Bialecki breaking out

Woodstown wins Warriors Holiday Classic in New Egypt, Bialecki named MVP; also includes wrestling highlights

SATURDAY’S BOYS GAMES
ACIT Holiday Tournament
Consolation: GCIT 59, Salem Tech 13
Championship: ACIT 59, Camden Tech 48

Warrior Holiday Classic
Consolation: Pinelands 56, Steinert 49
Championship: Woodstown 65, New Egypt 48

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

NEW EGYPT – A new coach often means big changes to the program he takes over and one of the biggest benefactors of the changes new Woodstown basketball coach Ramon Roots brought into his program has been Blake Bialecki.

Roots recognized Bialecki’s value to the team early in the transition and green-lighted the junior as the prime shooter in his offense.

Bialecki justified the faith his coach placed in him with another big game Saturday, scoring a game-high 17 points and winning MVP honors as the Wolverines beat host New Egypt 65-49 to win the Warriors Holiday Classic for the second year in a row.

“It’s really just my coaches have a ton of confidence in me and they just want me to shoot the ball,” Bialecki said. “Them having that confidence in me just makes me have more confidence in myself. They trust me to hit shots and now I’m starting to trust myself more to hit shots.”

It was the second game in a row Bialecki led the Wolverines (2-2) in scoring, this one coming on top of the 23-point game he enjoyed in the tournament opener against Pinelands. It reminded him of a similar two-game stretch he had last January when he went for 23 and 29 against Pennsville and Salem Tech. But he went scoreless the next game.

He scored just 11 points in this tournament last year, seven in the title game win over New Egypt.

“Last year I had the ball in my hand more, playing the point guard more, having to set up the plays and make plays, get the ball to other people,” he explained. “Now, Alejandro (Vazquez) and M.J. (Hall) are having the ball more and I’m off the ball more, and they’re drawing up more and more plays for me where last year I didn’t have certain plays drawn up just for me to get a shot off.

“It’s definitely more fun to score the ball. I’m definitely hoping to continue this stretch and just be score the whole year. Last year I was very inconsistent, up and down. I’m hoping that this year I’ll be more consistent scoring wise.”

The Wolverines hope so, too. Before breaking out this weekend, Bialecki had scored just 17 points in the Wolverines’ first two games, losses to Salem and Penns Grove. Roots knew he could give them more with the right amount of encouragement.

“After the 0-2 start I basically told Blake for us to get where we want to go you have to shoot the ball 15-plus times,” Roots said. “I want you taking five-plus 3s a game. There were a lot of times he would have a good catch-and-shoot opportunity and he was hesitant to take it.

“I told him I’m living and dying with you shooting the ball. You’re our best shooter. Overall you’re our best scorer,. We need you to shoot the ball. These last two games he has been really aggressive.

“That was one of the reasons why I took this job. I knew his talent, I knew his skills, I knew what type player he could be, so I’m just trying to take his game to the next level. He has responded well.”

The Wolverines used a big second half to win their second game in a row. They trailed by four at halftime, then switched defenses and it led to them outscoring the Warriors 22-9 in the third quarter and 38-17 in the second half.

M.J. Hall had three straight transition layups in the third quarter out of the 2-3 that keyed the comeback. Hall finished with 15 points, 11 in the second half. Rocco String had 13 points, nine in the second half, and threatened a triple-double (17 rebounds, six blocked shots). He’s averaging 15 rebounds a game and has had 22 blocks over his last three games.

“The first half we had mixed in man and then made some adjustments to just go 2-3 and I think that helped us defensively and offensively,” Roots said. “The 2-3 gave them a lot of problems and it benefitted us. We had a lot of ball movement, a lot of points in transition spotting up shooting, and we just played better basketball.

“A lot of people played well today.”

WARRIOR HOLIDAY CLASSIC
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
WOODSTOWN (2-2) – Eli Caesar 3 1-1 7, Blake Bialecki 6 3-3 17, Alejandro Vazquez 2 2-2 8, M.J. Hall 5 4-5 15, Garrett Leyman 2 0-0 5, Rocco String 6 1-4 13, Braydon Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-15 65.
NEW EGYPT (2-3) – Nolan Arnold 2 10-12 14, Clyde Ferris 5 3-6 15, Evan Goldburg 0 2-2 2, Cameron Cassandra 0 0-0 0, Caleb Kowaleski 0 0-0 0, Dylan Harper 0 0-0 0, Paul Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Ryan Reynolds 4 1-2 12, Tommy Merlucci 2 0-0 4, Lucas Burgos 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 16-22 48.

