Here are the men’s and women’s Region XIX basketball standings; games through Jan. 23
MEN’S DIVISION III (x-based on percentages)
REGION
GB
ALL
Union
14-0 (1.000)
—
16-3
Montgomery
10-1 (.909)
2.5
12-2
Northampton
10-2 (.833)
3
17-2
Salem CC
12-3 (.800)
2.5
16-5
Philadelphia
9-3 (.750)
4
15-5
Camden
9-5 (.643)
5
12-9
Brookdale
8-5 (.615)
5.5
12-6
Atlantic Cape
9-6 (.600)
5.5
11-8
RCSJ-Gloucester
7-5 (.583)
6
9-11
Passaic
8-7 (.533)
6.5
10-9
Ocean
5-5 (.500)
7
9-6
Delaware County
5-8 (.385)
8.5
6-12
Sussex
5-9 (.357)
9
6-14
Lehigh Carbon
4-8 (.333)
9
4-13
Luzerne
3-10 (.231)
10.5
4-11
Harrisburg Area
2-9 (.182)
10.5
3-16
Bergen
2-13 (.133)
12.5
3-15
Thaddeus Stevens
1-10 (.091)
11.5
1-14
RCSJ-Cumberland
0-14 (.000)
14
0-19
THURSDAY’S GAMES Salem 99, Williamson Trades 55 Union 87, Rockland 83 Essex at Atlantic Cape, ppd. Orange County 85, Lackawanna 64 Montgomery 68, Southern Maryland 39 Central Penn 108, Harrisburg Area 97 Lancaster Bible JV at Thaddeus Stevens Sussex 85, Ulster 80 Monroe (Bronx) 101, Bergen 71
DIVISION II WOMEN
REG
ALL
Union
11-0
19-0
Lackawanna
8-3
13-5
Harcum
7-3
14-5
Raritan Valley
7-3
13-7
Mercer
6-5
11-5
Middlesex
3-6
8-10
Salem CC
3-8
9-8
Essex
2-8
3-9
Morris
0-0
0-0
Delaware Tech
0-11
0-17
THURSDAY’S GAMES Passaic 2, Lehigh Carbon 0 Montgomery 76, RCSJ-Cumberland 37 Monroe (Bronx) at Essex Camden 69, Brookdale 48 Lackawanna 101, Orange County 46 Northampton 85, Ocean 53 RCSJ-Gloucester 68, Philadelphia 53
Mighty Oaks get back on track after loss to Union, avoid the pitfall of a game stuck between two nationally ranked region opponents
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The game had all the earmarks of a trap, but the Salem CC basketball team refused to fall into it.
Sandwiched between games against two nationally ranked Region XIX rivals, the Mighty Oaks faced a non-region opponent Thursday they had already beaten once this season. It was the kind of matchup that, if they weren’t focused or still wallowing in their loss at No. 12 Union on Tuesday, could have been a disaster.
No worries here. The Mighty Oaks were as focused and dominant as they’d been in a game all season. They nearly broke the scoreboard and they did break Williamson School of Trades 99-59.
It was a good cleanse going into Saturday’s Black-Out home game with No. 14 Northampton (17-2), the team directly ahead of the fourth-place Mighty Oaks in the Region XIX standings.
“They (Williamson) gave us a hell of a game at their home, so we knew not to take them lightly,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “You have to respect your opponent, but also you have to respect yourselves, so you want to be at your best playing against anybody.
“It’s about having your guys prepared mentally. There ain’t no light games. You only have 56 games guaranteed here, you don’t have time to be taking any games off. And now we’re getting coaches in the stands, recruiters in the stands, so you want to be at your best at all times.”
They have another potential trap game next week when they play Luzerne (currently 4-11) between CC of Philadelphia, currently fifth in the Region XIX standings, and current region No. 2 Montgomery County CC.
Thursday’s game against the Mechanics (12-8) started with Jyheim Spencer throwing down an alley-oop pass from Xavier Brewington and the Mighty Oaks (16-5) were off and running.
Salem CC guard Tivon Woolford pulls up for a shot in Thursday’s game against Williamson School of Trades. (Photo by John Holt)
They put four scorers in double figures, got everybody appreciable minutes and everybody who played scored. They scored from everywhere, hitting 10 3-pointers as a team and getting 48 points in the paint. They are currently tenth in the nation (JUCO Division III) in scoring and fourth in made 3-pointers per game.
“This is how we want to play, man,” Green said. “The numbers are exactly how we want to play.”
Tivon Woolford led the 3-point parade. He tied his career-high with three in the first half and finished going 4-for-6 from behind the arc in a 14-point game. His first 3 gave Salem its first 10-point lead, his second made it 31-18 and his third put them up 38-22 shortly before halftime.
His shooting percentage behind the arc is better this year than it was as a freshman, but he was only 1-for-8 in his previous four games and hadn’t hit more than one in the previous 10 (5-for-23).
“My time was to come,” Woolford said. “Lately my shot hasn’t been falling. I guess today was a lucky day for me to knock the shot down.
“Every day before a game I wake up thinking I’ll have a good game and thinking I’ll do great every shot I can. In warmups it wasn’t falling, but in the game it was falling, so I guess it worked out. I can’t wait for the next one to show I can keep shooting. I want to show everybody I can really shoot, for real.”
When the Mighty Oaks weren’t hitting from the outside, they were attacking the basket. Bigs Spencer, leading scorer Akeem Taylor (16), Stefan Phillips and Taje’e Jordan combined for 39 points and were 18-of-35 from the field.
“We’re much bigger than everybody else and we can all play inside-out so everybody just goes inside,” Spencer said. “Coach is like ‘Go inside.’ Every time we play team smaller than us we just go straight inside. That’s really the game plan – everything inside. Make them foul us, hit foul shots.”
SALEM CC 99, WILLIAMSON TRADES 59 WILLIAMSON TRADES (12-8): A’Jaad White 0-1 0-0 0, Robert Wiley 7-19 6-6 23, Ronald Johnson 6-11 3-4 15, Jordan Draine 4-6 0-0 9, Semaj Cherry 4-10 2-4 10, Amir McIntosh 0-1 0-0 0, Dakiah Barlow 0-2 0-0 0, Ahmad Garvin 0-0 0-0 0, Nadir Ali 1-4 0-1 2. Totals 22-54 11-15 59. SALEM CC (16-5): Tyrese Fortune 2-6 2-4 7, Xavier Brewington 4-8 3-3 12, Akeem Taylor 8-15 0-0 16, Stefan Phillips 4-7 0-0 8, Jaheim Spencer 4-7 1-3 9, Dontarius Jones 4-7 1-2 10, Tamir Powell 0-5 0-0 0, A.J. Jones 3-4 2-3 9, Tivon Woolford 4-7 2-2 14, Josh Ramos 3-7 0-0 8, Taje’e Jordan 2-6 2-2 8. Totals 38-80 13-19 99.
