A pummeling in Pa.

No. 1 Salem CC uses big second half to turn back challenge from No. 5 Northampton, makes it 20-0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Salem CC freshman Nasseem Wright has a unique way of describing the way the Mighty Oaks have been able to turn it on in the second half to win basketball games and become the No. 1 team in the nation this year.

Leaning against the locker room wall after another second half surge carried them to victory he simply said, “They always say after the rain and thunder, the sun comes out. We weather the storm good. The second half we came out and I feel like the sun was out. We figured those guys out and we ended up getting them.”

The top-ranked Mighty Oaks were locked in an expectedly tight battle in the first half at No. 5 Northampton Thursday night, but the sun shined brightly on them in the second half and propelled them to a 99-84 win over the Spartans to stand alone atop the Region XIX Division III standings.

It was their 20th win of the season and 14th away from the Dupont Fieldhouse. The Mighty Oaks (20-0) are one of only seven undefeated teams in the JUCO basketball world and the only one in the Division III poll.

“These guys answered the bell,” coach Mike Green said. “We’re a tough team, a really good team. We’ve got players who dig in. These guys are answering the bell. Every tough one they’ve answered the call. It’s been a pleasure thus far.”

The Mighty Oaks outscored their hosts 56-45 in the second half. They shot better than or equal to their first half percentages in all three shooting aspects of the game and had more rebounds, assists and steals in the second half. They ended up leading by as many as 17.

They’ve only been down at halftime twice this season — Atlantic Cape in the opener and Union in the first game back from the break — but they outscored both teams in the second half by double digits. They’ve been outscored in the second half only three times (Penn Highlands, Essex and Camden) and never by more than two points.

Since they’ve come back from the holiday break they’ve outscored their four opponents in the second half by an average of 11.25 points after trailing by 4 and leading by 1, 13 and 4.

“The first half, a lot of time, we respect our opponent so much that we give them too much respect sometimes,” Wright said. “The first half we’re trying to see what they want to get to. We scout them before the game, for sure, but it’s kind of different when you get into the game. Once we came out the second half we got them figured out.”

“We carried them with us in the first half; like, we always start off slow in the first half,” Jerrell Little said. “i think once we clean up the first half I don’t think no team in the nation can beat us at all.”

That second-half sun shined brightest on Wright and Jerrell Little. The Mighty Oaks’ two leading scorers had only four points combined in the first half. Wright was 0-for-5 from the floor and had just one point at halftime, but he went 5-for-6 in the second half and poured in 14 points. Little had 11 in the second half to finish with 14.

“I was in my head,” Wright said. “Yesterday was one of my best friend’s death anniversary so I was kind of in my head the first half, like this ain’t my day. Coming into the half I just locked in mentally, going inside-out and just remembering it’s just basketball, so the second half I came out with more energy.”

The difference in Little’s halves, he said, was “Mike Green getting in my head about me not shooting the ball. I didn’t take any bad shots, but I didn’t take no shots at all, that’s what he was saying. So the second half I turned it on, started listening to him and got my shots up.”

In all, seven Salem players scored in double figures, including all five starters. Saaid Lee, who didn’t mind saying the Mighty Oaks could go undefeated this year, led all scorers with 20 points.

It really was anybody’s game at halftime. The game was tied nine times and had 13 lead changes in the first half. The Mighty Oaks broke the final tie (39-39) with four free throws in the final 37 seconds to take a 43-39 lead into the break and never lost the lead.

While they were waiting for their two top scorers to come around, Stefan Phillips, Nayeem Johnson and Idris Rines were keeping them in it in the first half. Phillips and Rines combined for 13 points from basically the same position, while Johnson had eight.

That didn’t surprise Wright.

“We recruit a bunch of guys that can go and can hold that weight,” he said, “so if me and Jarrell are slacking we got guys who can pick it up until our time comes.”

And because of that those guys’ time might increase in the near future.

“I was deciding their minutes among four people, that might have to stop,” Green said. “I might have to let those guys get more rhythm. We’ll figure it out. Everybody deserves a chance, but those guys who gave like this one will play a little longer.”