Woodstown	10	17	22	16-	65
New Egypt	13	18	9	8-	48

3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki 2, Vazquez 2, Leyman, M. Hall); New Egypt 6 (Ferris 3, Reynolds 3). Rebounds: Woodstown 42 (String 17, Caesar 7). Fouled out: M. Hall, Merlucci. Total fouls: Woodstown 20, New Egypt 14.

ACIT CONSOLATION GAME
GCIT 59, SALEM TECH 13: Ian Malgapo filled the box score as GCIT snapped a two-game losing streak to get back over .500 for the season. He had 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Milan Suarez (11) and Patrick Monaghan (10) also scored in double figures for GCIT.

Salem Tech (0-6)	3	2	6	2-	13
GCIT (3-2)	30	13	10	6-	59

SATURDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Audubon Tournament
Consolation: Deptford 47, Cedar Creek 21
Championship: Audubon 43, Penns Grove 39

ACIT Holiday Tournament
Consolation: Atlantic Tech 55, Salem Tech 15
Championship: Camden Tech vs. GCIT

AUDUBON CHAMPIONSHIP
AUDUBON 43, PENNS GROVE 39: The Green Wave jumped out quickly and held off Penns Grove to win their holiday tournament and remain undefeated. Peyton Marrone scored 15 points and the Green Wave went 12-of-21 from the free throw line. Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson led all scorers with 17 points.

PENNS GROVE (2-2) – RaNiyah Wilson 7 2-3 17, Syanna Robbins 1 0-2 2, JaNiyah Cummings 0 1-2 1, Keziah Patterson 2 0-0 5, Mikayla Washington 1 0-0 2, Brianna Robbins 5 0-2 12. Totals 16 3-9 39.
AUDUBON (5-0) – Ashley Flynn 2 2-6 6, Peyton Marrone 5 5-7 15, Emma Speyerer 3 1-2 8, Giavanna Heller 1 4-6 6, Sophia Homa 3 0-0 6, Kylie Cannaday 1 0-0 2, Molly Sullivan 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 12-21 43.

Penns Grove	7	8	15	9-	39
Audubon	15	8	13	7-	43

3-point goals: Penns Grove 4 (Wilson, Patterson, B. Robbins 2); Audubon 1 (Speyerer).

ACIT CONSOLATION GAME
ATLANTIC TECH 55, SALEM TECH 15: ACIT closed out a dominating defensive performance by shutting out the Chargers in the fourth quarter. Shelby Drummond was Salem Tech’s leading scorer with eight points.

SALEM TECH (1-3) – Shelby Drummond 4 0-0 8, Shelby Liber 2 1-2 5, Lavae Scott 0 0-2 0, Payton Fitzpatrick 1 0-0 2. Totals 7 1-4 15.
ATLANTIC TECH (3-3) – Brianna Casiano 2 0-0 4, Zion Stewart 3 1-2 7, Alani White 5 1-4 11, Trinitee McKellar 3 0-1 6, Jadyn Clinkscale 1 0-0 2, Imani Muhammad 4 0-0 8, Lydia Long 2 0-0 4, Joslyen Gomez 4 0-0 8, Kim Pierre 1 1-1 3, Hannah Schmidt 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 3-8 55.

Salem Tech	5	8	2	0-	15
Atlantic Tech	17	22	10	6-	55

Active scorers watch

SALEM COUNTY SCORING LIST	POINTS
Talia Battavio, Woodstown	1296
Megan Donelson, Woodstown	1263
1000-POINT WATCH
Nora Ausland, Pennsville (Salem 462/Pennsville 403)	865
Marley Wood, Pennsville	770
x-RaNiyah Wilson, Penns Grove (Kingsway 251/Penns Grove 464)	715