Williamson Trades
25
34-
59
Salem CC
40
59-
99
3-point goals: Williamson Trades 4-10 (Wiley 3-5, Draine 1-2, Cherry 0-1, McIntosh 0-1, Barlow 0-1); Salem 10-24 (Fortune 1-2, Brewington 1-4, Taylor 0-1, Spencer 0-1, D. Jones 1-2, Powell 0-2, A. Jones 1-1, Woolford 4-6 Ramos 2-5). Rebounds: Williamson Trades 31 (White 9, Ali 6); Salem 45 (Spencer 15, Brewington 6). Fouled out: Powell. Total fouls: Williamson Trades 15, Salem 20.
Cover photo of Taje’e Jordan battling down low by John Holt
Penns Grove delivers down the stretch to win wild one at Clayton; Bialecki, Woodstown bounce back at Gloucester Catholic; 3 county girls move closer to 1,000, and more
THURSDAY GIRLS GAMES
THURSDAY BOYS GAMES
Penns Grove 58, Clayton 41
Penns Grove 83, Clayton 78
Schalick 24, Pitman 19
Pitman 78, Schalick 52
Pennsville 71, Salem 18
Salem 80, Pennsville 41
Overbrook 42, Salem Tech 41
Woodstown 78, Gloucester Catholic 31
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CLAYTON — They didn’t quite get to the number coach Damian Ware suggested when he reminded his players of the test they were going to face, but it was the track meet he predicted. And Jameel Horace was there for them at the finish line.
Horace converted three layups in the final 40 seconds after a go-ahead 3-pointer by B.J. Robbins and Penns Grove escaped the fast pace at Clayton with an 83-78 victory Thursday for their fourth win in a row.
Ware told his team the night before to be prepared to score 100. They might have done it, too, if they hadn’t gotten complacent with a big lead and turned it over so much in the second half that allowed the Clippers to rally.
The Red Devils led by 20 in the second half and 15 to start the fourth quarter, but behind its all-gas, no-brakes approach Clayton came all the way back and tied the game at 74 with 1:05 to play.
Robbins hit his big 3-pointer with 56 seconds left and that put the Red Devils (6-7) up for good.
“That was a huge shot by him, the biggest shot of the game,” Ware said. “He’s been stepping up lately and he’s really coming around. He’s starting to take the bull by the horns in clutch moments and get the job done.”
The Clippers got a layup to make it 77-76 with 42.6 second left and that’s when Horace became Jameel-on-the-spot. He scored on a run-out layup out of a timeout. Karon Ceaser made a steal on the next play and sent Horace off on another run out. Clayton hit a layup to make it 81-78 and then Horace scored again down low inside 15 seconds to seal it.
Horace finished with 14 points. Ceaser led Penns Grove with 26 points. Roman Gipson had 22 and Robbins had 15. Clayton’s Demetris Williams led all scorers with 27 points.
“This is a game where we grew up a little bit,” Ware said. “It could have easily gone from a tie game to Clayton being up four, but we made the plays at the end of the game to win the game.
“We made the game-winning plays and that’s one of the things we’ve been stressing all season – to make game-winning plays in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter is winning time, so you’ve got to make the plays that are solid and that’s kind of what we did in that last minute or so. We figured out how to win a game in the clutch today.”
PENNS GROVE 83, CLAYTON 78 PENNS GROVE (6-7): B.J. Robbins 6 0-0 15, Roman Gipson 8 4-6 22, Karon Ceaser 12 1-2 26, Antoine Robinson 1 0-0 2, Jameel Horace 7 0-0 14, Will Roy 1 0-0 2, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2. Totals 36 5-8 83. CLAYTON (6-7): Princeton Sackor 4 4-8 12, Nazir Davis 6 0-0 12, Demetris Williams 13 1-1 27, Josiel Figueroa-Marrero 1 0-0 2, James Fritz 3 1-1 7, Jackson Venuto 4 0-0 10, Nasir Carter 2 0-0 4, Isaiah Aviles 2 0-0 4. Totals 35 6-10 78.
SALEM 80, PENNSVILLE 41: Xavier McGriff scored a career-high 21 points and Tymear Lecator scored 19 with six assists and a career-high seven steals to lead the Rams.
McGriff’s night was highlighted by 6-for-9 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers. His previous career high was 14 against West Tech earlier this season. Lecator’s night was highlighted by a career-high five 3-pointers. He made four in a row at one point.
A’Zhone Burden had seven points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Antwuan Rogers grabbed 10 rebounds.
WOODSTOWN 78, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 31: Wolverines junior Blake Bialecki had an eventful day. He scored a career-high 28 points on the strength of 6-for-9 shooting from 3-point range and then after a quick change in the gym and drive back to Woodstown was installed as a member of the National Honor Society.
“It was definitely a very fun day,” he said.
Bialecki hit three 3s without missing in the first half as the Wolverines opened a 39-16 lead and three in the fourth quarter. His previous career high was 26 points against Salem Tech. He hit seven 3-pointers in that game.
“This one definitely felt better because it was against a better team and it was kind of must-win game for us after taking a tough loss yesterday,” he said. “It was a game we knew we needed.”
The Wolverines (8-4) matched their season-high with 12 3-pointers as a team. The win was a big rebound for them after a tough loss at Penns Grove the day before.
“We definitely bounced back,” Bialecki said. “It was the best response I’ve ever had in this sport personally.”
In addition to their second-highest scoring output of the season, the Wolverines did a masterful job defensively on Jack Mustaro, holding the Rams’ all-time leading scorer to just seven points. It was only the second time in 50 games Mustaro has been held out of double digits and the first time since Rancocas Valley held him to seven in December 2023.
“We had a game plan for Mustaro and we executed it really well,” Bialecki said. “We didn’t have (a dedicated) someone just deny him. We played our normal defense but if he came into a person’s zone, they denied him, if he went to another person’s zone, they denied him, and if he went to another person’s zone, they denied him. It was more of a team effort. It wasn’t just one guy guarding him.”
WOODSTOWN (8-4): Eli Caesar 2 0-0 4, Garrett Leyman 3 0-0 7, Rocco String 5 4-6 14, Brayden Hall 1 2-2 4, Connor Miller 2 0-0 6, Alejandro Vazquez 2 0-0 6, Blake Bialecki 10 2-4 28, M.J. Hall 3 0-0 7, Sid Leevy 1 0-0 2. Totals 29 8-12 78. GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (6-9): Jordan Mendez 1 0-0 2, Gary Connelly 1 0-0 2, Ben Cook 1 3-4 5, Danny Zellner 3 2-2 8, Jack Pund 1 2-3 5, Jack Mustaro 2 2-2 7, Carlos Mendez 1 0-0 2, Andrew Ginipro 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 9-13 31.
