This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Fev. 23-28; all events subject to the weather; first-round South Jersey Group I basketball tournament games now on Friday

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Region XIX/North Atlantic District A Tournament
Ocean at Salem CC

THURSDAY, FEB. 26
BOWLING
NJSIAA Top 100, Lucky Strikes, North Brunswick

FRIDAY, FEB. 27
BOYS BASKETBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Riverside at Salem, 5 p.m.
Paulsboro at Woodstown, 5 p.m.
Glassboro at Burlington City, 6:30 p.m.
Wildwood at KIPP, 6 p.m.
New Egypt at Haddon Twp., 7:30 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Audubon at Woodbury, 5:30 p.m.
Gateway at Palmyra, 6 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Paulsboro at Haddon Twp.
Burlington City at Woodbury
New Egypt at Palmyra
Cape May Tech at Glassboro
Salem at Audubon, 5 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 5 p.m.
Schalick at Gateway, 5 p.m.
Clayton at Wildwood
BOWLING
Group I Championship
At Lucky Strikes, North Brunswick
Salem vs. Kinnelon, 9 a.m.
Middlesex vs. Rutherford, 9 a.m.
Title match to follow
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Ocean at Salem CC, 3 p.m.

SATURDAY, FEB. 28
INDOOR TRACK
NJSIAA Group I Championship, Toms River
WRESTLING
NJSIAA District Tournament
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Region XIX/North Atlantic District A&B finals, Northampton CC
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC at Ocean (2), noon

Salem County leaders

Here are the Salem County boys and girls basketball stats leaders for the 2025-26 season; minimum 50 percent of team games, stats contingent on accuracy of reports to state service

Boys

SCORING (based on avg.)	PTS	AVG	FG	FT	GP
Mason O’Brien, PV	236	16.86	84	46	14
Tymear Lecator, Sal	364	16.55	118	76	22
Blake Bialecki, Wo	364	13.48	118	55	27
Dashaan Williams, Sal	272	11.83	92	60	23
Julian Dickerson. Sch	257	11.68	95	41	22
Roman Gipson, PG	301	11.15	122	29	27
Eli Caesar, Wo	252	9.69	90	32	26
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	189	9.45	78	33	20
Geonni Conrad, PG	253	9.37	99	31	27
Danny Knight, PV	159	9.35	34	6	17
Neziah Spence, Sal	199	9.05	58	54	22
Andrew White, Wo	214	8.56	82	31	25
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	227	8.41	71	25	27
Chase Pompper, ST	162	7.71	65	26	21
Will Roy, PG	208	7.70	90	9	27
Kade Macom, Sch	169	7.68	67	15	22
Aiden Bobo, ST	151	7.55	61	19	20
Carson Pearsall, PG	131	7.28	50	20	18
Sherrod Jones, Sch	122	7.18	52	13	17
Raphael Busch, ST	129	7.17	54	19	18
Orion Baldwin, Sch	145	6.90	53	22	21
Lucas Fulmer, Wo	98	6.53	34	11	25
Xavier McGriff, Sal	139	6.32	46	20	22
Haneef Frisby, PG	129	6.14	55	18	21
Fatah Paige, Sal	96	6.00	42	2	16
Josh King, Wo	150	5.56	63	21	27
Marshall Stephens, Sal	120	5.45	58		22
Luke Kroll, ST	60	5.45	22	5	11
BJ Robbins, Sal	100	5.26	39		19
Darrelle Johnson, Sal	81	5.06	26	6	16
Jameel Horace, PG	75	5.00	45	4	15

3-POINTERS	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Wo	70
Tymear Lecator, Sal	42
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	41
Julian Dickerson, Sch	32
Neziah Spence, Sal	30
Roman Gipson, PG	28
Eli Caesar, Wo	28
Geonni Conrad, PG	24
Mason O’Brien, PV	22
Kade Macom, Sch	20
Orion Baldwin, Sch	17
Will Roy, PG	17
Lucas Fulmer, Wo	17
Xavier McGriff, Sal	15
Carson Pearsall, PG	13

REBOUNDING (based on avg.)	TOT	AVG	GP
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	197	9.85	20
Dashaan Williams, Sal	186	8.09	23
Raphael Busch, ST	140	7.78	18
Marshall Stephens, Sal	167	7.59	22
Haneef Frisby, PG	155	7.38	21
Andrew White, Wo	160	6.40	25
Fatah Paige, Sal	92	5.75	16
Josh King, Wo	142	5.26	27
Mishawn Brantley, PG	138	5.11	27
Frank Hoerst, Wo	101	5.05	20
Tymear Lecator, Sal	98	4.45	22
Darrelle Johnson, Sal	70	4.38	16
Blake Bialecki, Wo	115	4.26	27
Julian Dickerson, Sch	86	3.91	22
Aiden Bobo, ST	71	3.55	20
Sherrod Jones, Sch	59	3.47	17
Eli Caesar, Wo	90	3.46	26
Jalen Markward, Wo	68	3.40	20
Jameel Horace, PG	50	3.33	15
Cooper Willoughby, Sch	69	3.29	21
Xavier McGriff, Sal	72	3.27	22
Kade Macom, Sch	70	3.18	22
Alejandro Vazquez, PG	84	3.11	27
Roman Gipson, PG	80	2.96	27
Mason O’Brien, PV	41	2.93	14

FREE THROWS (min. 1 FTA per GP)	FTM	FTA	PCT.
Blake Bialecki, Wo	55	64	.859
Neziah Spence, Sal	54	66	.818
Tymear Lecator, Sal	76	99	.768
Eli Caesar, Wo	32	43	.744
Julian Dickerson, Sch	41	56	.732
Josh King, Wo	21	29	.724
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	25	35	.714
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	34	48	.708
Mason O’Brien, PV	46	66	.697
Kade Macom, Sch	15	23	.652
Xavier McGriff, Sal	20	31	.645
Andrew White, Wo	31	50	.620
Deshaan Williams, Sal	60	105	.571
Chase Pompper, ST	26	58	.483
Raphael Busch, ST	19	40	.475
Orion Baldwin, Sch	22	48	.458
Sherrod Jones, Sch	13	30	.433
Aiden Bobo, ST	19	46	.413
Luke Kroll, ST	5	16	.312

ASSISTS	TOT	STEALS	TOT
Tymear Lecator, Sal	113	Geonni Conrad, PG	62
Roman Gipson, PG	97	Julian Dickerson, Sch	52
Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	86	Roman Gipson, PG	48
Blake Bialecki, Wo	79	Will Roy, PG	47
Orion Baldwin, Sch	64	Josh King, Wo	45
BJ Robbins, Sal	56
Julian Dickerson, Sch	53	Alejandro Vazquez, Wo	41
Will Roy, PG	49	Blake Bialecki, Wo	41
Eli Caesar, Wo	43	Orion Baldwin, Sch	40
Geonni Conrad, PG	37	Dylan Sheehan, Sch	39
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	34	Eli Caesar, Wo	37
Carson Pearsall, PG	31	Chase Pompper, ST	36
Lucas Fulmer, Wo	28	Haneef Frisby, PG	35
Josh King, Wo	27	Jalen Markward, Wo	34
Jalen Markward, Wo	27	Luis Colon, PG	33
Darrelle Johnson, Sal	26	Sherrod Jones, Sch	31
Chase Pompper, ST	25	Neziah Spence, Sal	28
Andrew White, Wo	23	Carson Pearsall, PG	26
Sherrod Jones, Sch	22	Xavier McGriff, Sal	26
Mason O’Brien, PV	20	Andrew White, Wo	25
Ayden Myers, ST	20	Lucas Fulmer, Wo	21
Neziah Spence, ST	20
Luis Colon, ST	20