x-Does not include 12/27 vs. Deptford

Wrestling

WOODSTOWN QUAD
LONG BRANCH 38, WOODSTOWN 36
106: Hunter Allen (Wo) pinned Sudhish Ransanahi, 1:06
113: Jordan Vieira (LB) pinned Luke Woronicak, 3:14
120: Carson Bradway (Wo) maj. dec. Dominic Lugo, 15-1
126: Walker Battavio (Wo) maj. dec. Alex Ramsanahi, 14-3
132: Travis Balback (Wo) maj. dec. Tristen Hepburn, 14-1
138: Matthew Munson (LB) tech fall Ryan Polk, 18-0 (3:01)
144: Pedro DeSouza (LB) won by forfeit
150: Javier Guzman (LB) pinned Angel Hernandez, 4:18
157: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Devon Smith, 1:11
165: Diego Mota (LB) dec. Colin Webb, 11-7
175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Evan Tracey, 2:00
190: Tornick Kajaia (LB) pinned Paul Banff, 3:13
215: Tyler Taylor (LB) pinned Bradley Snitcher, 3:48
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Nickolas Soria, 1:07

WOODSTOWN 49, AUDUBON 30
113: Rocco Monteferrante (A) pinned Luke Woronicak, 0:46
120: Carson Bradway (Wo) pinned Nicholas Sassany, 1:09
126: Travis Balback (Wo) tech fall R.J. Bauman, 18-2 (2:00)
132: Brayden Ervin (A) pinned Barry Coverly, 2:40
138: Ryan Polk (Wo) dec. Jimmy Moran, 8-4
144: James McSweeney (A) won by forfeit
150: Aydean Leahan (A) pinned Angel Hernandez, 3:28
157: Pedro Marte (A) won by forfeit
165: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Giovanni Patti, 1:32
175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) tech fall Gabriel McCracken, 20-5 (4:26)
190: Paul Banff (Wo) pinned David Borodziuk, 3:52
215: Bradley Snitcher (Wo) pinned Jonah Jordan, 0:38
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) won by forfeit
106: Hunter Allen (Wo) pinned Mason Knopka, 0:54

NORTHERN BURLINGTON 45, WOODSTOWN 35
120: Carson Bradway (Wo) pinned Jason Marasco, 5:55
126: Rocco Giangeruso (NB) pinned Walker Battavio, 0:54
132: Travis Balback (Wo) pinned Michael Mayhew, 1:52
138: Gavin Fowler (NB) pinned Ryan Polk, 1:03
144: Justin Marcello (NB) won by forfeit
150: Tret Villavon (NB) dec. Angel Hernandez, 9-6
157: Nathan Hyman (NB) pinned Thomas Lacy, 2:56
165: Hayden Joyce (NB) pinned Brett Rowand, 1:20
175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Griffin Goldmacher, 4:49
190: Bailey O’Malley (NB) pinned Paul Banff, 0:29
215: Sean Falcey (NB) pinned Bradley Snitcher, 5:23
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) won by forfeit
106: Hunter Allen (Wo) pinned Aiden Tranchitello, 2:18
113: Luke Woronicak (Wo) pinned Talen Zuzzio, 5:18

Working overtime

Pennsville, Penns Grove extended to multiple overtimes in losses, Woodstown gives Roots his first coaching win in OT

FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Buena 72, Pennsville 70 (3 OT)

Marty Derer Showcase, Delsea
Delsea 53, Penns Grove 51 (2 OT)
Westampton Tech 50, Salem 45

West Deptford Holiday Tournament
At RiverWinds Community Center
Consolation: Lindenwold def. Schalick
Championship: Absegami 82, West Deptford 41

ACIT Holiday Tournament
Camden Tech 60, Salem Tech 14
Atlantic Tech 57, GCIT 38

Warrior Holiday Classic
At New Egypt
Woodstown 51, Pinelands 46 (OT)
New Egypt 48, Steinert 46

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BUENA – There was so much to dissect from the game, Pennsville basketball coach Joe Mecholsky is going to need a day or two and a long session in the film room to get back to you on just what the heck happened.

The Eagles lost to Buena 72-70 in three overtimes Friday in a game that had as many moving parts as Mecholsky has ever been around. And he’s been in a triple overtime game before.

They were down 14 early in the fourth quarter and forced overtime. They were up five in each of the first two overtimes, but couldn’t close it out. They were down in the third overtime and got close before time ran out on them.

“I feel like we blew the game instead of we lost it,” Mecholsky said. “I think I stopped coaching offense at one point. We tried to take the air out of the ball and I think that really killed our offensive momentum, so I’ll go back and watch the game over again and see how I can get better.