Woodstown
20
19
17
22-
78
Gloucester Cath.
12
4
10
5-
31
3-point goals: Woodstown 12 (Leyman, Miller 2, Vazquez 2, Bialecki 6, M. Hall); Gloucester Catholic 2 (Pund, Mustaro).
PITMAN 78, SCHALICK 52: Reggie Allen poured in 27 points to match his season and career high, but the Cougars came up short and dropped their fourth straight. Nylan Sutton also scored in double figures for the Cougars (15).
Michael Fisicaro hit four of Pitman’s 11 3-pointers and led four Panther scorers in double figures with 21 points. Aiden Stranahan, a senior playing his first year of varsity with the Panthers, scored 20 points. Elijah Crispin had 15 points and Hudson Rue had a double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
PENNSVILLE 71, SALEM 18: Nora Ausland, shut out for the first time in her two years at Pennsville in her last game, got back in the scoring column and put up 24 in her first game against her old team to move within 34 points of 1,000 for her career.
Ausland started her high school career at Salem under current Pennsville coach Steve Merritt before transferring to the Eagles last season. She scored 462 points in two seasons with the Rams and her game Thursday put her over 500 for her time at Pennsville.
On her current pace, she’s projected to reach the milestone at home Jan. 28 against Overbrook.
Marley Wood hit four 3-pointers and scored 17 points and needs 105 to become the third member of her family to reach 1,000. Izzy Saulin added 11 points to the win.
The Eagles (9-3) shutout Salem in the first quarter 22-0. The Rams (1-11) were coming off their first win of the season. Carlysia Pierce, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the win, was Salem’s leading scorer Thursday with seven points.
3-point goals: Salem 4 (Prince, Hickman, Simmons 2); Pennsville 7 (Bass, Wood 4, N. Ausland 2). Total fouls: Salem 5, Pennsville 3
PENNS GROVE 56, CLAYTON 41: RaNiyah Wilson scored 30 or more points for the second straight game and closed the gap to 1,000 career points to less than 100 points. Wilson scored 30 points against the Clippers and now has 938 for her career.
It was her third 30-point game this season and sixth since coming to Penns Grove last season.
She’s on pace to hit the milestone on Jan. 30 at home against Wildwood.
Brianna Robbins also scored in double figures for Penns Grove with 17 points. She and Wilson combined for all 11 of the Red Devils’ points in the first quarter and all their points in the third as they extended a 23-20 halftime lead.
CLAYTON (8-4): Rainelle Blocker 6 6-11 18, Janice Blair 2 1-2 5, India Bryant 3 2-4 10, Ava Delaney 3 2-2 8, Rosa Pereira 0 0-0 0, India Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 11-19 41. PENNS GROVE (7-5): Mikayla Washington 1 1-2 3, Keziah Patterson 0 0-0 0, JaNiyah Cummings 2 0-2 4, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, Brianna Robbins 8 1-2 17, RaNiyah Wilson 13 0-0 30. Totals 24 4-8 56.
Clayton
8
12
8
13-
41
Penns Grove
11
12
17
16-
56
3-point goals: Clayton 2 (Bryant 2); Penns Grove 4 (Wilson 4). Fouled out: B. Robbins. Total fouls: Clayton 6, Penns Grove 13.
SCHALICK 24, PITMAN 19: Olivia Vanacker and Cali Fisler combined for 10 of their 15 points in the third quarter and the Cougars held their opponents to four points in the second half to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Cougars (3-7) trailed 15-8 at halftime, then outscored the Panthers 14-3 in the third to take the lead.
“We made a small adjustment offensively at halftime and the girls came out and executed it perfectly,” Schalick coach John Whalen said. “Defensively, we didn’t change anything. We ran our base zone defense and pressed the majority of the game.
“The girls got much more comfortable in the second half and were able to play with more aggression and confidence.”
Vanacker and Fisler led the Cougars with eight and seven points, respectively. In the third quarter, Whalen said, “both did a great job attacking space and getting quality looks.”
OVERBROOK 42, SALEM TECH 41: Demajae White scored a career-high 12 points and Shelby Liber and Shelby Drummond each had 11, but the Chargers just came up short. Liber, a freshman, hit three 3-pointers for Salem Tech.
Sophomore point guard Robbins directs second-half comeback that lifts Penns Grove over Woodstown; roundup includes Wednesday’s wrestling and track results
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – Winning Time is B.J. Robbins’ time.
Whenever the Penns Grove basketball team gets to the point in a game when it’s time to seal the deal, the Red Devils usually put the ball in Robbins’ hands and let him do his thing. And that’s handle the ball, direct the offense and keep them sharp.
The sophomore did his thing flawlessly in the last quarter and a half Wednesday and helped the Red Devils rally to beat Woodstown 70-56.
It extended their season-best winning streak to three games and elevated them to a first-round host position in the current South Jersey Group I power points standings despite a 5-7 record.
“I told Brandin when it’s winning time you are the guy who is going to control the game and that’s kind of what he did at the end of the game,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said. “He controlled the game, dribbled the ball out, made some great passes to his teammates for assists and we got the easy layups out of it.”
Winning time as defined by Ware is the fourth quarter when the Red Devils are ahead and looking to put the game away, but Robbins got a jump on it in the third quarter when the Red Devils needed somebody to lead the charge back.
Woodstown (7-4) opened the second half with a 12-3 run that threatened to break the game open. But the Red Devils weren’t worried because in the time out Ware called there to settle things down he reminded his players three of the baskets were run-out layups because they were over-pressuring the ball and it allowed the Wolverines to leak out.
The other two buckets in the run were 3-pointers by Alejandro Vasquez, who wrapped the Wolverines’ first eight points of the half around a 3 by Robbins.
If the Red Devils just tightened that up and cut out the offensive rebounds, Ware told them, those things wouldn’t happen and they would wind up winning by double digits. That’s exactly what happened.
The Red Devils (5-7) came out of the time out, did the things Ware reminded them of, and went on a 20-6 run to a feisty end of the quarter to take the lead. At least three times in the run Robbins dazzled the defenders trying to trap him at midcourt with a dazzling display of dribbling before zipping off a sharp pass down low to Jameel Horace who put them up and in.
“I just trusted my teammates,” Robbins said. “I knew they believed in me.”
“The main thing with Brandin is playing aggressive and getting him downhill,” Ware said. “We’ve been working with him all season to be more aggressive. I actually took him out the lineup a couple times, worked him in and out, because he wasn’t giving me what I needed. We had a couple conversation and I told him what we needed and he said ‘I’m ready coach. I got it.’ Ever since then he’s kind of taken the mantle of being more aggressive.”