BLOCKED SHOTS	TOT
Marshall Stephens, Sal	42
Mishawn Brantley, PG	29
Aiden Bobo, ST	22
Raphael Busch, ST	20
Andrew White, Wo	19
Haneef Frisby, PG	18
Dylan Sheehan, Sch	12
Sherrod Jones, Sch	12
Frank Hoerst, Wo	12
Kade Macom, Sch	10

Girls

SCORING (based on avg.)	PTS.	AVG.	FG	FT	GP
Taylor Bass, PV	344	14.96	138	38	23
Marley Wood, PV	279	13.29	97	61	21
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	222	13.06			17
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	300	12.50	118	28	24
Keziah Patterson, PG	272	12.36			22
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	234	10.64			22
Lauren Hengel, Wo	261	10.04	101	20	26
Addie Johnston, PV	218	9.48	82	11	23
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	162	9.00			18
Kendall Young, Wo	229	8.81	91	27	26
Kyia Leyman, Wo	178	7.74	76	17	23
Madison Dixon, Sal	121	7.56			16
Shelby Drummond, ST	105	7.50			14
Shelby Liber, ST	99	7.07			14
Willow Davis, Sch	154	7.00	51	26	22
Mikayla Washington, PG	145	6.59			22
Ava Scurry, Sch	129	6.14	56	17	21
Emma Perry, Wo	143	5.72	59	11	25
Amora Delaine, ST	79	5.64			14
Rylee Doerr, ST	50	5.56			9
Liv VanAcker, Sch	110	5.00	38	31	22
Timmiyah Simmons, Sal	50	4.55			11
Jaryn Weathers, Sal	63	4.50			14
Cali Fisler, Sch	87	3.95	30	26	22
Jaida Burns, PV	78	3.90	36	8	20
Jaiden Wilson, PV	82	3.73	29	8	22
Izzy Saulin, PV	81	3.68	37	10	22
Talia Guardascione, Wo	79	3.04	25	24	26

3-POINTERS	TOTAL
Addie Johnston, PV	41
Lauren Hengel, Wo	34
Taylor Bass, PV	30
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	29
Willow Davis, Sch	25
Marley Wood, PV	24
Shelby Liber, ST	21
Kendall Young, Wo	17
Jaiden Wilson, PV	16
Madison Dixon, Sal	16
Keziah Patterson, PG	15
Shelby Drummond, ST	13

REBOUNDING (based on avg.)	TOT	AVG	GP
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	245	14.41	17
Rylee Doerr, ST	114	12.67	9
Mikayla Washington, PG	212	9.64	22
Ava Scurry, Sch	199	9.48	21
Lauren Hengel, Wo	231	8.88	26
Amora Delaine, ST	123	8.79	14
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	190	8.64	22
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	202	8.42	24
Marley Wood, PV	166	7.90	21
Kyia Leyman, Wo	172	7.48	23
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	134	7.44	18
Kendall Young, Wo	136	5.23	26
Liv VanAcker, Sch	110	5.00	22
Triscia Wilson, Sal	54	4.91	11
Madison Dixon, Sal	77	4.81	16
Cali Fisler, Sch	105	4.77	22
Taylor Bass, PV	108	4.70	23
Jaryn Weathers, Sal	63	4.50	14
Jaida Burns, PV	88	4.40	20
Emma Perry, Wo	106	4.24	25
Izzy Saulin, PV	86	3.91	22
Evening Amedee, ST	22	3.67	9
Shelby Drummond, ST	51	3.64	14
Jaiden Wilson, PV	71	3.23	22
Timmiyah Simmons, Sal	35	3.18	11
Tiara Bazemore, ST	44	3.14	14
Keziah Patterson, PG	69	3.14	22
Rachel Reed, ST	31	3.10	10
Talia Guardascione, Wo	80	3.08	26

FREE THROWS (min. 1 FTA per GP)	FTM	FTA	PCT.
Marley Wood, PV	61	99	.616
Talia Guardascione, Wo	24	43	.558
Taylor Bass, PV	38	71	.535
Kendall Young, Wo	27	51	.529
Willow Davis, Sch	26	57	.456
Shelby Liber, ST	8	18	.444
Emma Perry, Wo	11	25	.444
Ava Scurry, Sch	17	39	.436
Liv VanAcker, Sch	31	73	.425
Amora Delaine, ST	17	40	.425
Cali Fisler, Sch	26	62	.419
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	28	69	.406
Rylee Doerr, ST	8	20	.400
Lauren Hengel, Wo	20	51	.392
Kyia Leyman, Wo	17	47	.362

ASSISTS	TOT	STEALS	TOT
Marley Wood, PV	148	Carlysia Pierce, Sal	84
Liv VanAcker, Sch	88	Taylor Bass, PV	80
Lauren Hengel, Wo	64	Keziah Patterson, PG	78
Kendall Young, Wo	61	Kendall Young, Wo	74
Taylor Bass, PV	50	Liv VanAcker, Sch	73
Emma Perry, Wo	48	Willow Davis, Sch	67
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	48	Cali Fisler, Sch	67
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	48	Lauren Hengel, Wo	61
Addie Johnston, PV	39	JaNiyah Cummings, PG	53
Cali Fisler, Sch	38	Ava Scurry, Sch	50
Madison Dixon, Sal	37	Emma Perry, Wo	49
Talia Guardascione, Wo	32	Marley Wood, PV	44
Willow Davis, Sch	30	Addie Johnston, PV	43
Keziah Patterson, PG	29	Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	38
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	29	Madison Dixon, Sal	36
Shelby Liber, ST	27	Mikayla Washington, PG	35
Jaiden Wilson, PV	26	Talia Guardascione, Wo	34
Shelby Drummond, ST	24	Jaiden Wilson, PV	33
Jaida Burns, PV	20	Shelby Drummond, ST	30
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	20	Izzy Saulin, PV	28
Kaliyah Taylor, Sal	20	Amora Delaine, ST	28

BLOCKED SHOTS	TOTAL
Ava Scurry, Sch	85
JaNiyah Cummings, PG	50
Rylee Doerr, ST	31
Mikayla Washington, PG	28
Kyia Leyman, Wo	27
Amora Delaine, ST	20
Carlysia Pierce, Sal	18
Dyaira Anderson, Sal	18
Lauren Hengel, Wo	17
Marley Wood, PV	16
Cali Fisler, Sch	12
Keziah Patterson, PG	11
Nevaeh Robinson, Sch	11

Back to No. 1

After finishing its regular season with the best record in the country, Salem CC returns to No. 1 in JUCO Division III basketball rankings

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC men’s basketball team heads into postseason play back as the No. 1 team in the country.

The Mighty Oaks were returned to the top spot in the JUCO Division III rankings after completing their regular season with the best record in the country (29-1).

They jumped Dallas College Richland (now No. 4) and Riverland CC (now No. 5).

‘Ii’s a good selling point for recruits,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “We already had the target, it’s not really a bigger one because we’ve been that all year long. It’s just good. It looks good on paper. It looks good to these guys who worked all year for it.”