“I’m not going to say my young players did or didn’t do anything. They’re a very young team and they did everything they were told today and I’ll just have to look at the film and see how I can get better in nailing down that win when we were up five in the second overtime.”

The Eagles were down 14 (38-24) with 6:30 left in regulation and put on a charge to force overtime. Mason O’Brien’s 3-point play with 34 seconds left tied it at 41. The Eagles had the final shot in regulation. Shiloh Jefferson’s initial shot hit off the rim and Jovanni Rios couldn’t get the tap to fall.

They had five-point leads in each of the first two overtimes, but never had the lead in the third.

They were up five with 2:35 left in the first overtime, but Buena’s Troy Gregory buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 49. It was the first trey Troy had made all season.

They were up five twice in the second overtime, with 2:43 and 2:20 left, but Buena got back-to-back left corner 3s from Nate Nieves and Carlo Spreng to take the lead, 57-56. Nieves finished with 12 points and Spreng had 10. Teammate Josue Cuadrado led all scorers with 23 points.

A free throw by David Knight with seven seconds left tied it at 59. Knight went to the line for two shots and the lead, but only hit one and it stayed that way despite the teams having three combined chances to get the game-winner. Knight came in off the bench as a substitute shooter after Logan Hitt was fouled hard after stealing the inbounds pass and had to leave the floor.

The Eagles got a chance to win it at the end when the Chiefs stepped on the line trying to put the ball in play. The Chiefs got the ball back when Pennsville turned it over and this time Knight stole the inbounds pass to end the session.

“I’ve been in some crazy basketball environments,” Pennsville sophomore guard C.J. McDevitt said, “but triple overtime? I’ve never been in a triple OT game, I’ll tell you that.”

“It was pretty crazy,” Chiefs coach James Bell said. “I just kept telling my kids to keep their minds straight and focus on what we need to do, play solid defense and hit the open shots when we have them. It was a crazy second half and three overtimes.”

Buena looked like it was finally going to put it away, leading by seven with 52 seconds left in the third overtime, pulling away with a 3-pointer by Nieves and three free throws by Cuadrado, but Pennsville battled back again. O’Brien hit a 3 to make it 70-66 with 28 seconds left and Knight and Jefferson wrapped putbacks around a pair of Buena free throws to make it 72-70 with eight seconds to go.

On the last play of the game the Eagles got the ball to O’Brien, who pushed a shot towards the basket at the buzzer that hit off the far iron. The Eagles were looking for a foul as O’Brien hit the deck, but there was no call and the game was over.

“I told my boys the outcome is the result of a thousand little things that happened in that game and that’s just the way it goes; we’ll learn from it,” Mecholsky said. “I’m disappointed we lost the game, but my boys didn’t disappointment me.”

O’Brien apologized to his coach for his play in the first three quarters, but he was a gamer in the fourth quarter and overtimes. He scored all 19 of his points after the third quarter, hitting three 3s and a three-point play in the fourth quarter comeback and seven points in the overtimes.

“The first three quarters were awful,” he said. “I didn’t know where I was. I was trying to find my game and they kept talking to me so I had to do something about it. I came out and matched their energy in the fourth quarter and overtimes.”

Rios added 14 points on his 17th birthday for Pennsville and McDevitt had 11. Both are career highs.

PENNSVILLE (1-3) – Danny Knight 3 2-6 9, Jovanni Rios 7 0-3 14, Mason O’Brien 7 1-1 19, Cole Johnston 1 2-2 4, Shiloh Jefferson 3 0-0 6, Perry Meranti 3 0-0 6, Logan Hitt 0 1-2 1, C.J. McDevitt 2 7-14 11. Totals 26 13-28 70.
BUENA (2-3) – Josue Cuadrado 6 10-12 23, Carlo Spreng 4 0-2 10, Nate Nieves 3 3-4 12, Troy Gregory 1 1-2 4, Jaevon Alexander 3 0-0 8, Jayden Rivera 0 0-0 0, Shamel Rivera 5 0-0 10, Richie Wilson 0 0-0 0, Ricky Bessix 2 1-6 5. Totals 24 15-26 72.