ACORNS: There were 51 fouls called in the game, including two techs on the Mighty Oaks. That led to 82 free throws. Salem was 27-of-35 from the line, Northampton 30-of-47 … The Mighty Oaks’ success is getting noticed around South Jersey. New Salem CC football coach Jay Accorsi reports coaches he meets on the recruiting visits often remark on how well the Mighty Oaks are playing. He said one, Willingboro’s Kenny Scott, even mentioned remembering Green when they were in school together at Towson … Some of the players might be thinking about an undefeated season, but Green says it’s a little too early to be thinking like that. “Yeah, it’s only January,” he said. “We’ve got to play February yet. There are some good teams coming up. The thing is we’re getting everybody’s best shot. They’re not the normal team, they’re not the 0-7 team, the 4-9 team. Against us they’re good, they come to play.”

SALEM CC 99, NORTHAMPTON 84
SALEM CC (20-0): Jarrell Little 4-14 5-5 14, Saaid Lee 6-12 7-8 20, Zyaire Gibson 3-5 1-4 10, Nasseem Wright 5-11 5-6 15, Stefan Phillips 5-8 1-2 13, Jahseir Sayles 1-5 0-0 3, Qua Smith 1-1 0-2 2, Nayeem Johnson 3-10 5-7 12, Idris Rines 3-6 3-3 10. Totals 31-72 27-35 99.
NORTHAMPTON (15-2): Terrence Cobb 2-13 3-3 7, Kevin Rucker 6-17 5-7 19, Jahad Marable 6-10 5-10 17, Mehki Shillingford 0-7 7-10 7, Aiden Brown 6-12 5-9 17, Sihaaj Johnson 0-1 1-2 1, Sebastian Fermin 2-3 0-0 6, Julian Bair 0-1 0-0 0, Anniel Pichardo 0-0 0-0 0, Ermil Fleurinvil 0-0 1-2 1, Lamaj Mapp 3-5 3-4 9. Totals 25-69 30-47 84.

Salem CC	43	56-	99
Northampton	39	45-	84

3-point goals: Salem CC 10-26 (Little 1-3, Lee 1-3, Gibson 3-5, Phillips 2-3, Sayles 1-5, Johnson 1-4, Rines 1-3); Northampton 4-19 (Cobb 0-6, Rucker 2-8, Marable 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Fermin 2-3). Rebounds: Salem CC 53 (Johnson 9, Lee 8, Wright 8); Northampton 46 (Marable 11, Brown 10). Technical fouls: Salem CC team (dunking in warmups), Lee. Fouled out: Phillips, Rines. Total fouls: Salem CC 29, Northampton 22.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
SALEM CC (1)	7-0	20-0	15-0
Union (8)	12-1	15-3	11-2
Northampton (5)	9-1	15-2
Brookdale	13-2	13-5	8-3
Camden	7-2	10-6	6-5
Ocean	9-3	11-5	7-4
Montgomery (9)	6-2	9-3
Bergen	10-7	10-10	3-9
RCSJ-Cumberland	6-7	7-10	6-7
Atlantic Cape	5-6	6-9	4-7
Thaddeus Stevens	3-7	6-10
Sussex	4-10	7-13	4-9
RCSJ-Gloucester	4-11	6-15	1-11
Passaic	3-13	3-15	3-10
Delaware County	2-9	3-13
Luzerne	1-7	4-13
Harrisburg Area	1-7	2-13
Philadelphia	1-8	6-8

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem 99, Northampton 84
Sussex 79, Luzerne 77
Camden at Georgian Court JV
Union 80, Ocean 76
Brookdale 85, RCSJ-Gloucester 78
Thaddeus Stevens at Albright JV
Orange CC 87, Morris 83
Prince George’s at Harcum
Montgomery 98, RCSJ-Cumberland 59
Monroe 94, Raritan Valley 64
Bergen 95, Passaic 74
Rockland CC 101, Essex 73
Mercer 69, Westchester CC 62

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	12-3	3-1
Essex	6-3	11-4	5-2
Delaware Tech	4-4	6-11
Raritan Valley	3-5	6-9	3-3
Lackawanna	2-6	2-10
SALEM CC	1-5	2-11	0-3
Middlesex	1-6	6-13	0-4
Morris	0-6	0-6	0-3

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Harcum at Salem, ppd.
Northampton 58, Camden 43
Passaic 74, Bergen 42
CCBC Essex 92, Raritan Valley 53
RCSJ-Gloucester 82, Brookdale 46
RCSJ-Cumberland at Montgomery
Atlantic Cape 66, Philadelphia 57
Essex at Rockland CC
Middlesex at Morris
Mercer 101, Westchester CC 27

Rams roll on

Salem shuts down Delaware visitors’ dynamic duo, wins eighth straight; includes results and details from the action on Wednesday night’s Salem County sports schedule

BOYS BASKETBALL
Salem 74, DuPont (Del.) 62
Penns Grove 65, Pennsville 17
Pitman 54, Salem Tech 31
Woodstown 67, Schalick 27
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pennsville 55, Penns Grove 46
Woodstown 52, Schalick 27
Salem Tech at Pitman

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM — The Salem Rams didn’t know a whole lot about the A.I. duPont team they brought across the bridge to play Wednesday night, but they did know which Tigers to pay attention to.