The Mighty Oaks held the top spot for six weeks before falling to No. 3 after suffering their only loss of the season at Brookdale, ironically a game whose prep was interrupted by a snowstorm.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Green said. “Even if we’ve got to go outside we’re going to practice. Snow, weather, we’ve got to do it.”

Since the loss, however, they have nailed down the overall No. 1 seed in the upcoming Region XIX tournament and will open postseason play Wednesday or Thursday with a home game against Ocean CC, a team they put 100 on twice during the season.

“I think they responded well, I think they responded well in that game as well,” Green said. “There were a couple games I didn’t think we looked as sharp, but I think the last two or three were like we’re probably supposed to look.”

A win over Ocean will send the Mighty Oaks to Northampton CC Saturday to play either Camden or No. 8 Montgomery for an automatic bid to the national tournament in Herkimer, N.Y.

The No. 1 ranking also will make it difficult to deny them one of four at-large bids to the nationals if they lose along the way.

“It gives people something to think about,” Green said. “That’s another thing that’s the beauty of ending the No. 1 team. It gives the committee something to think about regardless of what happens.

“It’s a tiny bit of security. It also allows you if you go ahead and win the championship you’ve gotta be pretty much the No. 1 overall seed.”

JUCO DIVISION III RANKINGS
1. SALEM CC (29-1), 2. Northern Essex (27-3), 3. Dallas-Eastfield (20-8), 4. Dallas-Richland (20-8), 5. Riverland (26-2), 6. Dallas-North Lake (19-10), 7. Dutchess (23-4), 8. Montgomery County (19-4), 9. Northampton (24-4), 10. Ridgewater (20-5), 11. Virginia Peninsula (21-6), 12. North Country (24-3), 13. Genesee (20-7), 14. Union (22-8), 15. Herkimer (18-6).

Also receiving votes: Brookdale, Anoka-Ramsey, Joilet.

Cougars come up short

Schalick falls in finals of Tri-County Girls Postseason Bracket, last-second shot hits twice and falls away, includes weather update and results from Saturday’s Salem County sports calendar

TRI-COUNTY TOURNAMENT
BOYS
Championship Bracket
Cumberland 40, Kingsway 37
Postseason Bracket
Triton at Washington Twp.
GIRLS
Championship Bracket
Gloucester Catholic 65, Wildwood 26
Postseason Bracket
Deptford 33, Schalick 31

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — It was about three hours after the final horn and Schalick girls basketball coach John Whelan still hadn’t gotten completely over the game.

His top-seeded Cougars rallied from nine with 56 seconds left, eight with 34 to go, and had a good look to tie. But Nevaeh Robinson’s shot bounced twice around the goal before falling away, allowing Deptford to escape with a 33-31 victory in the Tri-County Conference Postseason Bracket championship game.

It was 33-24 with under a minute to play. The Cougars (17-7) got free throws from Ava Scurry and Liv VanAcker to start the comeback. Scurry then hit a bucket and Emmalyn Weir nailed a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game.

The Spartans (13-14) put the ball in play under their basket with 2.5 seconds left. Robinson stole the inbounds pass, got to the rim and her shot hit the backboard and then the front of the rim before falling away.

It was that kind of game for the Cougars.

“We just could not put the ball in the basket,” Whelan lamented. “It wasn’t for really a lack of anything else other than that.

“It just wouldn’t go in. Didn’t matter, layup, jump shots. We had several roll around the rim and come out. We did cost ourselves some possessions with some unforced turnovers, that hurt us a little bit, but ultimately it just wasn’t our day in terms of getting the ball to go in the hoop.”

The Cougars held an 18-14 halftime lead behind balanced scoring and their typically tight defense, but went cold in the third quarter and were outscored 11-2. Deptford’s Chaylin Morine scored seven of her team-high 11 points in the quarter. Schalick’s only points came on Willow Davis’ only basket of the game.

Scurry led all scorers with 12 points and blocked three shots to tie her 2024 single-season school record. Robinson had eight points and nine rebounds to reach 300 points and 200 boards for the season. VanAcker had 12 rebounds and five steals, and had two assists to move within one of tying that single-season school record.

DEPTFORD 33, SCHALICK 31
DEPTFORD (13-14): Colana Tymes 2 0-0 5, Kylie Galantic 2 1-4 6, Zakyah Babb 0 0-2 0, Chaylin Morine 3 5-8 11, Kendall Evans 3 2-2 8, Sanai Green 1 0-2 2, Jazlynn Diaz 0 1-4 1, LeAsia Chandler 0 0-0 0, Camille Bristo 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 9-22 33.
SCHALICK (17-7): Cali Fisler 0 1-2 1, Ava Scurry 5 2-4 12, Willow Davis 1 0-2 2, Nevaeh Robinson 2 1-2 6, Liv VanAcker 0 2-8 2, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Jaelynn Jarmon 1 0-0 3, Emma O’Neill 2 0-0 5. Totals 11 6-18 31.

Deptford	6	8	11	8-	33
Schalick	9	9	2	11-	31

3-point goals: Deptford 2 (Tymes, Galatic); Schalick 3 (Robinson, Jarmon, O’Neill). Fouled out: Morine, Scurry. Total fous: Deptford 16, Schalick 16.

Indoor track

Due to the impending storm, the NJSIAA Group I & 4 indoor track championship meet in Toms River has been pushed back to Feb. 28. Salem County qualified for 28 individual spots and three relays to the meet, including Woodstown sectional champions Josh Crawford (400, 800), Kami Casiano (girls high jump) and the boys 4×400 relay.

Wrestling

POINT PLEASANT BEACH QUAD
PENNSVILLE 65, EWING 0
106: Brett Land (P) tech fall over Bryce Wittkop, 17-2
113: Greyson Robbins (P) won by forfeit
120: Maximos Efelis (P) maj. dec. Gibril Huq, 12-2
126: Mihki Dicks (P) pinned Makai Hill, 2:59
132: Chase Baker (P) pinned Joseph Lichtmann, 1:02
138: Nathaniel Mason (P) won by forfeit
144: Gabe Supernavage (P) won by forfeit
150: Vincent Grether (P) tech fall over Rocky Richardson, 16-0
157: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Tristan Amaru, 1:13
165: Robbie McDade (P) won by forfeit
175: Cristian Blyler (P) dec. Danny Umana-DelaRosa, 8-3
190: Stephen Pangle (P) won by forfeit
215: Andy Hibare (E) pinned Joseph Halstead, 5:00
285: Cephus Horton (E) dec. Trevor Waddington, 8-1

PENNSVILLE 61, PT. PLEASANT BEACH 17
113: Greyson Robbins (P) pinned Max Esposito, 2:30
120: Henry Ventresca (PPB) pinned Maximos Efelis, 1:53
126: Brandon Stizza (PPB) tech fall over Mihki Dicks, 19-3 (5:45)
132: Chase Baker (P) dec. Gavin Sramowicz, 11-4
138: Nathaniel Mason (P) pinned Dante Pezzello, 2:19
144: Gabe Supernavage (P) tech fall over Jaxon Bowers, 16-0 (5:00)
150: Vincent Grether (P) pinned Davin Marquez, 4:27
157: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Mattix Sickel, 1:49
165: Robbie McDade (P) tech fall over Gage Boyle, 17-1 (5:00)
175: Gael Santiago (PPB) pinned Cristian Blyler, 3:42
190: Stephen Pangle (P) pinned Wyland Grant, 4:23
215: Hunter Coulbourn (P) pinned CJ Engelhardt, 4:34
285: Jacob Hand (P) pinned Allan Micheletti, 3:13
106: Brett Land (P) won by forfeit

College basketball

The third-ranked Salem CC men’s basketball will host Ocean CC in its Region 19/North Atlantic District tournament semifinal Wednesday after the Vikings eliminated Philadelphia 76-63 in a play-in game Saturday. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday, but region officials pushed the game back out of an abundance of caution for the impending snowstorm.