Pennsville	9	6	7	19	8	10	11-	70
Buena	5	13	13	10	8	10	13-	72

3-point goals: Pennsville 5 (Knight, O’Brien 4); Buena 9 (Cuadrado, Spreng 2, Nieves 3, Gregory, Alexander 2). Technical fouls: S. Rivera. Fouled out: S. Rivera, Alexander, Rios, McDevitt). Total fouls: Pennsville 22, Buena 25.

Pennsville’s Shiloh Jefferson (5) goes in for a potential game-winning layup at the end of regulation against Buena Friday. The bounced off the rim and the teams wound up playing three overtimes before Buena won 72-70.

DELSEA 53, PENNS GROVE 51: By Penns Grove coach Damian Ware’s best measure, his team had three chances to win the Marty Derer Showcase opener, but host Delsea kept coming up with clutch shots and eventually broke the Red Devils’ heart.

The Crusaders hit 3-pointers at the end of regulation and the first overtime to extend the game, then hit two free throws in the closing seconds of the second overtime to seal the victory. Jimmy Reardon hit the 3 at the end of regulation to force overtime, then Jelani Poles beat the buzzer with one at the end of the first extra period to keep it going and he hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left to win it.

Poles finished with 12 points. Reardon had nine. Luke VanAuken had a huge game for Delsea with 19 points and 20 rebounds. Brandin Robbins and Roman Gipson had 15 points apiece for Penns Grove.

The Red Devils had a chance to take the lead in the second overtime, but missed two free throws. Moments later they fouled Poles and he hit his two free throws. The Red Devils rallied from eight down in regulation to take a three-point lead into the closing seconds before Reardon hit his 3.

“We had a chance, we had three chances to win it – regulation, overtime and the second overtime,” Ware said. “That’s part of our growing pains. We’re young and we’re inexperienced so this is going to be a growing lesson for us. We’re going to be fine but this is just a lesson we had to learn of how to finish games.

“We did everything we were supposed to do, we made the plays, but down the stretch we just didn’t make the defensive plays and that’s kind of what we pride ourselves on. We’ve got to be better on defense at the end of the game and regulation and challenge shots better.”

PENNS GROVE (1-2) – Brandin Robbins 5 4-4 15, Roman Gipson 6 0-0 15, Karon Ceaser 2 1-2 6, Antoine Robinson 3 0-2 7, Haneef Frisbee 2 0-0 4, Jameel Horace 0 2-2 2, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, William Roy 0 0-0 0, Geonni Conrad 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-10 51.
DELSEA (2-2) – Luke VanAuken 8 3-8 19, Jimmy Reardon 4 0-0 9, Jelani Poles 4 2-2 12, Blake Bottino 2 2-2 6, Jeadyn Greene 1 0-0 2, Dahmir Hart 1 0-0 2, Exodus DeJesus 1 0-0 3, Ryan Casiano 0 0-0 0, Mike Cunningham 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-12 53.

Penns Grove	12	7	7	20	3	2–	51
Delsea	13	10	11	12	3	4-	53

3-point goals: Penns Grove 6 (Robbins, Gipson 3, Ceaser, Robinson); Delsea 4 (Reardon, Poles 2, DeJesus). Rebounds: Delsea 37 (VanAuken 20).

WOODSTOWN 51, PINELANDS 46: Blake Bialecki hit a season-high five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as the Wolverines held off Pinelands in the Warrior Holiday Classic in overtime to give new coach Ramon Roots his first victory as a varsity head coach.

“It’s exciting for me to get the first win in the standings, but I’m just really happy for the kids,” Roots said. “I’ve been waiting to get the win and knew it was going to come sooner or later. We definitely had a lot of chances in the Penns Grove game. It was good to see them believing that they actually can win and what it takes to win.”

The Wolverines (1-2) outscored Pinelands 9-4 in the extra session to win it. Garrett Leyman hit two free throws to put them up three and then Rocco String closed it out with a layup. String scored eight points and dominated the paint with 12 rebounds and nine blocked shots.

Woodstown led by eight in the second half, but Pinelands got back in it through a series of backdoor buckets. The Wildcats went up by three with two minutes to play, but Bialecki hit a 3 to retie the game.

Pinelands had a chance to retake the lead with 12 seconds left but missed two free throws. Bialecki had a shot to win it in regulation but his mid-range jumper went in and out.