Robbins finished with 13 points and six assists against the Wolverines. In his last two games he has scored 24 points and dished 14 assists. Roman Gipson led Penns Grove with 19, 13 in the second half. Karon Ceaser had 17. Ceaser is averaging 17.7 ppg during the winning streak and 17 in his last four games.
“He controlled it,” Woodstown coach Ramon Roots said of Robbins. “He just controlled it throughout the whole game and in the second half, like good coaches do, they put it in their point guard’s hands.
“He’s definitely a tough player. He’s a floor general. We tried to bother him the best way we could, but he didn’t really turn the ball over down the stretch. He did a very good job controlling the game and controlling the ball. That’s why I preach to my guys we just can’t turn over the ball (and) put ourselves in a hole.”
Rocco String led Woodstown with 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Vasquez finished with a career-high 16. He’s averaging 12.5 ppg over his last four games.
“He’s been shooting it well, shooting it with confidence,” Roots said of Vasquez.
PENNS GROVE 70, WOODSTOWN 56 WOODSTOWN (7-4) – Eli Caesar 1 2-3 3, Blake Bialecki 2 3-4 8, Alejandro Vasquez 6 0-0 16, M.J. Hall 2 0-0 5, Garrett Leyman 2 0-0 4, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0, Rocco String 9 0-2 18, Brayden Hall 0 1-2 1. Totals 22 6-11 56. PENNS GROVE (5-7) – Karon Ceaser 7 1-1 17, B.J. Robbins 3 5-6 13, Will Roy 3 1-2 7, Jameel Horace 5 0-1 10, Luis Colon 0 0-0 0, Roman Gipson 7 3-7 19, Antoine Robinson 2 0-0 4. Totals 27 10-17 70.
Woodstown
14
11
18
13-
56
Penns Grove
10
18
23
19-
70
3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki, Vasquez 4, M. Hall); Penns Grove 6 (Ceaser 2, Robbins 2, Gipson 2). Rebounds: Woodstown 33 (String 9, M. Hall 6, Caesar 6); Penns Grove 20 (Caeser 5, Robinson 5). Technical fouls: Horace, M. Hall. Fouled out: M. Hall, Garrett. Total fouls: Woodstown 16, Penns Grove 22.
Wrestling
WEDNESDAY’S MATCHES Gloucester Catholic at Salem
SCHALICK 65, CLAYTON/GLASSBORO 5 126: Luke Silva (S) won by forfeit 132: Ryan Miller (S) tech fall over Antonio Mendez, 19-0 (3:47) 138: William Camp (CG) maj. dec. over Michael Baisch, 17-3 144: Colin Bittle (S) pinned Matthew Kamara, 1:35 150: Koen Martin (S) over Steven Benkert, SV-1 6-3 157: Riley Papiano (S) dec. Brodie Carey, 4-1 165: Eric Sulik (S) pinned Kenneth Johnson, 4:36 175: Ricky Watt (S) won by forfeit 190: Evan Elliott (S) pinned Jeffrey Smith, 3:28 215: Gerardo Felipe (S) pinned Michael Nichols, 2:43 285: Kasalon Carr (CG) dec. Julian Reid, 5-0 106: Emma Cain (S) won by forfeit 113: Caleb Jenkins (S) pinned Joshua Wentz, 1:29 120: E’Shion Underwood (S) pinned Cayden Wentz, 1:18 NOTE: Clayton/Glassboro penalized 2 team points (misconduct)
TIMBER CREEK 46, PENNSVILLE 27 157: Mason Dickerson (TC) won by forfeit 165: Ryan Kuriger (TC) won by forfeit 175: Zyeir Green (TC) pinned Joseph Halstead, 2:19 190: Amir Reason-Dallas (TC) tech fall over Connor Ayars, 19-4 215: Elijah Green (TC) won by forfeit 285: Trevor Waddington (P) dec. Roland Green, 3-1 106: Jariel Colon (P) won by forfeit 113: Brett Land (P) pinned Dylan Bass, 1:52 120: Matthew Steele (TC) tech fall over Mekhi Dicks, 19-4 126: Christopher Daniels (P) dec. Ayden Zarnosky, 9-4 132: Nathaniel Mason (P) pinned Dylan Kennison 138: Gave Supernavage (P) dec. Matt Cordova, 11-4 144: Eric Rambaran (TC) won by forfeit 150: Joey Walker (TC) won by forfeit
WOODSTOWN 72, OVERBROOK 9 175: Greyson Hyland (WO) pinned Angel Martinez, 0:58 190: Paul Banff (WO) pinned Davian Santiago, 2:46 215: Walter Carter (WO) pinned Cooper Himes, 5:53 285: Tomas Sanchez (O) dec. Bradley Snitcher, 10-3 106: Hunter Allen (WO) pinned Jacob Sole, 0:14 113: Kayden Branco (O) pinned Jadon Middlemiss 120: Carson Bradway (WO) pinned Michael Mahon, 2:18 126: Travis Balback (WO) pinned Kevyn Reed, 0:34 132: Alex Torres (WO) pinned Alan Marcos, 1:02 138: Louie Scholl (WO) won by forfeit 144: Angel Hernandez (WO) won by forfeit 150: Thomas Lacy (WO) pinned Karter Reed, 2:20 157: Brett Rowand (WO) won by forfeit 165: Laitton Roberts (WO) pinned Oscar Calderon, 1:39
Track
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS SJTCA Meet No. 13 at Ott Center, Philadelphia
Salem’s Anthony Parker posted qualifying marks for the New Balance Nationals later this year in Boston when he won the long jump (22-0.5) and finished second in the 55 hurdles (7.64). Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield won the girls 3200.
(Salem County Top 6 finishers) GIRLS 3200: 1. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick, 10:56.66 Pole vault: T-3. Megan Morris, Pennsville, 9-6 BOYS 400: 3. David Stewart, Schalick, 50.30 55 hurdles: 2. Anthony Parker, Salem, 7.64 Long jump: 1. Anthony Parker, Salem, 22-0.5 Triple jump: 5. DaviYonn Jackson, Salem, 42-11.25
SJTCA Meet No. 14 at Bennett Center, Toms River
Woodstown’s Josh Crawford had a big day. He won the boys 800, finished second in the 400 and helped the Wolverines’ 4×400 relay team finish second. Woodstown’s Kami Casiano won the girls high jump and Pennsville’s Molly Gratz won the girls pole vault.