The Mighty Oaks (29-1), the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, beat the Vikings twice during the regular season, 113-90 and 100-78.

The winner of the Salem-Ocean game will meet the Camden-Montgomery winner Saturday at Northampton for the auto bid to the national tournament March 11-14 in Herkimer, N.Y.

1,000-Point Club

Here is a list of Salem County’s all-time leading scorers in basketball; documented additions/updates should be sent to al.muskewitz@gmail.com

Boys

PLAYER	SCHOOL	TOTAL	YEAR
Paul Gause	Schalick	3144	2005
Keith Jackson	Salem	1940	1986
Derrick Parsley	Salem	1813	2008
Richard Brokenbaugh	Penns Grove	1730	1989
Marcus Robinson	Salem	1726	1990
Joe Hickman	Woodstown	1726	1972
Zach Manorowitz	Pennsville	1679	2020
Mike Holloway	Schalick	1634	2015
Rashan Holloway	Schalick	1622	2014
Kavon Lewis	Penns Grove	1600	2020
Dominique Roy	Penns Grove	1574	2008
Mike Wright	Penns Grove	1551	1988
Greg Frith	Schalick	1532	1990
Fred Drains	Woodstown	1444	1989
Jawan Roane	Penns Grove	1424	2018
Jerry Dickerson	Salem	1416	1963
Sean Collins	Schalick	1393	1996
Geshawn Davis	Penns Grove	1393	2013
Melvin Allen	Schalick	1355	2014
Ron Michael	Salem	1350	2002
Bradley Rowand	Woodstown	1346	2000
Tyler Lunsford	Schalick	1345	2016
James Rowe	Salem	1300	1997
Dan Feruck	Pennsville	1284	1980
Lowell Fortune	Salem	1255	1989
Brian Sye	Salem	1227	1978
Ralph Kowalkowski	St. James	1220	1955
Josh Hedgeman	Schalick	1219	1989
Luke Wood	Pennsville	1198	2025
William Barnes	Salem	1192	2005
Jamar D. Johnson	Penns Grove	1189	2020
Anthony Farmer	Salem	1175	2024
Jim Shivers	Woodstown	1170	1973
George Seager	Pennsville	1158	1989
Michael Moore	Penns Grove	1147	1991
Gage Ausland	Salem	1144	2020
Butch Karr	Pennsville	1143	2009
Scott Powers	Woodstown	1134	1993
Joe Cassidy	St. James	1117	1983
Clifton Shaw	Penns Grove	1111	1996
Billy McMackin	Woodstown	1105	2003
Joe Mecholsky	Pennsville	1103	1992
Mike Driscoll	Woodstown	1100	1968
Brandon Bermudez	Salem Tech	1097	2023
Tim Buzby	Pennsville	1093	1987
x-Blake Bialecki	Woodstown	1090	2026
Jim Brown	Salem	1085	1985
Ramon Roots	Salem	1080	2016
Mike Harrell	Schalick	1075	1986
Brian Booker	Woodstown	1068	2002
Keith Robinson	Penns Grove	1065	2019
Troy Johnson	Schalick	1062	2017
Lew Ridgeway	Salem	1058	1975
Eric Spencer	St. James	1054	1990
Tom Summiel	Salem	1050	1971
Clint Hitchner	Woodstown	1050	1996
Jamy Thomas	Pennsville	1048	1994
DeAndre Solomon	Schalick	1044	2014
Charles McNeil	Penns Grove	1040	1956
Jim Smith	Woodstown	1038	1955
Charles Haines	Penns Grove	1030	1953
Bruce Spencer	St. James	1023	1983
xy-Tymear Lecator	Salem	1017	2026
Colin Rieger	Pennsville	1014	2015
Terrence Sorrell	Salem	1014	1988
Darryl Gause	Schalick	1007	2001
Dan Yucis	Pennsville	1003	1999
Matt Kates	Schalick	1002	2008
Woodrow Furbush	Salem	1002	2011

x-active, y-junior

Girls

PLAYER	SCHOOL	TOTAL	YEAR
Katie Kline	Pennsville	2110	2004
Amanda Young	St. James	1762	1995
Sharias Hill	Penns Grove	1661	2009
Brittany Smith	Salem	1623	2007
Talia Battavio	Woodstown	1620	2025
Megan Donelson	Woodstown	1588	2025
Tia Furbush	Schalick	1574	2021
Tori Smick	Woodstown	1566	2013
Shayla Llanos	Salem	1436	2008
Crystal Bailey	Schalick	1406	1984
Stephanie Owen	Woodstown	1381	1993
x-Marley Wood	Pennsville	1342	2026
Dawn Curry	Pennsville	1288	2008
Tamara Watkins	Penns Grove	1276	2005
Charlie Baldwin	Woodstown	1275	2020
Shaqui Coppage	Salem	1265	2010
Vynette Miller	Salem	1255	1985
Kelli Griffith	Pennsville	1248	1989
Paige Caldwell	Woodstown	1237	2017
x-Taylor Bass	Pennsville	1226	2026
Ryane Wood	Pennsville	1224	2022
Carly Lane	Penns Grove	1217	2001
Shaniece Banks	Penns Grove	1205	2008
Elizabeth Hudock	Salem	1203	2019
Marie Patrick	Salem	1186	1995
Hannah Cooksey	Pennsville	1168	2019
Lindsey Minch	Pennsville	1163	2010
Riley Fulmer	Woodstown	1163	2022
RaNiyah Wilson	Penns Grove	1156	2025
Nora Ausland	Pennsville	1144	2025
Tiasia Tatem	Salem	1139	2015
Che’Na Thompson	Salem	1130	2009
Ashley Hansen	Schalick	1124	2008
Bethany Humenik	Woodstown	1120	2009
Kelly Thompson	Woodstown	1115	1990
Latika Ross	Salem	1102	2001
Lindsay Rivell	Salem	1081	2001
Caitlin McCaffery	Pennsville	1080	2003
Natrice Reed	Penns Grove	1065	2018
Meely Horace	Penns Grove	1063	2024
Kayla Mayers	Woodstown	1041	2015
Shannon Pollock	St. James	1037	1993
Christy Britton	St. James	1037	1989
Ashley Engel	Woodstown	1012	2007
Susanne Daly	St. James	1002	1991
Sandy Alston	Penns Grove		1983

x-active

There are a lot of points in this picture of 1,000-point scorers (L-R) Woodstown’s Talia Battavio and Pennsville’s Marley Wood, Ryane Wood, Luke Wood, Nora Ausland and Jamy Thomas. There were more than 7,100 points represented here at the time this photo was taken.