“We were able to get a little breathing room, but it was close to the very end,” Roots said. “We just kept fighting. As you’ve seen the team never gives up. They’re always fighting through it.”

Bialecki’s 23 points matches the second-best game of his career. In addition to his outside shot, the junior also also got to the basket and went 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

The Wolverines will play host New Egypt for the championship 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Woodstown (1-2)	15	7	12	8	9-	51
Pinelands (2-2)	17	6	6	13	4-	46

WESTHAMPTON TECH 50, SALEM 45: West Tech used a big third quarter to take the lead and kept the Rams at arms length in the fourth quarter. Alexander Jeanty hit five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Panthers. Xavier McGriff led Salem with 14 points. Tymear Lecator filled the boxscore with 11 points, six assists and two steals.

WESTHAMPTON TECH (3-0) – Alexander Jeanty 8 1-1 22, Henry Hjoga 0 5-6 5, Dante Horace 1 0-2 2, Dalan Dickerson 2 1-2 6, Shakur Anderson 4 1-2 9, Damien Moragne 0 0-0 0, Jacob McCollum 2 0-0 4, Jevon Benjamin 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-13 50
SALEM (3-1) – Tymear Lecator 3 3-6 11, Antwan Rogers 3 0-2 6, Deshaan Williams 0 6-6 6, Xavier McGriff 5 1-1 14, Neziah Spencer 1 1-2 3, Donovan Weathers 0 0-0 0, Darrelle Johnson 1 0-0 2, Kyaire Parsons 0 0-0 0Harlem Parsons 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0, Joe Tunis 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 11-17 45.

Westhampton Tech	14	8	19	9-	50
Salem	15	11	10	9-	45

3-point goals: West Tech 6 (Jeanty 5, Dickerson); Salem 6 (Lecator 2, McGriff 3, Tunis).

CAMDEN TECH 60, SALEM TECH 14: Salvatore Algeri scored 13 points and Shareef Cox had 10 to lead the Warriors in the ACIT Holiday Showcase. Salem Tech will play GCIT in the consolation game Saturday.

Camden Tech (2-2)	18	26	5	11-	60
Salem Tech (0-5)	2	6	1	5-	14

Breaking the ‘curse’

Pennsville girls basketball has had a lot of bad luck on recent trips to Buena, but everything was rosy Friday

FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Regular season
Pennsville 69, Buena 20

Audubon Tournament
Penns Grove 41, Deptford 24
Audubon 59, Cedar Creek 21

ACIT Holiday Tournament
Camden Tech 40, Salem Tech 16
GCIT 49, Atlantic Tech 38

Haddon Twp. Tournament
Cherry Hill East 57, Woodstown 45
Haddon Twp. 46, Pennsauken 39

Boardwalk Classic
Wildwood Convention Center
Bridgeton 54, Salem 24

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BUENA – The Pennsville girls basketball team didn’t want to go to Buena Friday morning any more than the man in the moon. Bad things happen when the Eagles go there. Last year, they got three players hurt in the game.

Their angst was almost to the point where they wanted to play the game in their own gym if they could. But when this one was over they were glad they made the trip and made it out alive.

It was all good. The Eagles ran out to a 23-0 lead in the first quarter and hit a season-high 11 3-pointers in the game to bury the curse and the Chiefs, 69-20.

“I was a little nervous because every time we come to Buena something bad happens,” junior guard Marley Wood said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries here, but I think we broke our curse today.”

In the team’s trip to the Battle at Buena last year, Wood broke her foot, Annika Macalino tore her knee and Taylor Bass broke her finger and the Eagles spent the next couple weeks bringing up JV players to have enough players to remain competitive.

But their misfortunes extended beyond the basketball court. Bass broke her collarbone in a soccer game here. And Wood has a vague recollection of something else happening to her as a freshman.

The Eagles didn’t get out of this one completely unscathed. Tatianna DePina banged her hand in the game, but at least everyone walked out under their own power this time.

“They warned me about that,” Eagles coach Steve Merritt said. “They didn’t want to come here. They were trying to talk me out of coming here. They were telling me to reschedule the game, make it a home game. Now, they’re saying we broke the curse.”
If the y play like they did Friday, they may think about scheduling games here every week.