(Salem County Top 6 finishers) GIRLS 400: 3. Jaime Deal, Woodstown, 1:02.11 1600: 6. Samantha Sterner, Woodstown, 5:55.01 4×400: 4. Woodstown (Sarah Seiden, Lia Coverly, Kayla Ayars, Jaime Deal), 4:32.23 High jump: 1. Kami Casiano, Woodstown, 5-0 Pole vault: 1. Molly Gratz, Pennsville, 7-6 BOYS 400: 2. Josh Crawford, Woodstown, 52.04 800: 1. Josh Crawford, Woodstown, 2:03.97 4×400: 2. Woodstown (Cole Lucas, Karson Chew, Anthony Costello, Josh Crawford), 3:41.15
Salem CC men have chance to make a statement, but come up short at region-leading Union; women fought out a win over Delaware Tech
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CRANFORD – The Salem CC basketball team had a chance to make a real statement in Region XIX and beyond Tuesday night, but just dug too big a hole to escape.
Just hours after receiving some national notoriety, the Mighty Oaks faced the top team in the region. They fell behind by more than 25 points in the second half and although they rallied to close the gap they fell to No. 12 Union College 87-77.
“It was a test and we failed it – D-plus,” Salem coach Mike Green said as the team made its way back to Carneys Point. “I’m (not happy) because that, I believe, was our chance at the GSAC title. It’s pretty much out of reach now.”
The loss, which snapped a six-game winning streak, dropped the Mighty Oaks (15-5 overall, 12-3 in Region XIX and 9-3 in GSAC) two games behind the Owls (15-3/14-1/10-1) in the GSAC. It also dropped them into fourth place in the Region XIX Division III standings.
The Mighty Oaks already have clinched a spot in the region playoffs, and now are playing for the highest seed possible. They still have to play the two other teams directly ahead of them.
Earlier in the day, the Mighty Oaks were included in the JUCO Division III poll for the first time since they brought back the program. While they didn’t break into the top 15, they were listed among the other teams receiving votes.
Using the way those teams were listed as a guide, the Mighty Oaks would have been No. 18.
“Good to see someone notice the work we have been putting in,” Green said shortly after the poll was released. “We just have to keep our heads down and continue to work. We have big goals.”
The Mighty Oaks were on the way to justifying that consideration, leading their nationally ranked hosts by five eight minutes into the game. But over the next four and a half minutes the Owls went on a 17-1 run to take control of the game. Jeremiah Saint Jean and Kanye Brown combined for 11 of the first 13 points in the run.
Saint James finished with 14 points (all in the first half) and 15 rebounds. Brown had 12 points. Joseph Gargiulo was the Owls’ leading scorer with 20 points, all in the second half.
All five Union starters scored in double figures and were a combined 28-for-41 shooting from the floor. The Owls shot 63 percent from the field as a team in their close-quarters gym.
“Our ballhandlers were really shaky tonight, which destroyed our offense and put too much pressure on our defense” Green said.
The Owls led by 16 at halftime and stretched the margin to 27 midway through the second half. But then it was Salem’s turn to make a run. The Mighty Oaks put together a 26-9 charge to get within 10, 78-68, with 2:07 to play.
But they could never get it closer.
“I had to coach as if it was PlayStation – burn timeouts, draw up counters and rotate players,” Green said. “Our ballhandlers didn’t show up.”
The Mighty Oaks’ offense was led Akeem Taylor (27 points) and Tamir Powell (20), but no one else scored in double figures. They combined for 31 points in the second half. Jyheim Spencer was held to eight points, but grabbed 17 rebounds.
UNION 87, SALEM CC 77 SALEM CC (15-5) – Akeem Taylor 11-21 3-5 27, Tamir Powell 6-15 5-6 20, Tyrese Fortune 4-6 0-1 9, Jyheim Spencer 3-12 2-5 8, A.J. Jones 3-8 1-3 7, Josh Ramos 2-5 0-0 6, Tajee Jordan 0-1 0-0 0, Tivon Woolford 0-4 0-0 0, Dontarius Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Xavier Brewington 0-2 0-0 0, Stefan Phillips 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-76 11-20 77. UNION (15-3) – Jayden Bates 4-9 5-7 16, Nicolas Acosta 5-8 4-8 14, Joseph Gargiulo 8-10 2-2 20, Kanye Brown 4-5 2-2 12, Jeremiah Saint Jean 7-9 0-0 14, David McKnight 4-9 1-2 11, Craig West 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-51 14-21.
Salem CC
29
48-
77
Union
45
42-
87
3-point goals: Salem CC 8-24 (Taylor 2-4, Powell 3-8, Fortune 1-1, A. Jones 0-2, Ramos 2-5, Woolford 0-2, D. Jones 0-1, Brewington 0-1); Union 9-20 (Bates 3-5, Gargiulo 2-5, Brown 2-5, McKnight 2-5). Rebounds: Salem CC 38 (Spencer 17); Union 47 (Acosta 13, Saint Jean 15). Fouled out: Brown. Total fouls: Salem CC 19, Union 21.
JUCO DIVISION III RANKINGS (Week 8, Jan. 21) 1. Riverland CC (20-0) 105 (9 first-place votes); 2. Mohawk Valley (14-0) 98; 3. Duchess CC (14-0) 91; 4. Joliet JC (15-4) 84; 5. Montgomery County (Pa.) CC (10-2) 77; 6. Herkimer (11-3) 70; 7. Sandhills CC (13-6) 63; 8. Northern Essex CC (16-2) 56; 9. Quincy (13-2) 49; 10. Dallas-Richland (13-7) 42; 11. Minnesota State C&TC (16-2) 35; 12. Union (14-3) 28; 13. Minnesota West C&TC (16-4) 15; 14. Northampton CC (16-2) 14; 15. Hostos CC (16-4) 4. Receiving votes: Dallas-North Lake, Genesee CC, Salem CC, CC of Philadelphia, SUNY Adirondack, Patrick & Henry CC, Virginia Peninsula CC.
Salem CC women ‘win ugly’
NEWARK, Del. – Salem CC women’s basketball coach Brian Marsh reached back to the wisdom of one his all-time favorite college coaches to describe his team’s 79-71 win at Delaware Tech.
“(Former Temple coach) John Chaney has a quote that says ‘I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty,’ so that’s how I take it,” Marsh said. “It was a game that tested us, for sure.”
No matter how it looked it was a win nonetheless and a mighty important one. It extended the Mighty Oaks’ winning streak to three as they continue their march to a Region XIX playoff berth, it put them over .500 for the season and it allowed them to match their win total of last year’s revival season with games remaining to play.
Teams .500 or better either in region or overall play make the region tournament. The Mighty Oaks (9-8) have seven games left, meaning they only have to win three of them to make the playoff field. Two of those remaining games are against the top two teams in the region, including the No. 4 team in the country.
“I think they’re starting to understand the magnitude of the games that we’re playing,” Marsh said. “I told them the expectations are higher, so I’m going to expect more out of you, and I think they’re starting to understand what they need to do every day at practice and in games.”
