-3-38.

New Egypt981020-47
Penns Grove511913-38
3-point goals: New Egypt 4 (Ferris 3, Reynolds); Penns Grove 5 (Gipson 4, Conrad 1).

Girls game

AUDUBON 48, WOODSTOWN 29
WOODSTOWN (12-16): Lauren Hengel 3 1-2 8, Emma Perry 3 0-1 6, Kyia Leyman 2 1-2 5, Kendall Young 3 2-2 8, Talia Guardascione 1 0-0 2, Kailyn Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Gina Murray 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 4-7 29.
AUDUBON (20-8): Peyton Marrone 1 0-0 2, Emma Speyerer 7 0-0 18, Kylie Cannaday 5 0-1 10, Giavanna Heller 3 0-0 6, Sophia Homa 1 6-6 8, Mylia Madden 0 0-0 0, Ciara Poponi 0 0-0 0, Jules Heck 2 0-0 4, Acen Bantle 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 6-7 48.

Woodstown43715-29
Audubon13111113-48
3-point goals: Woodstown 1 (Hengel); Audubon 4 (Speyerer 4). Rebounds: Audubon 29 (Cannaday 7, Heller 6). Fouled out: Hengel. Total fouls: Woodstown 10, Audubon 12.


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