It was 23-0 before Buena got to the board with a 3-pointer by Athena Bradley with 21 seconds left in the quarter. The Eagles hit 8 of 15 shots in the run while denying the Chiefs on 16 straight possessions with seven steals among their 12 turnovers.

“We were looking the way I want them to look all the time,” Merritt said. “I asked them what’s the definition of a perfect quarter defensively and they said zero. I said, well, you’ve got two quarters, see if you can’t do that. When they scored I saw a couple of them slump down like we didn’t get it. But they stepped up.”

After the Chiefs scored their first points, Wood answered with 3 right before the buzzer. Wood hit six 3s in the game – two in each of the first three quarters when the regulars played – and finished with 22 points. Nora Ausland hit four 3s, scored 12 points in the Eagles’ opening salvo, and led all scorers with 24 points.

The six were the most she had hit in a game since nailing seven against Woodstown in January. She had only two this season before Friday.

“This was the first game my shot has actually been good, so hopefully it carries on into the rest of the season,” she said. “I was a little bit worried, but I think I’m going to keep shooting more and working and getting better.”

The Eagles hit only one 3 in their last game against Washington Twp. The 11 they hit Friday were the most in a game since hitting 11 against Overbrook in the second game of the year last season. They hit 10 in their season opener against Wildwood this year.

Three of their first five buckets Friday were from behind the arc. In addition to the 11, they had at least seven other baskets that from far away looked like a 3 but were either on or just inside the line.

“We shot the ball pretty well at Glassboro (eight 3s),” Merritt said. “You go out and shoot well, look what happens, you win. And we’ve been working on it. Yesterday we worked on it extensively, not necessarily the 3s, but just shooting the ball under pressure of a clock.

“That was really nice to see. So much better than Washington Twp. where they were hitting the rim and going God knows where. Today they were falling in.”

PENNSVILLE 69, BUENA 20
PENNSVILLE (2-2) – Taylor Bass 0 2-2 2, Tatianna DePina 0 0-0 0, Marley Wood 7 2-3 22, Izzy Saulin 3 0-0 6, Nora Ausland 9 2-3 24, Ashlyn Fredo 1 0-0 2, Jaida Burns 1 0-2 2, Calli Ausland 1 0-2 2, Kylie Weist 0 0-0 0, Addison Johnston 4 0-0 9, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 6-12 69.
BUENA (0-3) – Kayla Lafferty 0 0-0 0, Athena Bradley 1 0-0 3, Mya Nicole 6 0-0 13, Jiavonni Jones 2 0-2 4, Leylani Muniz 0 0-0 0, Ava Cornew 0 0-0 0, Ariana Salazar 0 0-0 0, Isabella Atkins 0 0-0 0, Jayleen Benjamin 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 0-2 20.

Pennsville	26	12	19	12–	69
Buena	3	9	4	4–	20

3-point goals: Pennsville 11 (Wood 6, N. Ausland 4, Johnston); Buena 2 (Bradley, Nicole). Rebounds: Pennsville 39 (Burns 8, N. Ausland 7, Wood 6). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Buena 9.

CHERRY HILL EAST 57, WOODSTOWN 45: Some days you play good and other days you learn good. The Wolverines are hoping to learn a lot from their first loss of the season.

After playing Cherry Hill East tough in the first quarter and grabbing the lead, they ran into a buzzsaw in the second quarter that changed the game. The Cougars nearly posted a shutout in the quarter, outscoring Woodstown 21-2 to open a 17-point halftime lead.

The Wolverines (4-1) made what coach Matt Smart called some “great” defensive adjustments at halftime and outscored the Cougars 28-23 in the second half, 22-14 in the third quarter.

“I was very proud of the way we battled until the very end,” Smart said. “Cherry Hill East was very well coached and very tough. They have a very talented group who can knock down shots. Unfortunately, they got the best of us today.

“It was a great test for us. Basketball is a long season and the girls are excited to work tomorrow to try and get better. After every game this year the girls haven’t been satisfied with our performance. We aren’t going to let this game define our season, but we are going to look at some things and figure out way we can improve.”

The Cougars held Woodstown’s two 1,200-point scorers, Megan Donelson and Talia Battavio, to 20 points combined. They held Donelson to nine, her first game in single digits since Jan. 24, 2023 (46 games).