Del Tech didn’t play like a first-year team still looking for its first win. The Spirit were scoring and hitting shots at an unexpected clip in the first half and led the Mighty Oaks 45-40 at the break.
“I just talked to the team and said this is a game we have to win on the road,” Marsh said. “It was more an energy and effort thing again.
“They gave us a run for our money. It was a gut check or a pride check. How are we going to handle this one on the road? Are we going to step up? I thought we toughed it out in the second half and came out with the win.”
Nyaijah Jackson led the Mighty Oaks with 21 points and five assists. Maggie St. Clair had 14 points, Pennsville’s Caroline Zullo 12 and Kathryn Laurence 10.
Here are the results and details of Tuesday night’s high school basketball games involving Salem County teams
TUESDAY GIRLS GAMES
TUESDAY BOYS GAMES
Pennsville 39, Glassboro 34
Glassboro 87, Pennsville 30
Woodstown 68, Penns Grove 52
Woodstown at Penns Grove (Wed.)
Salem Tech at Salem
Salem 71, Salem Tech 10
Overbrook 34, Schalick 29
Overbrook 80, Schalick 39
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — In the world of high school basketball, you either win big, lose or escape. The Pennsville girls “escaped” Tuesday night.
The Eagles and Glassboro battled through four quarters until Pennsville made the plays that put it over the top 39-34 to get back on the winning track after last week’s Diamond Division showdown loss at Woodstown.
“We escaped tonight,” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “If (Glassboro’s Kezia Brackett) had hit that 3 there at the end we’d have a tied ballgame. We were fortunate that didn’t happen.”
There were a number of factors that led to the game going the way it did. First of all, there was Glassboro’s defense, which may have been the most tenacious Pennsville has seen all season. And the shots that seemingly fell from everywhere at Woodstown didn’t fall at home against the Bulldogs and admittedly took the Eagles out of their rhythm.
But when one aspect of the game isn’t working you have make up for it in other ways.
The Eagles did it by getting on the boards. They collected 28 rebounds in the game, with freshman Jaida Burns getting eight and Marley Wood and Nora Ausland grabbing six apiece.
“I harped pre-game that it was absolutely critical that we get some rebounds,” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “I talked to my two girls in the middle and told them they need to stay in that middle and I spoke to the guards and let them know when you’re not shooting you need to get in there and get after a rebound.”
Ausland was held scoreless for the first time in her Pennsville career as she marches towards 1,000 career points, but she helped the Eagles in other ways, especially down the stretch. She had three rebounds in the fourth quarter, two steals in the final two minutes when it was still a two-point game and delivered a sharp assist to Burns for the win-sealing layup with 8.2 seconds left.
Marley Wood got the Eagles going with 12 points in the first quarter and she finished with a game-high 16. Taylor Bass had 10 points. Freshman Addie Johnston had seven, including a buzzer-beater in the third quarter that gave Pennsville a 31-28 lead.
The Bulldogs were playing without Tamia Smith. The senior was sidelined with a shoulder injury, one point shy of becoming the fifth-leading scorer in Glassboro history.
WOODSTOWN 68, PENNS GROVE 52: The Wolverines extended a number of streaks in what coach Matt Smart called a game of “stepping up,” one in which several players stepped up to fill roles that evolved as the game wore on.
It was Woodstown’s seventh straight win. It also was their 38th in a row over TCC Diamond Division opponents and 34th straight against Salem County rivals.
“We went into the game with our third starting lineup of the year due to sickness,” Smart said. “Emma Perry, who has been a stalwart for our team this year, came into the starting lineup and played great defense with a couple steals and then knocked down some big shots for us in the second quarter.
“She’s always so stoic on the basketball court, just doing her job, but today she had a big smile on her face after making some big plays.”
Megan Donelson hit five 3-pointers and led Woodstown with 24 points to become only the third player in program history with 1,400 points. Lauren Hengel had a career-high 17 points – nine in the second quarter – and Talia Battavio had 13 to remain ahead of her high-scoring teammate on the school’s all-time scoring list.
“Talia went down in the first quarter, which caused Donelson to pick up her game,” Smart said. “She was attacking the basket, knocking down big 3s and making incredible passes to teammates. Where she stepped up her game was on the defensive end and her leadership.
“She constantly puts her body on the line and today she took two big charges. She gave girls like Emma, Kendall Young and Bryn Ecret the confidence to enter the game in critical moments and make some big plays.”
Perry and Young each had a pair of buckets in the second quarter when the Wolverines started pulling away.
Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson led all scorers with a career-high 35 points to move over 900 for her career. It was her fifth career 30-point game and second this year. She had six second-half 3-pointers, four in the fourth quarter to try to bring the Red Devils back.
Smart praised her as a “phenomenal player who can score the ball from anywhere over half court.”
3-point goals: Penns Grove 7 (Wilson 6, B. Robbins). Woodstown 6 (Battavio, Donelson 5). Fouled out: Cummings. Total fouls: Penns Grove 13, Woodstown 9. Officials: Cooper, Brown.
OVERBROOK 34, SCHALICK 29: Jael Pressley scored 15 points and Gianna Simon had 13 to lead Overbrook. Pressley attacked the basket and went 7-of-21 from the free throw line.
Schalick (2-7)
8
7
4
10-
29
Overbrook (3-10)
6
12
7
9-
34
Boys games
SALEM 71, SALEM TECH 10: Xavier McGriff led three players in double figures and 10 scorers with 13 points as the Rams swamped the Chargers. Tymear Lecator and Antwuan Rogers had 10 points apiece.
Salem Tech (0-13)
2
2
4
2-
10
Salem (6-8)
26
18
19
10-
71
GLASSBORO 87, PENNSVILLE 30 Xavier Sabb scored 28 points, Kenny Smith scored 27 and the Bulldogs scored more than enough points in the first quarter to hand the Eagles their ninth straight loss.
Sabb and Smith both hit three 3-pointers in the game. They had four of the six the Bulldogs hit in the first quarter as they opened a 35-3 lead. Sabb scored 12 points in the quarter, while Smith and Aiden Harris each had eight.
Jovanni Rios led Pennsville with eight points. Arturus Franzy had four points, but had seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
Penns Grove puts three scorers in double figures, wins second game in a row for first time this season
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODBURY – The Penns Grove basketball team took a significant step towards their long-range season goal Monday when it beat Burlington City 69-45 in the MLK Showcase at Woodbury High School.
It was the Red Devils’ second straight win constituting their first winning streak of the season. It may not seem like much, but the fact wasn’t lost on coach Damian Ware.
“It’s funny; I told my coaches on the bus that’s our first two-game winning streak all season,” Ware said. “It means a lot because to string wins together is tough, especially with the competition level we play in the non-conference. Our non-conference schedule is always loaded up with biggest schools and prep schools, so it’s tough to string wins together.