The short film session the Rams had in the run up to the game made it pretty clear they had to keep an eye on Amir Robinson and Gi’lyl Conrad. Both were averaging nearly 20 points a game, but Xavier McGriff and Neziah Spence kept them both well below that on their way to a 74-62 border war win.

It was the Rams’ eighth win in a row, their longest winning streak since a 15-gamer in 2021-22.

“We definitely knew they were their guys,” said Spence, who drew the assignment on Conrad. “We watched a little bit of film so we knew what they could do. We knew if we took them away it would make it difficult for them to score.”

As it turned out, Robertson had 15 points and Conrad was held to 11. Seven of Robertson’s points came from the free throw line. Nine of Conrad’s came from outside the 3-point arc.

“They did a great job,” Deshaan Williams said of his teammates’ defensive effort.

Rams coach Anthony Farmer called the defensive showing “one of the better efforts we’ve had putting it all together.”

“We’re trying to put it together for four quarters regardless of what we’re in,” Farmer said. “We’re just trying to be smart about what we’re doing and have an identity and understand the game plan and execute the game plan. We’re getting close.”

In the second quarter they came out in tough man-to-man defense, generally holding the Tigers to one shot, and outscoring them 17-9 to take a 31-22 halftime lead.

Spence showed out at the start of the third quarter. He opened the half with two straight steals, one he got to Williams for a bucket and the other he took for a three-point play. He almost got a third the next time down the court, but got the rebound on the Tigers’ missed shot and fed Williams for another layup to give the Rams their biggest lead.

“We knew what we had to do,” Spence said. “We had to stretch the lead. The second half I came out energetic and feel like I set the tone and got it popping.”

Spence was good on the offensive end, too, going for a game-high 21 points. Tymear Lecator had 19 and Deshaan Williams had his fourth double-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds).

But the Tigers (7-2) wouldn’t go away. The 22nd-ranked team in Delaware (MaxPreps) chipped away the rest of the quarter and got back within 3. It was still a three-point game early in the fourth quarter when the Rams (10-1) went on an 11-2 run that expanded to 17-5 to move back comfortably ahead.

Farmer called it being resilient and making adjustments. In trying to keep up, the Tigers had four players foul out.

Rams senior Fatah Paige was most familiar with the Tigers. He played them one time last year when he was at McKean (Del.) High School and said they were “developed way more” than the team he beat handily last year.

Paige is progressing, too. He had seven points, four rebounds and an assist in his fourth game with the Rams since satisfying his transfer requirements. It came on the heels of a massive double-double against Clayton.

“I feel like I was just locked in,” he said of his big game. “I’m still getting warmed up to everything. I feel like as the games go on I’ll get more productive.”

SALEM 74, DUPONT 62
DUPONT (7-2): Tevin Cannon 2 5-6, Tko Jones 3 2-2 9, Amir Robertson 4 7-7 15, Gilyl Conrad 4 0-0 11, Tyaire Herring 1 3-4 5, Arcevis Flowers 0 0-0 0, JaMael Bishop 0 0-0 0, Kaisan Hale 6 0-2 12. Totals 20 17-21 62.
SALEM (10-1): Xavier McGriff 1 4-6 7, Neziah Spence 4 11-13 21, Tymear Lecator 6 6-10 19, Fatah Paige 2 3-4 7, Kyaire Parsons 0 0-0 0, Deshaan Williams 5 4-4 14, BJ Robbins 1 2-2 4, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0, Marshall Stephens 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 30-39 74.

DuPont	13	9	24	16-	62
Salem	14	17	18	25-	74

3-point goals: DuPont 5 (Jones, Herring, Conrad 3); Salem 4 (McGriff, Spence 2, Lecator). Rebounds: DuPont 19 (Cannon 4); Salem 33 (Williams 10). Fouled out: Jones, Robertson, Hewing, Hale, Stephens. Total fouls: DuPont 27, Salem 22.