Playing for a title

Schalick girls earn a spot in the TCC Postseason Bracket title game, host Deptford Saturday morning; includes TCC Tournament scores and Salem County consolation games

TCC GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Postseason Bracket
Schalick 47, Salem 33
Deptford 54, Clayton 39
Championship Bracket
Gloucester Catholic 60, Clearview 29
Wukdwiid 69, Glassboro 64 (3 OT)
Consolation games
Washington Twp. 44, Woodstown 20
Pennsville 57, Cumberland 35
TCC BOYS TOURNAMENT
Championship Bracket
Kingsway 52, Overbrook 41
Cumberland 57, Williamstown 54
Postseason Bracket
Triton 53, GCIT 51
Washington Twp. 55, Pitman 40
Consolation games
Woodstown 77, Clearview 50

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — John Whelan held his breath a little bit when the Tri-County Conference officials were seeding their annual tournament and he let out a small sigh of relief when they finished their business.

Whelan’s Schalick girls basketball team was having one of their best seasons in a while, but its power points on Super Bowl Sunday left it on the bubble of making the TCC Championship Bracket reserved for the the league’s 12 heaviest hitters or the Postseason Bracket with what was left.

A power point here or there or a team jump-seeding its neighbor in the standings and a lot of things could change. When it all shook out, the Cougars fell on the Postseason Bracket side of the line — the No. 1 seed, if fact — and now, instead of facing an upper seed in the first round of the upper bracket with the expected consequences, they have a chance to win a championship.

The Cougars earned a spot in the Postseason Bracket championship game Thursday night when they dumped Salem 47-33. They now host Deptford (12-14) for the title Saturday at 10 a.m.

“It’s exciting,” Whelan said. “The girls deserve it. They’ve earned it. They put the work in all season, in the offseason in here, every practice, in the weight room, so it’s kind of come full circle for us. It’s exciting times to have this opportunity.”

In the past, the TCC split its tournament into three divisions – the top 8 (A), the eight in the middle of pack (B) and the also-rans (C),. This year they decided to expand the upper bracket to reward the league’s four division winners that sometimes didn’t make the A Bracket with first-round byes

They seeded it straight on the power points among the conference’s 23 teams – with the exception of the division winners who earned the top four seeds – and went to a 12-team upper and 11-team lower bracket.

The Cougars came in at No. 13, despite having as many or more wins than seven teams in the Championship Bracket at the time of the seeding, meaning they were the first team out and the whole Postseason Bracket went through them. They were the winningest team in the bracket by five wins.

“You always want to strive to play for that higher competition, but we fell where we fell,” Whelan said. “The 1 seed, that would be extra home games for us. We approach it the same way we would any other bracket or championship or any other game. This is just as important to us as it would be if we were in the other bracket.

“It definitely gave us an opportunity to be where we are, for sure. Some of the upper-tier teams is something we’re striving to work towards and we’re making good strides. This is definitely a bracket with good competition, as seen in the past two games, and we’ll see again Saturday. This is the start of our post-season.”

Nevaeh Robinson led Schalick with 14 points and nine rebounds. Cali Fisler had a career-high 13 points, including 7-of-8 from the free throw line. She was 5-for-6 in the fourth quarter, undermining the Rams’ strategy for getting back in the game.

The Cougars were 18-of-27 from the line for the game, while the Rams were 13-of-29.

“We talked about the importance of free throws, especially in a playoff game,” Whelan said. “We knew it was going to be physical and we prepared for that mentally and physically. We spent a lot of time with free throws (in practice) and to their credit they knocked them down.”

“I just was really confident this game,” Fisler said. “I knew what I could do at line. I knew my percentages overall have not been very good this season, but I knew what I could do, so I stayed calm despite the noise they were trying to make and I just did what I do.”

Point guard Liv VanAcker got the Cougars through some of the more chaotic moments of the fast-paced game and dished seven assists to move within four of Abby Chomo’s single-season school record (89). Ava Scurry blocked four more shots, leaving her four shy of her single-season record (85).

“It was chaotic, yes, but our team is very good with chaos,” VanAcker said. “At first we start off a little shaky, but we get our groove after a while.”

DyAira Anderson led Salem with 14 points and 20 rebounds. Carlysia Pierce had 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Rams forced Schalick into numerous turnovers early and led 5-4 after a turnover-filled first quarter, but they were negatively impacted throughout by missing too many shots in close and struggling at the free throw line.

“You’ve gotta have the ball go through the circle.,” Salem coach Kemp Carr said. “You can’t get four and five shots at the basket, two feet, and you don’t make it. It’s not so much what they did more than what we didn’t do. We just didn’t execute what we needed to execute. You’ve gotta make shots.”

SCHALICK 47, SALEM 33
SALEM (9-10): Madison Dixon 3 0-2 6, DyAira Anderson 3 8-13 14, Carlysia Pierce 3 5-14 11, Jaryn Weathers 0 0-0 0, Tricia Wilson 1 0-0 2, Kaliyah Taylor 0 0-0 0, Samiyah Moore 0 0-0 0, Zanyah Frieson 0 0-0 0, Timmiyah Simmons 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 13-29 33
SCHALICK (17-6): Cali Fisler 3 7-8 13, Ava Scurry 4 0-0 8, Willow Davis 1 2-2 5, Nevaeh Robinson 5 2-5 14, Liv VanAcker 0 5-8 5, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0 2-2 2, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neil 0 0-2 0. Totals 13 18-27 47.

Salem	5	7	10	11-	33
Schalick	4	16	12	15-	47

3-point goals: Schalick 3 (Davis, Robinson 2). Rebounds: Salem 55 (Pierce 12, Anderson 20); Schalick 26 (Scurry 5, Robinson 9, VanAcker 6). Technical fouls: Fisler. Fouled out: Pierce, Scurry. Total fouls: Salem 22, Schalick 20.

PENNSVILLE 57, CUMBERLAND 36: Marley Wood scored 10 of her game-high 24 points in the second quarter as the Eagles pulled away from this TCC Championship Bracket consolation game. Jaiden Wilson added a career-high 12 points Next up for the Eagles is a Wednesday date with Woodstown in the South Jersey Group I tournament.

CUMBERLAND (10-14): Ellie Bodine 4 3-4 11, Lizzy Pfliegar 5 0-0 13, Addie Weist 1 0-0 3, Ny Gay 0 0-0 0, Kamila Ramos 0 0-0 0, JaLynn Brown 0 0-0 0, Julianna Rivera 0 0-0 0, Aleevia Fennal 2 0-0 4, Hydra Loatman 0 0-0 0, Peyton Johnson 0 0-0 0, Amely Pina 1 0-0 2, Mikaylah Picconi 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 3-4 35.
PENNSVILLE (16-7): Taylor Bass 2 1-4 6, Marley Wood 9 4-5 24, Addie Johnston 4 0-0 9, Izzy Saulin 3 0-0 6, Jaiden Wilson 5 0-0 12, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Kylie Weist 0 0-0 0, Reagan Sipps 0 0-0 0, Angelina Wagner 0 0-0 0, Addison Hitt 0 0-0 0, Makayla Griffith 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-9 57.

Cumberland	6	9	10	10-	35
Pennsville	14	15	12	16-	57

3-point goals: Cumberland 4 (Pfliegar 3, Weist); Pennsville 6 (Bass, Wood 2, Johnston, Wilson 2). Fouled out: Gay. Total fouls: Cumberland 9, Pennsville 7.