“But the goal for me in the regular season is to prepare the team for the second half of the season. Some teams, you want to play and you want to rack up wins. You play lower competition you can rack up wins, but my goal is not to rack up wins, the goal is to prepare the kids for the tough stretch at the end of the season.
“It’s hard to get wins early in the season for us because we’re playing tougher teams, but as we move into our conference and our schedule now, you want to start trying to put wins together. That builds that confidence. The thing about our team now is we’re playing with a lot of camaraderie. We’re really starting to play together now. We’re really starting to understand it.”
Despite having the weakest overall record among the top 12 teams, the Red Devils (4-7) currently sit ninth in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. They play current No. 5 Woodstown in their next game Wednesday night.
The Red Devils placed three scorers in double figures – Karon Ceaser (17), Roman Gipson (16) and Brandin Robbins (13). Ceaser is averaging 18 points a game in the winning streak, 17.0 over the last three games.
They took control of this one with a big start and closed it out with a big finish. They opened a 17-6 lead in the first quarter and finished with a 17-7 fourth. They could have had a similar run in the second had they protected the ball better, but they got moving too fast for their own good and had several turnovers that Burlington City turned into runout layups to play them even.
“The first quarter I always stress to the kids coming out with energy,” Ware said. “There were times in other games where we came out slow and let teams jump on us. I always stress we want to be a team that jumps out on them. That’s part of understanding it and they’re starting to really understand the concepts we teach daily and it’s starting to show on the court now.
“In the fourth quarter we just controlled the game. We ran the clock a little bit and made some really good plays and our defense caused some turnovers as well because they were trying to rush (to get back in it) and we got run-out layups. We learned how to break their press in the fourth quarter.”
MLK SHOWCASE PENNS GROVE 69, BURLINGTON CITY 45 PENNS GROVE (4-7) – Brandin Robbins 6-1-13, Roman Gipson 7-0-16, Karon Ceaser 6-3-17, Antoine Robinson 2-0-4, Jameel Horace 3-0-6, William Roy 4-0-8, Caleb Fowler 1-0-2, Mishawn Brantley 1-1-3. Totals 30-5-65. BURLINGTON CITY (7-6) – Chase Downs 4 1-2 10, Jason Brown 7 0-0 14, Jamie Lambing 1 1-2 4, Giper Cosmio 1 2-2 5, Rashard Newkirk 3 0-0 6, Jarrett James 1 4-4 6. Totals 17 8-10 45.
Penns Grove
17
21
14
17-
69
Burlington City
6
20
12
7-
45
3-point goals: Penns Grove 4 (Gipson 2, Ceaser 2); Burlington City 3 (Downs, Lambing, Cosmio).
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 19-25
JAN. 20 BOYS BASKETBALL Penns Grove vs. Burlington City at Woodbury, 11 a.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Bridgeton at Pennsville, 11 a.m. BOWLING Salem vs. Cinnaminson at Laurel Lanes JAN. 21 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Woodstown Salem Tech at Salem Schalick at Overbrook BOYS BASKETBALL Overbrook at Schalick, 7 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro Salem at Salem Tech BOWLING Salem vs. ACIT at Wood Lanes Salem Tech vs. Collingswood at Wood Lanes SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Pitman at GCIT, 3 p.m. MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Union College, 7 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Delaware Tech, 6 p.m. JAN. 22 BOYS BASKETBALL Woodstown at Penns Grove WRESTLING Schalick at Clayton Gloucester Catholic at Salem Timber Creek at Pennsville Woodstown at Overbrook TRACK Pennsville, Penns Grove, Woodstown at Bennett Center, Toms River Salem, Schalick at Ott Center, Philadelphia BOWLING Salem Tech vs. Clayton
JAN. 23 GIRLS BASKETBALL Clayton at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Pitman at Schalick Salem at Pennsville Salem Tech at Overbrook BOYS BASKETBALL Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4:30 p.m. Pennsville at Salem Penns Grove at Clayton Schalick at Pitman SWIMMING Salem vs. Schalick at GCIT, 6 p.m. BOWLING Salem vs. Lindenwold at Wood Lanes Salem Tech in NJTAC MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Williamson Trades at Salem CC, 4 p.m. JAN. 24 GIRLS BASKETBALL Buena at Salem, 4 p.m. GCIT at Salem Tech Pennsville at Delsea, 7 p.m. SJIBT Tournament Shawnee at Woodstown BOYS BASKETBALL Salem Tech at Buena WRESTLING Woodstown at Pennsville JAN. 25 GIRLS BASKETBALL Penns Grove at OLMA, 11 a.m. Schalick at Camden County Tech, 11:30 a.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Camden County Tech at Schalick, 11:30 a.m. Pennsville at Clearview, 11:30 a.m. West Deptford at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m. WRESTLING Salem, Timber Creek, Lower Cape May at Haddon Heights Schalick, Holy Spirit, Toms River North at Vineland Clayton, Millville at Penns Grove Woodstown, Hillsborough, West Essex at Watchung Hills SWIMMING SJISA Championships at GCIT, 4 p.m. TRACK Schalick at Bennett Center, Toms River BOWLING Salem vs. Eastern at 30 Strikes MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Northampton CC at Salem CC, 2 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Middlesex at Salem CC, noon
St. Clair’s layup gives Salem CC women the lead, then they hold on as Essex had two chances to win but couldn’t beat the clock for the game-winner.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
NEWARK – The Salem CC women’s basketball team kept its drive for a playoff berth on track Saturday thanks in part to one of the basic rules of the game. Good thing for the Mighty Oaks college games are 40 minutes long, not 40 minutes and one second.
ST. CLAIR
The Mighty Oaks got back to .500 for the fourth time this season Saturday with a 76-75 win over Essex CC. The Wolverines played beat the clock and the Mighty Oaks won.
Sophomore guard Maggie St. Clair got a steal and layup with 30 seconds left to give Salem the lead and the Mighty Oaks held their collective breath as the Wolverines had an open look for the win but couldn’t get it off before the horn.
“Another second we would’ve lost,” Salem coach Brian Marsh said. “We’ve had some of those games where they went the other way, so it’s really nice to be on this end of it.”
The Mighty Oaks could never shake their hosts. They led by four at halftime and would go up eight to 10 points and the 3-9 Wolverines would keep coming back.
There was relatively speaking a lot of time left after St. Clair put the Mighty Oaks ahead. Essex brought it back down and missed a shot. The Mighty Oaks rebounded with five seconds left and called time to get the ball to midcourt. It looked like it was over there.
But Caroline Zullo got into the backcourt on the inbounds play giving Essex the ball at midcourt with one last chance. The Mighty Oaks trapped the shooter in the corner and forced her to take an off-balance 3-pointer that went long.
The Wolverines caught the rebound wide open on the other side, but horn went off before they could get off the putback.