PENNS GROVE 64, PENNSVILLE 17: The Red Devils came out smoking, outscoring Pennsville 34-4 in the first quarter. Ten players scored for them in the game, led by Will Roy’s 16 and Carson Pearsall’s 11.

PENNSVILLE (1-11): Jake Layfield 2-0-5, Jacob Farina 1-0-3, Gavin Spears 1-3-5, Aidan Clark 2-0-4. Only players reported. Totals 6-3-17.
PENNS GROVE (7-4): Zane Thomas 3-0-6, Roman Gipson 3-1-7, Will Roy 7-0-16, Mishawn Bradley 1-0-2, Geonni Conrad 1-3-5, Eli Pearsall 0-0-0, Carson Pearsall 5-1-11, Luis Colon 2-2-6, Jeremy Costacamps 2-2-6, Jerry Wooten 1-0-3, Ahkeen Edwards 0-0-0, Messiah Allah 1-0-2. Totals 26-9-64.

Pennsville	4	3	8	2-	17
Penns Grove	34	12	9	9-	64

3-point goals: Pennsville 2 (Layfield, Farina); Penns Grove 3 (Roy 2, Wooton).

WOODSTOWN 67, SCHALICK 25: The Wolverines got back on the winning track after losing the battle for the Diamond Division lead in its previous game, pulling away with a big second quarter and closing it out by allowing only one point in the fourth.

Josh King led the Wolverines with a career-high 17 points. He had double-doubles in each of their first two games, but hadn’t scored in double figures single. He had scored only 16 points in his previous four games combined.

SCHALICK (5-5): Orion Baldwin 0 1-4 1, Julian Dickerson 1 1-2 3, Kade Macom 3 0-0 6, Sherrod Jones 2 1-2 5, Dylan Sheehan 4 0-0 8, Cooper Willoughby 1 0-2 2, Jacob Schalick 0 0-0 0, Will Sieminski 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 3-10 25.
WOODSTOWN (8-4): Elijah Caesar 1 0-0 3, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 6 0-1 13, Trey Markward 1 0-0 3, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 3, Bryce Ayars 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 3 0-0 8, Frank Hoerst 3 0-0 6, Connor Miller 2 0-0 5, Alejandro Vazquez 1 1-2 3, Josh King 8 1-2 17, John Hood-McGinley 2 0-0 6. Totals 28 2-5 67.

Schalick	6	6	12	1-	25
Woodstown	10	18	24	15-	67

3-point goals: Woodstown 9 (Caesar, White, Markward, Fulmer, Bialecki 2, Miller, John Hood-McGinley 2).

PITMAN 54, SALEM TECH 31: Joey Zubert made his bones keeping shots out of Pitman’s net on the soccer pitch and he doesn’t do a bad job of it on the basketball floor, either. Zubert blocked a pair of shots to go with his 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. He’s been credited with six blocks this season. Parker DeChristopher led all scorers with 17 points.

PITMAN (6-7): Lucas Razze 1 0-0 3, Parker DeChristopher 5 5-8 17, Jake Bowen-Ashwin 3 0-0 6, Joey Zubert 4 4-6 12, Jay Craig 2 1-4 5, Nolan Russell 1 0-0 3, Keaton Libby 0 0-0 0, Michael Aubrey 0 0-0 0, Liam Etter 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-22 54.
SALEM TECH (1-8): Chase Pompper 2 1-6 5, Ayden Myers 4 0-0 9, Aiden Bobo 2 1-3 6, Luke Kroll 2 0-0 6, Raphael Busch 2 0-0 4, Micah Cavanaugh 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 3-11 31.

Pitman	14	17	15	8-	54
Salem Tech	6	6	6	13-	31

3-point goals: Pitman 5 (Razze, DeChristopher 2, Frost, Russell); Salem Tech 4 (Myers, Bobo, Kroll 2). Rebounds: Pitman 28 (Bowen-Ashwin 7, Frost 8).

1000-Point Watch

PLAYER	TODAY	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	8 vs. Schalick	872
Tymear Lecator, Salem	18 vs. DuPont (Del.)	774

Girls games

PENNSVILLE 55, PENNS GROVE 46: Taylor Bass and Addie Johnston had 23 and 18 points, respectively, picking up for injured 1,000-point scorer Marley Wood and the Eagles held off their rivals despite two near career-highs by Penns Grove’s JaNiyah Cummings and Keziah Patterson.