WASHINGTON TWP. 44, WOODSTOWN 20
WOODSTOWN (11-15): Kendall Young 2, Emma Perry 10, Lauren Hengel 4, Kyia Leyman 2, Talia Guardascione 2.
WASHINGTON TWP. (16-9): Frankie Begley 1 2-2 4, Shyla McLean 3 0-0 9, Julianna Cassidy 1 0-0 2, Elena Dabrowski 2 0-0 6, Aubrey Mack 6 1-2 13, Jade Mazzuca 1 0-0 2, Tessa Reilley 2 0-0 4, Lena Giannini 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 3-4 44.

Woodstown	2	4	10	4-	20
Washington Twp.	7	17	8	12-	44

3-point goals: Washington Twp. 5 (McLean 3, Dabrowski 2).

**Schalick’s Ava Scurry (C) denies Salem’s Kaliyah Taylor entry into the lane during their TCC Postseason Bracket semifinal game Thursday night.**

Boys game

WOODSTOWN 77, CLEARVIEW 50: Blake Bialecki led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points that featured five 3-pointers, as the Wolverines snapped a three-game losing streak that tied the longest in coach Ramon Roots’ two-year tenure. Bialecki had 11 points in the first quarter fueled by three 3s. Andrew White had 15 points, 13 in the third quarter, and Alejandro Vazquez had 10.

CLEAVIEW (10-17): Jonah Turner 3 1-2 7, Georgia Kritikson 3 1-1 8, Mike Pellecchia 3 1-2 8, Darren Riddick 4 0-0 9, Alex Whitwork 2 0-0 6, TJ McGovern 1 0-0 3, Logan Poletti 1 0-0 3, David Carter 2 0-0 6, Ethan Munch 0 0-0 0, Patrick Furfari 0 0-0 0, Jake Bernstein 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 3-5 50.
WOODSTOWN (16-11): Elijah Caesar 4 0-2 8, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 7 1-2 15, Trey Markward 1 0-0 2, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Blake Bialecki 6 1-2 18, Bryce Ayars 0 0-0 0, Frank Hoerst 4 0-2 8, Connor Miller 2 2-2 6, Alejandro Vazquez 3 3-3 10, Brian Booker 1 0-0 2, John Hood-McGinley 0 0-0 0, Josh King 3 0-0 6. Totals 32 7-13 77.

Clearview	13	14	11	12-	50
Woodstown	22	13	21	21-	77

3-point goals: Clearview 9 (Kritikson, Pellecchia, Riddick, Whitworth 2, McGovern, Poletti, Carter 2); Woodstown (Bialecki 5, Vazquez). Total fouls: Clearview 8, Woodstown 11.

Of course, No. 1

Salem CC pulls down overall No. 1 seed in region/district tournament, two wins away from auto bid to nationals

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Salem CC, as expected, pulled down the overall No. 1 seed and one of two top seeds in the Region 19 tournaments that will send teams to the JUCO Division III national tournament and will play one home game to get a shot at the trip.

The once-beaten, third-ranked Mighty Oaks (29-1) are the No. 1 seed in the North Atlantic A district tournament and will play either Ocean CC (15-12) or CC Philadelphia (14-12) in Dupont Fieldhouse in their tournament opener Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The winner advances to district championship game at Northampton CC Saturday to play either seventh-ranked Montgomery (19-4) or Camden (17-12) for the automatic berth to the national tournament in Herkimer, N.Y.

“I haven’t seen anything yet, but that’s the reward you get for handling business all year long,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “i kind of wish the No. 1 seed gets to host as well. I think that would be a good thing for the league; it makes it a lot more interesting through the regular season. But No. 1 seed is the work we put in, you get rewarded for it at the end, but you’ve still got to go out there and win games.”

By placing in the A District bracket, the Mighty Oaks avoid No. 10 Northampton, No. 14 Union and Brookdale, the team that handed them their only loss – all 20-win teams. Northampton, as the No.2 overall seeds, tops the North Atlantic B field.

Green isn’t selling anyone short.

“It doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I think the league is tough top to bottom. Like Ocean is a very dangerous team. Montgomery is a dangerous team. Bergen. All those teams that were flirting with .500 down there are really dangerous teams.”

If they lose somewhere along the way officials familiar with the selection process told Riverview Sports News they are still expected to receive an at-large bid to the nationals for their season’s body of work. They had the best overall regular-season record in Division III, were ranked No. 1 for six weeks before losing to Brookdale, won the GSAC by a wide margin and are among the highest scoring teams in the nation.

They lead the country in total points and shooting percentage, are second in assists per game and third in points per game. Five scorers average in double figures. Saaid Lee is ranked third individually in assists. Zyaire Gibson is second in 3-pointers.

REGION 19 BASKETBALL BRACKET
North Atlantic A
Saturday’s game
Philadelphia at Ocean
Tuesday’s games
Philadelphia-Ocean winner at Salem CC
Camden at Montgomery
Feb. 28
At Northampton CC
Championship game, 3 p.m.

North Atlantic B
Tuesday’s games
Union at Brookdale
Bergen at Northampton
Feb. 28
At Northampton
Championship game, 6 p.m.

Eye on the prize

Schalick girls have goal to win their TCC Tournament bracket, take first step with win over Pitman, get Salem next in semifinal showdown, includes South Jersey Group I girls tournament pairings

GIRLS BASKETBALL
TCC Tournament
Championship Bracket
Delsea at Gloucester Catholic
Clearview 54, Timber Creek 28
Glassboro 44, Kingsway 30
Wildwood 44, Washington Twp. 38
Consolation game
Woodstown 45, Triton 36
Postseason Bracket
Schalick 43, Pitman 32
Salem 34, Williamstown 27
Clayton 52, GCIT 50
Deptford 61, Penns Grove 25

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — If there’s a bracket to be played there’s a bracket to be won, doesn’t matter if it’s Championship, Postseason or the 3-on-3 tournament down at the local rec.

Knowing there’s a title to claim at the end of the week, Schalick played what coach John Whelan called one of its better overall games of the year, jumped on Pitman early and rolled to a 43-32 win in the quarterfinals of the Tri-County Conference Tournament Postseason Bracket. The bracket’s No. 1 seed now hosts Salam in Thursday’s semifinals.

“We definitely have our goal set on winning,” Whelam said. “We played probably, I would say, the best team ball that we’ve played all year. We moved the basketball really well, we made the extra passes, (got) better quality shots.

“It’s starting to click a little more. You’ve seen it the last handful of games where we’ve been moving the ball better. Our offense has looked so much better, and then we continue to stay tough on the defensive end.”

The Cougars held their visitors to single digits points in every quarter, while opening quarter leads of 17-6, 27-15 and 37-24. leads of 17-6 and 27-15 in the first half.

Nevaeh Robinson “had a rhythm going” early for the Cougars and scored all 17 of her points in the first half. When the Panthers recognized the havoc she was causing and switched to a box-and-one on her, Willow Davis kept the offense clicking. Davis scored eight points in the third quarter and 11 of her 14 in the second half.

“We were moving the ball well enough to where we didn’t feel like we needed to really change our offense regardless of the box-and-one,” Whelan said. “Willow stepped up in the second half and hit a lot of shots.”

Robinson also had 11 rebounds, Cali Fisler and Ava Scurry each had 10, and Liv Vanacker had nine. Vanacker also had five assists and Scurry blocked four shots.