LAURENCE
St. Clair finished with 20 points. Kathryn Laurence erupted for a career-high 26 on the strength of dix 3-pointers, tying her career high a career-high. She had been 1-for-7 behind the arc in each of her previous two games.
“Kathryn was lights out,” Marsh said. “The last couple games she’s really struggled shooting. I told her before, you’re a shooter, you’re going to make it; you’re going to get hot.
“It’s just a confidence thing with her. We’ve been working with her. She hit the first one and it kind of got her going. She was just really looking for her shot. And the couple 2s she hit I think her foot was on the line. She was really going.”
The win brought the Mighty Oaks to 8-8 with eight games to play so they’ll have to go at least 4-4 down the stretch to make the playoffs. Teams either .500 overall or .500 in Region XIX make it to the postseason.
“We know what’s at stake here, but I am trying to take it one game at a time,” Marsh said. “You can’t make the playoffs all in one game. We’re just trying to take it one game at a time and this isa huge one on the road.
“As I told them, they came to our place and got a win, so now it’s our turn to go to their place and get a win, and that’s exactly what we did.”
3-point goals: Salem CC 9 (Laurence 6, St. Clair 2, Zullo); Essex CC 6 (Coar 4, Avecillas 2). Fouled out: Chambers, Lynch. Total fouls: Salem CC 18, Essex CC 15.
Mighty Oaks pull away from tight game in final two minutes, working through a needed challenge for the gauntlet that lies ahead
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The game was a lot closer than anybody wearing green and grey would have liked, but considering what the Salem CC basketball team is about to run into it was probably the best thing that could happen to it.
The Mighty Oaks head into the most demanding stretch of the season, one that will determine their starting point in the Region XIX playoffs, when they play the other four top five teams in their next six games, starting with region-leading Union Tuesday night.
Some might say that stretch started Saturday with an 88-81 win over Passaic, which played said Union to a two-point game its last time out.
After Saturday’s games around the league, they remain third in the Region XIX standings by winning percentage, but second behind Union based on games behind the leader. (See the updated standings elsewhere on the website)
Over the next 17 days the Mighty Oaks (15-4) play at Union (1), Northampton (4), at CC of Philadelphia (5) and at Montgomery (2) with a couple trap games with Williamson Trades (12-7) and Luzerne (4-9) in between. They won the first five games of their current season-best six-game winning streak by an average of 33.4 points with a couple 60-point blowouts and might have started getting comfortable with their position so a game like Saturday provided a reminder of what it’s like to be challenged.
“We’ve never been in a position like that,” freshman double-double machine Jyheim Spencer said. “It’s always we’re blowing teams out, we’re blowing teams out. We needed that type of challenge to where the game is close so we could see how we reacted. I feel we reacted well.”
“We needed this,” added sophomore Akeem Taylor. “The best teams always put on the toughest game. Some games aren’t going to be that pretty. A lot of games are ugly that you win, but the good teams always pull them out.”
The Panthers (9-9) matched Salem’s athleticism and gave the Mighty Oaks all they could handle. Before the start of the second half, Panthers coach Anthony Virgil reminded his team of the importance of the first five minutes, but they lost it in the final two minutes.
Salem CC’s Akeem Taylor (24) drives to the basket during his big second half Saturday against Passaic County CC. Taylor had his first double-double with the Mighty Oaks and second 30-point game. (Photo by John Holt)
It was tight throughout the second half with neither team holding what would be a comfortable lead. The Mighty Oaks took the lead for good 76-75 on a Tyrese Fortune free throw with 2:31 to play, then outscored the Panthers 12-6 over the final 1:51 to nail it down.
“They challenged us big time, maybe moreso than anybody in a long while,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “We responded. In those last two minutes our guys buckled down and they executed.”
The separation started with a three-point play by Taylor and included a thunderous dunk by the sophomore with 24 seconds left that provided a watershed moment for the player. After the three-point play, he blocked a shot on the other end that sent Tamir Powell off on a breakaway layup. Taylor hit another free throw to make it 82-75, the delivered the death blow.
“I hadn’t dunked in a long time because of my ankle, so when I saw I was open I was like this is the one,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to dunk like that next game but I needed that one. I was like this is the one. My eyes lit up.”
Taylor and Spencer both had double-doubles. It was Taylor’s first and Spencer’s fourth. They both joined the team off the injured list Jan. 7, five games ago.
Taylor had 32 points – 22 in the second half – and 11 rebounds. He hit 13 of 22 shots from the floor (8-of-10 in the second half) and also had six assists and three blocked shots.
Spencer grabbed almost every rebound in the first five minutes of the game and despite playing on a balky ankle that had him noticeably limping by the end of the game finished with 10 points without missing a shot, 18 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. He’s had three straight double-doubles.
“That’s my role on the team, to run the floor, block shots and get the rebounds for my teammates; that’s really my role on the court,” Spencer said. “My ankle was so messed up so I’m trying to focus on something other than trying to score the ball, something that’s going to help my team out.”
Photo of Salem CC’s Akeem Taylor (24) and Jyheim Spencer (32) at the basket Saturday by John Holt.
SALEM CC 88, PASSAIC 81 PASSAIC COUNTY CC (9-9) – Keymani Nevers 5-12 1-2 11, Ladorien Ladson 4-8 1-4 9, Shindon Thompson 5-12 1-1 12, Jayquan Briggs 7-19 5-6 19, Steven Rodriguez 5-13 2-4 14, Anthony Valdez 1-3 0-0 2, Josh Renta 0-1 0-0 0, A’Juwan Tiggs 4-8 1-2 9, Leonardo Torres 0-1 0-0 0, Josiah Etienne 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 33-81 11-19 81. SALEM CC (15-4) – Tamir Powell 5-12 1-2 12, Tyrese Fortune 2-5 3-7 7, Xavier Brewington 1-10 2-4 4, Akeen Taylor 13-22 6-8 32, Jyheim Spencer 4-4 2-2 10, Dontavius Jones 3-4 2-2 9, A.J. Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Tivon Woolford 2-2 0-0 4, Josh Ramos 2-5 0-0 5, Taje’e Jordan 1-2 0-0 2, Stefan Phillips 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 34-68 17-27 88.
Passaic
32
49-
81
Salem CC
38
50-
88
3-point goals: Passaic 4-10 (Thompson 1-3, Rodriguez 2-5, Valdez 0-1, Etienne 1-1); Salem 3-13 (Powell 1-3, Fortune 0-2, Brewington 0-3, Taylor 0-1, D. Jones 1-1, Ramos 1-3) Rebounds: Passaic 37 (Briggs 12, Nevers 8, Rodriguez 8); Salem 48 (Taylor 11, Spencer 18). Total fouls: Passaic 22, Salem 20.
Riverview Sports News 