The Red Devils enjoyed their season-high in points. Cummings had her season high, 19 points. Patterson had her second 20-point game of the season (20). Cummings had 14 in the second half.

Bass (15) and Johnston combined for 28 of the Eagles’ 33 first-half points in a 33-21 halftime lead. .

PENNS GROVE (1-10): Keziah Patterson 9 0-0 20, JaNiyah Cummings 8 2-5 19, Mikayla Washington 2 0-2 4, Yeichelyn Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, NyAsia Numan 1 0-0 2, Armahni Blackston 0 0-0 0, Domari Torres 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 2-7 46.
PENNSVILLE (7-3): Taylor Bass 10 1-2 23, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0, Addie Johnston 7 1-1 18, Jaiden Wilson 3 3-5 9, Kylie Harris 0 0-2 0, Jaida Burns 2 1-2 5. Totals 22 6-12 55.

Penns Grove	11	10	13	12-	46
Pennsville	20	13	10	12-	55

3-point goals: Penns Grove 4 (Patterson 2, Cummings, Numan); Pennsville 5 (Johnston 3, Bass 2). Technical fouls: Washington. Total fouls: Penns Grove 12, Pennsville 10.

WOODSTOWN 52, SCHALICK 27: The Wolverines took a five-point lead into the second quarter, then held the Cougars to one point to open an 18-point halftime lead. Lauren Hengel and Emma Perry led the Wolverines with 11 points apiece. Hengel scored five in the second quarter. Perry had nine in the second half. Nevaeh Robinson and Olivia Vanacker both had nine for Schalick.

WOODSTOWN (6-7): Lauren Hengel 4 2-2 11, Kyia Leyman 2 2-4 6, Emma Perry 5 0-0 11, Kendall Young 2 1-2 6, Talia Guardascione 2 2-6 6, Kailyn Kennedy 1 0-0 2, Maddie Roback 0 0-0 0, Ava White 0 0-0 0, Jaelyn McDonald 0 0-0 0, Gina Murray 3 0-0 6, Autumn Paleschic 2 0-0 4, Cecelia Nachbar 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-14 52.
SCHALICK (5-3): Cali Fisler 0 0-0 0, Vicky Basich 1 0-0 2, Nevaeh Robinson 4 1-2 9, Willow Davis 2 0-2 5, Olivia Vanacker 3 2-6 9, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neill 0 2-2 2, Bailey Wentz 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 5-12 27.

Woodstown	12	14	14	12-	52
Schalick	7	1	12	7-	27

3-point goals: Woodstown 3 (Hengel, Perry, Young); Schalick 2 (Davis, Vanacker). Technical fouls: Vanacker. Total fouls: Woodstown 12, Schalick 14.

Salem County Tuesday

Here are results and details from Tuesday’s action on the Salem County sports schedule

Wrestling

WOODSTOWN 41, SCHALICK 38
106: Victor Fenske (S) pinned TJ Conto, 0:19
113: Jadon Middlemiss (WO) pinned Nicholas Latona, 1:06
120: Walker Battavio (WO) tech fall over Terry Both, 17-0 (4:00)
126: Carson Bradway (WO) pinned Caleb Jenkins, 2:28
132: Barry Coverly (WO) pinned Jacob Potts, 3:26
138: Colin Bittle (S) pinned Jacob Tocco, 0:17
144: Michael Baisch (S) pinned Nehemiah Carter, 1:38
150: Mason Hollywood (S) dec. Josh Woronicak, 7-1
157: Ayden Jenkins (S) pinned Mathyias Ellis, 1:38
165: Anthony Deaver (S) pinned Ricky Watts, 1:11
175: Greyson Hyland (WO) won by forfeit
190: Ricky Watt (S) tech fall over Asher Fitzpatrick, 19-1 (4:52)
215: Bradley Snitcher (WO) pinned Gerardo Felipe, 4:49
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (WO) pinned Ezequiel Garcia-Cruz, 0:18

Salem, Holy Spirit at Atlantic City
Penns Grove at Cumberland
Pitman at Pennsville

Bowling

GCIT 4, SALEM 0: Annabelle Carter rolled the high series for GCIT (579) with three games in the 190s.
Salem Tech vs. Kingsway at Westbrook Lanes