SCHALICK 43, PITMAN 32
PITMAN (4-15): Colette Rollins 1 0-0 3, Jocelyn O’Brien 1 0-0 2, Marlee Adams 2 3-5 7, Kendall Bennett 3 0-0 6, Emery Sharpnack 2 3-3 7, Audrey Duffield 2 0-2 5, Bella Pramov 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 6-10 32.
SCHALICK (16-6): Cali Fisler 3 1-2 7, Ava Scurry 1 2-2 4, Willow Davis 5 1-2 14, Nevaeh Robinson 7 0-0 17, Olivia Vanacker 0 1-2 1, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-2 0, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-10 43.

Pitman	6	9	9	8-	32
Schalick	17	10	10	6-	43

3-point goals: Pitman 2 (Rollins, Duffield); Schalick 6 (Davis 3, Robinson 3). Rebounds: Schalick 41 (Fisler 10, Scurry 10, Robinson 11, Vanacker 9). Total fouls: Pitman 12, Schalick 15

SALEM 34, WILLIAMSTOWN 27: The Rams stretched an eight-point halftime lead to double digits, withstood a second-half rally by the Braves that got it to a one-point game and then pulled away to set up a semifinal showdown with Schalick.

“That’s a big win,” Salem coach Kemp Carr said. “It’s a Group 4 school, it’s a big team and it’s a postseason bracket, so we see it as a big deal for us. We’re excited for tonight.”

The Rams (9-9) played bang-up defense in the first half, holding the Braves (5-17) to only one field goal and five points in the first half. They stretched their halftime lead to 10 in the third quarter, but the Braves went on a run that cut it to one, 28-27, with about three minutes left before the Rams changed defenses and retook control.

“We showed some resiliency, something that we’ve really been working on, to not let that bother us, to keep playing through the clock,” Carr said. “We used a timeout to settle the girls down and we came out and got a basket that next possession.”

Dyaira Anderson led the Rams with a game-high 17 points and 18 rebounds. Carlysia Pierce had eight points, six rebounds and nine steals.

Salem and Schalick played once during the regular season with the Cougars taking a 37-33 win on the road.

SALEM (9-9): Madison Dixon 0 1-2 1, Dyaira Anderson 7 3-3 17, Carlysia Pierce 3 2-4 8, Jaryn Weathers 1 1-2 3, Kaliyah Taylor 2 1-3 5. Totals 13 8-14 34.
WILLIAMSTOWN (5-17): Milana Riccardi 0 0-0 0, Rylee Fair 1 0-0 2, Savanna Rolls 2 1-2 5, Peyton Wright 1 2-6 4, Nyah Chatelier 0 1-2 1, Harper Carney 1 0-0 2, Liz Yodess 1 0-0 2, Ava Byorick 1 0-2 2, Jidli Francis 1 2-2 4, Maren Riccardi 0 0-0 0
Celiyah Waters 1 1-2 4, Colette Hicks 0 1-2 1. Totals 9 8-18 27.

Salem	3	10	13	8-	34
Williamstown	3	2	13	9-	27

3-point goals: Williamstown 1 (Waters). Total fouls: Salem 14, Williamstown 17.

DEPTFORD 61, PENNS GROVE 25: The Spartans brought the Red Devils back to earth behind double-doubles from Chaylin Marine and Kendall Evans. Marine had 21 points and 12 rebounds (plus five steals), while Evans had 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Red Devils reached the quarterfinals of the Postseason Bracket with a victory over Overbrook in the opening round.

CONSOLATION GAME
WOODSTOWN 45, TRITON 36: Kyia Leyman and Kendall Young both enjoyed double-doubles as the Wolverines bounced back from their Championship Bracket opening-round loss to Kingsway. Leyman scored a career-high 18 points to lead all scorers and grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Young had 10 points and 12 rebounds with three assists and five steals.

WOODSTOWN (11-14): Lauren Hengel 2 1-2 5, Emma Perry 1 0-0 3, Kyia Leyman 9 0-0 18, Kendall Young 3 3-4 10, Kailyn Kennedy 1 0-0 2, Talia Guardascione 2 1-2 5, Kamiya Brunson 2 0-0 4, Jaelyn McDonald 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-8 47.
TRITON (36): Melannie Noel 7 2-4 16, Gianna Endt 1 1-1 4, Kaidan Henry 1 0-2 3, Gianna Loftis 2 5-8 9, Akeera Reid-Streater 1 0-0 2, Chloe O’Connor 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 8-15 36.

Woodstown	16	6	10	13-	45
Triton	9	11	13	3-	36

3-point goals: Woodstown 2 (Perry, Young); Triton 2 (Endt, Henry). Rebounds: Woodstown 41 (Young 12, Hengel 11, Leyman 10).

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Feb. 25 Games
Paulsboro at Haddon Twp.
Burlington City at Woodbury
New Egypt at Palmyra
Cape May Tech at Glassboro
Salem at Audubon
Woodstown at Pennsville
Schalick at Gateway
Clayton at Wildwood
Feb. 27 Games
(Game at higher seed)
Paulsboro-Haddon Twp. vs. Burlington City-Woodbury
New Egypt-Palmyra vs. Cape May Tech-Glassboro
Salem-Audubon vs. Woodstown-Pennsville
Schalick-Gateway vs. Clayton-Wildwood

One that got away

Salem loses a 16-point early third-quarter lead, falls to Group 4 Williamstown in TCC Championship Bracket quarterfinals; no county teams left in main draw of either boys bracket; includes the South Jersey Group I boys tournament pairings

BOYS BASKETBALL
TCC Tournament
Championship Bracket
Kingsway 66, Timber Creek 57
Overbrook 66, Deptford 55
Cumberland 52, Delsea 47
Williamstown 50, Salem 40
Consolation game
Penns Grove 67, Woodstown 55
Postseason Bracket
GCIT 85, Clayton 76
Pitman 56, Wildwood 52
Washington Twp. 63, Highland 44

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – Anthony Farmer has seen this movie before. He didn’t want to see it – or have to see it – again on this particular night.

There have been times when Farmer’s Salem basketball team have been sharp start to finish. There also have been times they’ve built a seemingly safe lead against a strong opponent early in the game only to have it ripped out from under it at the final horn.

It happened again Tuesday when the Rams lost a 16-point third-quarter lead and wound up losing to Group 4 Williamstown 50-40 in the quarterfinals of the Tri-County Conference Championship Bracket.

The Rams (19-5), the No. 2 seed, led 30-14 a minute into the third quarter and 32-21 with 3:50 left in the quarter when it all went south. They didn’t make another field goal the rest of the game, going 0-for-9 from the floor and committing 10 turnovers.

“They played 16 minutes of basketball, you know you’ve got to play a full 32,” Farmer said. “We played a half of basketball and now that’s the result.

“We played a really good 16 the first half and scored 11 points I think in the second half with 10 turnovers, so you almost had as many turnovers as you had points in the second half. Obviously, that’s an issue.

“We just have to have a feel for the game. Slow down, move the basketball, get reversals, make plays and play a good brand of basketball, which we just didn’t do. It was just a horrible second half.”

While all the misses hurt, especially with the Braves connecting on the other end, the most gut-wrenching may have been Marshall Stephens’ in-and-out after a nice spin move in the lane that Jameer Gordon turned into a 3-pointer at the other end to give the Braves (16-9) the lead for good.

While the Rams were having their troubles, the Braves were picking up the tempo and coming back. From the time they were down 16 in the third quarter to the end of the game the Braves were 8-of-19 from the field and 16-of-19 from the free throw line. They had only seven field goals in the first 17 minutes.