Basketball

BOYS
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS (Top 20)
SALEM COUNTY TEAMS IN BOLD
(Through games of Jan. 12)
1. Haddon Twp. (9-1) 17.227
2. Salem (9-1) 16.207
3. Palmyra (8-1) 15.140
4. x-LEAP (6-2) 12.805
5. Penns Grove (6-4) 11.779
6. Woodbury (4-8) 11.710
7. KIPP (5-2) 11.277
8. Woodstown (7-4) 10.958
9. Audubon (6-4) 10.173
10. Pitman (5-7) 9.848
11. Paulsboro (4-5) 9.290
12. Burlington City (4-6) 8.737
13. Clayton (4-5) 7.925
14. New Egypt (6-4) 7.829
15. Gateway (4-5) 7.469
16. Schalick (5-4) 7.447
17. Wildwood (3-5) 6.425
18. Glassboro (2-8) 6.266
19. Riverside (3-8) 5.058
20. Pennsville (1-10) 3.923
x-Ineligible for postseason play.

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE

CLASSIC DIVISION	ALL	DIV
Salem	9-1	2-0
Wildwood	3-5	2-0
Clayton	4-5	1-2
Pitman	5-7	1-2
Salem Tech	1-7	0-2

DIAMOND DIVISION	ALL	DIV
Overbrook	9-2	4-0
Woodstown	7-4	3-1
Penns Grove	6-4	2-2
Glassboro	2-8	2-2
Schalick	5-4	1-3
Pennsville	1-10	0-4

GIRLS
SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS (Top 20)
SALEM COUNTY TEAMS IN BOLD
(Through games of Jan. 12)
1. Haddon Twp. (8-3) 17.482
2. Palmyra (8-2) 15.299
3. Pennsville (6-3) 14.210
4. Glassboro (7-3) 13.324
5. Audubon (7-3) 13.097
6. Wildwood (8-4) 13.013
7. Gateway (6-4) 11.808
8. Woodbury (5-4) 11.425
9. Burlington City (8-2) 10.227
10. Woodstown (5-7) 9.300
11. Schalick (5-2) 9.144
12. Salem (4-3) 8.603
13. Riverside (4-4) 7.253
14. New Egypt (4-7) 7.016
15. Clayton (4-6) 6.896
16. Paulsboro (2-4) 6.407
17. Pitman (2-7) 5.166
18. KIPP (1-4) 5.112
19. Penns Grove (1-9) 4.334
20. Cape May Tech (2-8) 3.546
Cutoff date: Feb. 14

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE

CLASSIC DIVISION	ALL	DIV
Wildwood	8-4	3-0
Clayton	4-6	3-0
Salem	4-3	2-1
Pitman	2-7	0-3
Salem Tech	2-6	0-4

DIAMOND DIVISION	ALL	DIV
Pennsville	6-3	4-0
Glassboro	7-3	3-1
Woodstown	5-7	2-2
Schalick	5-2	1-2
Penns Grove	1-9	0-2
Overbrook	1-9	0-3

All they do is win

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

Tough way to lose

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.

Diamond Division showdown

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.

PENNSVILLE (1-10): Jake Layfield 1 0-0 2, Gavin Spears 0 0-2 0, Shamir Watkins 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 4 0-0 10, Colt Willis 4 0-0 9, Trey Clevenger 1 0-0 3, Chanler Lindenmuth 1 1-1 3. Totals 12 1-4 30.
SCHALICK (5-4): Orion Baldwin 6 3-5 18, Julian Dickerson 8 0-0 20, Kade Macom 5 0-0 11, Sherrod Jones 3 4-6 11, Dylan Sheehan 5 1-1 11, Cooper Willoughby 1 0-0 2, Jacob Schalick 1 0-0 2, Eian Cirino 2 0-0 5, Braden Iwano 1 0-0 2, Mason Sanchez 1 0-0 2. Totals 44 8-12 84.

Pennsville	5	11	7	7-	30
Schalick	18	21	28	17-	84

3-point goals: Pennsville 5 (Watkins, O’Brien 2, Willis, Clevenger); Schalick 10 (Baldwin 3, Dickerson 4, Macom, Jones, Cirino).

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.

SCHALICK (5-2): Ava Scurry 2 0-0 4, Neveah Robinson 6 0-0 12, Willow Davis 5 0-0 14, Olivia Vanacker 0 2-3 2, Juelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Vicky Basich 1 1-1 3, Emmalynn Weir 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 3-4 35.
PENNSVILLE (6-3): Taylor Bass 4 3-4 12, Marley Wood 6 2-3 15, Addie Johnston 7 3-4 22, Jaiden Wilson 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Izzy Saulin 4 0-0 8, Kylie Weist 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-11 57.

Schalick	12	4	15	4-	35
Pennsville	7	20	12	18-	57

3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Davis 3); Pennsville 7 (Bass, Wood, Johnston 5). Total fouls: Schalick 11, Pennsville 5.

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.

Penns Grove	11	9	2	8-	30
Glassboro	21	21	16	6-	64

3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Patterson 2); Glassboro 5 (Brackett, Moore, Anderson, Askin, Czubas). Rebounds: Glassboro 32 (Wedderburn 7, Czubas 7).

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.

WILDWOOD (8-4): Angela Wilber 6 0-0 15, Rebecca Benichou 4 2-2 12, Addison Troiano 1 0-0 3, Joelle Murphy 1 2-3 4, Cydnee Kilian 2 0-0 4, Lily Atkinson 1 0-0 3, Julia Ennis 1 0-0 2, Emma Contreras 1 0-0 2, Ellasyn Morey 1 0-0 2, Sabrin Fathi 1 0-0 2, Laila Fathi 2 0-0 4, Antoinette Cooper 0 0-0 0, Sarah Djellal 0 0-0 0, Cara Millard 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 4-5 53.
SALEM TECH (2-6): Tiara Bazemore 1 0-0 2, Amora Delaine 3 0-3 6, Rylee Doerr 2 1-2 5, Shelby Liber 1 3-3 5, Shelby Drummond 2 0-0 4, Rachel Reed 0 0-0 0, Evening Amedee 0 0-0 0, Carmen Mott 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-8 22.

Wildwood	18	20	11	4-	53
Salem Tech	4	6	3	9-	22

3-point goals: Wildwood 7 (Benichou 2, Wilber 3, Troiano, Atkinson). Rebounds: Wildwood 27 (Wilber 5, Murphy 5); Salem Tech 47 (Doerr 15, Delaine 12).

This week’s schedule

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

Salem County Saturday

Here are the scores and highlights from Saturday’s Salem County sports calendar

Girls basketball

DELSEA 39, PENNSVILLE 38
DELSEA (4-6): Kaiah Braxton 1 1-2 3, Peyton Parker 5 5-8 15, Ayres Maitland 2 4-12 8, Madi Barndt 4 1-2 13, Rayleigh Madden 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 11-24 39.
PENNSVILLE (5-3): Taylor Bass 2 3-7 7, Marley Wood 6 8-10 21, Addi Johnston 3 0-0 8, Izzy Saulin 1 0-0 2, Jaida Burns 0 0-0 0, Jaiden Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 11-17 38.

Delsea	12	7	6	14-	39
Pennsville	9	13	6	10-	38

3-point goals: Delsea 4 (Barndt 4); Pennsville 3 (Wood, Johnston 2).

HADDONFIELD 45, WOODSTOWN 26
WOODSTOWN (4-7): Lauren Hengel 3 2-4 10, Kyia Leyman 1 1-2 3, Kendall Young 2 0-0 6, Mia Waterman 1 0-0 3, Talia Guardascione 2 0-0 4. Totals 9 3-6 26.
HADDONFIELD (8-2): Molly Mulligan 1-0-3, Marlina Kadar 2-0-3, Harper Fasolo 4-3-11, Sara Guveiyian 3-2-9, Quinn Langel 2-0-6, Avery Sinnes 3-2-9, Chloe Russ 1-2-4. Totals 16-9-45.

Woodstown	13	5	2	6-	26
Haddonfield	16	12	7	10-	45

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

Wake up call

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.”

RCSJ-GLOUCESTER 71, SALEM CC 54
SALEM CC (2-10) – RayNescia King 5 1-6 14, Tanijya Shaw 6 0-0 12, Kasey Oliver 2 2-3 6, Paula Wilson 2 0-0 5, Ameriyona Hunter 1 0-0 3, Dani Gustin 1 3-4 6, Justine Cardona 4 0-0 9, Jayda Hunter 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-13 54.
RCSJ-GLOUCESTER (11-3) – Anna DiPiero 7 0-1 21, Alaina LaMonica 7 3-3 21, Emma Buttocovia 3 1-2 7, Vienna Gantz 0 0-0 0, Brenna Ivey 0 0-0 0, Hadley Rodriguez 1 0-0 3, Shannon Pierman 5 3-6 13, Tinu Bamgbose 1 1-2 3, Savannah Shute 1 1-2 3. Totals 25 9-16 71.