Gordon, a transfer from St. Joe (Hammonton), hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter and the Braves finally got Clinton Suggs into the flow. The Rams held Suggs scoreless in the first half, but the Paul VI transfer scored 14 points in the second 10 in the third quarter. The Braves are 14-2 since Gordon and Suggs became eligible.

Suggs scored five straight points as the Braves trimmed the 16-point deficit to nine with 4:04 left in the third quarter. It was 10 with 3:15 left and the Rams scored only six more free throws the rest of the way. The Braves, meanwhile, scored nine free throws in the last 2:10 of the game alone to slam the door.

“These kids, since I’ve taken over, two years, have just shown fight and grit and fight and grit, so for us there was no panic on our end — at all,” Williamstown coach Adam Dandrea said as his players celebrated loudly in the locker room behind him. “I knew the kids would respond. That was all them right there. That was all them.”

The Braves now travel to Cumberland for Thursday’s semifinals. The Rams can play Delsea in a consolation game if they’re so inclined.

WILLIAMSTOWN 50, SALEM 40
WILLIAMSTOWN (16-9): Jameer Gordon 3 6-8 13, Clinton Suggs 4 5-6 14, Tyson Forman 4 3-3 13, Kaysen Matthews 1 4-4 6, Dametri Walker 1 2-2 4, Brayden Covington 0 0-0 0, Elijah Batts 0 0-0 0, Amir Washington 0 0-0 0, Ian Basillo 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 20-23 50.
SALEM (19-5): Donnie Weathers 0 0-0 0, Xavier McGriff 1 0-0 3, Neziah Spence 2 2-2 7, Tymear Lecator 4 7-10 16, Fatah Paige 1 0-0 2, Deshaan Williams 3 2-2 8, BJ Robbins 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0, Harlem Parson 0 0-0 0, Marshall Stephens 0 0-0 0, Derrelle Johnson 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 11-14 40

Williamstown	6	8	20	16-	50
Salem	13	13	10	4-	40

3-point goals: Williamstown 4 (Gordon, Suggs, Forman 2); Salem 5 (McGriff, Spence, Lecator). Rebounds: Salem 30 (Williams 6, Marshall 5). Fouled out: Stephens. Total fouls: Williamstown 14, Salem 23.

PENNS GROVE 67, WOODSTOWN 55: The Red Devils ran out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter and held onto it to win the rubber game between rivals created by a TCC Championship Bracket consolation game.

Roman Gipson and Geonni Conrad led Penns Grove with 18 points apiece. Four other players scored at least six.

“Just a total team effort like always,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said of the start. “Guys made shots and the defense was stellar.”

The Wolverines put four scorers in double figures, with Elijah Caesar, Blake Bialecki and Alejandro Vazquez scored 12 points apiece. Andrew White added 10. Bialecki hit three 3-pointers, giving him 202 for his career.

They took advantage of Penns Grove’s second-quarter foul trouble to climb back into it, but the Red Devils stemmed the tide.

WOODSTOWN (15-11): Elijah Caesar 5-2-12, Blake Bialecki 4-1-12, Alejandro Vazquez 5-0-12, Josh King 2-3-7, Andrew White 4-2-10, Frank Hoerst 0-2-2. Totals 20-10-55.
PENNS GROVE (16-10): Roman Gipson 6-5-18, Geonni Conrad 8-0-18, Haneef Frisby 3-1-7, Will Roy 2-0-6, Mishawn Brantley 0-0-0, Luis Colon 2-3-7, Carson Pearsall 3-0-7, Jameel Horace 2-0-4, Ahkeen Edwards 0-0-0. Totals 26-9-67.

Woodstown	11	17	14	13-	55
Penns Grove	22	10	17	18-	67

3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Bialecki 3, Vazquez 2); Penns Grove 6 (Gipson, Gonrad 2, Roy 2, Pearsall).

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Feb. 25 Games
Riverside at Salem
Paulsboro at Woodstown
Glassboro at Burlington City
Wildwood at KIPP
New Egypt at Haddon Twp.
Pitman at Penns Grove
Audubon at Woodbury
Gateway at Palmyra
Feb. 27 Games
(Games at higher seed)
Riverside-Salem vs. Paulsboro-Woodstown
Glassboro-Burlington City vs. Wildwood-KIPP
New Egypt-Haddon Twp. vs. Pitman-Penns Grove
Audubon-Woodbury vs. Gateway-Palmyra

Marsh steps down

Salem CC women’s basketball program looking for new coach after Marsh resigns after three seasons, tumultuous 2025-26

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Brian Marsh has resigned as Salem Community College’s women’s basketball coach after three seasons and a tumultuous 2025-26 campaign. He will remain as the assistant director of financial aid for the college.

Marsh came into the program as an assistant coach and recruiter when the school brought the program back for the 2023-24 season and was handed the team that August when the original coach left before the Mighty Oaks played their first game.

He had a 23-43 record, with a high-water mark of 11 wins last season.

“It was a very difficult decision,” he said. “I’ve been very committed to this program to get thing up and running … it just became two full-time jobs. My coaching’s supposed to be a part-time job and I was doing 60-70 hours a week for the past couple years.

“With recruiting and getting this program started and everything that’s going on it just became very difficult. Obviously, with it being a very frustrating year this year … I just figured it was time to kind of move on and enjoy life. Everything that happened in my life this year (including the loss of his mother and brother) I just thought maybe it was a good time to kind of move this thing on … There’s a quote I saw that sort of goes here: Even lions get tired.”

The athletics department will begin a national search immediately for Marsh’s successor, but there is no timetable on naming his replacement. The job should have some appeal. The college recently added football and volleyball to increase its visibility. Marsh said he had 22 applicants in his most recent search for an assistant coach.

“We’re very grateful for the time and the commitment that Coach Marsh gave to the Salem Community College’s women’s basketball program,” athletics director Bob Hughes said. “His passion and commitment to the young women here was truly remarkable.”

This year’s team went 3-17 and suspended the season with three games left following the arrest of four players that left it without enough player to field a competitive team. They only had eight available players as it was.

The season also was impacted by the postponement of three midseason games when injuries cut into the roster and other off-court issues.

“We strive to create a great student-athlete experience for every student-athlete in every program here at SCC,” Hughes said. “Clearly we fell short of that having to end the season early and we’ll work to make sure the team is given every opportunity to complete the seasons moving forward.”

Even as the turmoil churned, Marsh, 54, always expressed hope he would be coaching the team next season and was actively recruiting locally for it.

“It was a frustrating season,” Marsh said. “Coach Kia (trainer Kiarrah Johnson) did an excellent job of keeping our girls healthy, but when you have eight girls and we just couldn’t keep them healthy it was a balancing act.

“I give my team a lot of credit. My players fought hard and they wanted to finish this thing like I did, and I gave them a lot of credit for that. We easily could have packed it in, there were teams that packed it in in January, but we kept fighting and kept fighting. Obviously at the end we just didn’t have enough players and it was very disappointing.

“It was just a very frustrating year on that end. You try to keep fighting and fighting, eventually it gets to a point where you don’t want to put your players in danger or get them out there playing 40 minutes so they even get more injured. It was one of the those things that unfortunately was out of my hands, the circumstances. The players played hard every game. We could have had a much different season had we been healthy.”