Salem CC	7	16	15	16-	54
RCSJ-Gloucester	17	28	10	16-	71

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

Friday roundup

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.”

TRITON (4-5): Michael Revero 7 3-3 18, Noah Karwowski 2 0-0 6, Chase Potts 3 0-0 8, Scott Cave 2 3-3 8, Laron Sims 1 1-4 3, Myles Searles 1 0-0 2, Gio Salguero 0 0-0 0, Aiden Rivera 0 0-0 0, Metzgerdy Lamy 3 0-0 6, Rudra Vaghela 0 0-0 0, Joel Almarez-Olivares 5 0-0 14, Ibn Wynn 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 7-10 65.
PENNSVILLE (1-9): Danny Knight 1 4-4 7, Mason O’Brien 9 3-6 24, Jake Layfield 1 1-1 3, Trey Clevenger 0 0-0 0, Shamir Watkins 1 0-0 2, Jake Farina 2 1-1 5, Gavin Spears 1 0-0 2, Aidan Clark 3 0-0 6, Colt Willis 1 0-0 2, Chanler Lindenmuth 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 9-12 53.

Triton	27	17	14	7-	65
Pennsville	11	7	12	23-	53

3-point goals: Triton 10 (Revero, Karwowski 2, Potts 2, Cave, Almarez-Olivares 4); Pennsville 4 (Knight, O’Brien 3). Total fouls: Triton 14, Pennsville 9.

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.

BUENA (1-7): Elwood Taylor 4 3-4 12, Richie Wilson 4 0-3 8, Ricky Bessix 6 0-0 12, Zack Mick 3 0-0 6, Nathan Nieves-Medina 1 0-0 2, Max Kline 1 0-1 2. Totals 19 3-9 42.
SCHALICK (4-4): Orion Baldwin 3 0-3 7, Julian Dickerson 8 1-4 19, Kade Macom 4 2-2 13, Sherrod Jones 4 1-2 9, Dylan Sheehan 4 2-2 10, Cooper Willoughby 3 0-0 6. Totals 26 6-13 64.

Buena	10	12	9	11-	42
Schalick	23	19	16	6-	64

3-point goals: Buena 1 (Taylor); Schalick 6 (Baldwin, Dickerson 2, Macom 3).

Girls games

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.

SCHALICK (5-1): Ava Scurry 4 0-0 8, Cali Fisler 1 0-2 2, Neveah Robinson 8 1-1 17, Willow Davis 4 0-3 9, Olivia Vanacker 1 0-2 2, Jaelynn Jarman 0 1-2 1, Vicky Basich 2 0-0 4, Emmalynn Weir 0 2-2 2, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Bailey Wentz 0 0-0 0, Paige Sparks 0 0-0 0, Eve Berger 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-12 45.
BUENA (2-5): Athena Bradley 0 1-3 1, Isabella Adkins 0 0-0 0, Kayla Lafferty 1 0-0 2, Ava Cornew 0 0-0 0, Sykes-Hicks 1 0-0 2, Anaiyah Torres-Boyce 3 0-2 6, Julia Futty 0 0-0 0, Isabella Acevedo 0 0-0 0, Leylani Muniz 1 2-2 5, Malia Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 3-7 16.

Schalick	14	12	14	5-	45
Buena	2	1	5	8-	16

3-point goals: Schalick 1 (Davis); Buena 1 (Muniz). Total fouls: Schalick 12, Buena 6.

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.

PENNS GROVE (1-8): Janiyah Cummings 4 0-0 11, Mikayla Washington 2 1-4 5, Nyasia Numan 0 0-0 0, Keziah Patterson 2 0-0 4, Jamira Lewis 0 0-0 0, Yeichelyn Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Armani Blackstone 0 0-0 0, Domari Torress 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 1-4 20.
KINGSWAY (6-4): Alessia Lenten 1 4-4 6, Bella Archer 1 0-0 2, Annika Dohlen 6 1-2 14, Liv Myers 1 0-0 3, Ojonile Gabriel 1 2-4 4, Chloe McNeill 3 2-2 8, Gia Baus 3 0-0 6, Gab Scaffidi 0 0-0 0, Ellie Farro 0 0-0 0, Lila Storms 3 2-2 8, Jayah Love 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 11-14 53.

Penns Grove	6	3	3	8-	20
Kingsway	17	15	17	4-	53

3-point goals: Penns Grove (Cummings 3); Kingsway 2 (Dohlen, Myers). Total fouls: Penns Grove 10, Kingsway 9.