Lauren Hengel was Woodstown’s leading scorer with a career-high 12 points. Kyia Leyman had eight points and eight rebounds.

CHERRY HILL EAST (3-1) – Jessie Atlas 2 0-0 5, Michelle Le 3 0-0 7, Erin Winslow 2 0-0 4, Dylan Kratchman 5 6-6 17, Darby Chhabria 6 10-12 24, Maya. Morgan 0 0-0 0, Maddie Leshinsky 0 0-0 0, Aliza Adler 0 0-0 0, Anabelle Sala 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 16-18 57.
WOODSTOWN (4-1) – Megan Donelson 3 2-2 9, Talia Battavio 4 1-4 11, Gianna Maiorini 2 1-2 5, Lauren Hengel 5 1-3 12, Kyia Leyman 4 0-3 8, Emma Perry 0 0-0 0, Kendall Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-14 45.

Cherry Hill East	13	21	9	14-	57
Woodstown	15	2	6	22-	45

3-point goals: Cherry Hill East 5 (Atlas, Le, Kratchman, Chhabria 2); Woodstown 4 (Donelson, Battavio 2, Hengel). Rebounds: Woodstown 45 (Leyman 8). Fouled out: Donelson, Maiorini. Total fouls: Cherry Hill East 13, Woodstown 18.

BRIDGETON 54, SALEM 24: The Rams played Bridgeton tough for a quarter in the Wildwood Convention Center and actually held the lead, but the Bulldogs came to life in the second quarter and pulled away. Carlysia Pierce led Salem with 12 points. Bridgeton’s Sharena Parker led all scorers with 14.

BRIDGETON (4-1) – Amani Santiago 3 1-2 8, Ciani Money 1 2-6 4, Tyjhore Jamison 1 1-2 3, DeNia Dairsow 2 3-4 7, Ayianna Ridgeway 0 0-2 2, Anyse Maddrey 1 0-0 2Adelina Wilks 3 2-2 9, Sharena Parker 6 2-2 14, Kahmya Johnson 2 1-3 5, Alannie Ramos 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 12-23 54.
SALEM (0-4) – Shyla Parsons 0 0-2 0, Zaniyah Frieson 1 0-0 2, Nevaeh Hickman 2 0-0 5, Carlysia Pierce 4 4-8 12, Dakirah Gray 1 0-0 2, Raniyah Parsons-Smith 0 0-2 0, Madison Dixon 0 0-0 0, Amariah Frye 1 0-0 3, Jania Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-12 24.

Bridgeton	11	14	20	9–	54
Salem	12	3	6	3–	24

3-point goals: Bridgeton 2 (Santiago, Wilks); Salem 2 (Hickman, Frye).

CAMDEN TECH 40, SALEM TECH 16: Camden Tech couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in the ACIT Holiday Tournament. The Warriors held Salem Tech scoreless in the first quarter and rolled into the championship game. Camden’s Ryan Jones scored 19 points. All four Salem Tech scorers had four points apiece.

CAMDEN TECH (1-4) – Kiara Miller 4 0-0 9, Ryan Jones 8 2-4 19, Jaelyn White 2 0-2 4, Brenna Stiles 2 1-2 5, Ericka Bennett 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 4-10 40.
SALEM TECH (1-2) – Hannah Dewitt 2 0-0 4, Shelby Drummond 2 0-0 4, Shelby Liber 1 2-6 4, Rylee Doerr 2 0-0 4. Totals 7 2-6 16.

Camden Tech	14	12	8	6–	40
Salem Tech	0	6	6	4–	16

3-point goals: Camden Tech 2 (Miller, Jones). NOTE: It takes five to play. Only players listed were scorers.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
Audubon Tournament
Consolation: Deptford vs. Cedar Creek, 12:30 p.m.
Championship: Penns Grove vs. Audubon, 3:30 p.m.

ACIT Holiday Tournament
Consolation: Salem Tech vs. Atlantic Tech
Championship: Camden Tech vs. GCIT

Haddon Twp. Tournament
Consolation: Woodstown vs. Pennsauken
Championship: Haddon Twp. vs. Cherry Hill East

Active scorers watch

SALEM COUNTY SCORING LIST	PTS
Talia Battavio, Woodstown	1296
Megan Donelson, Woodstown	1263
1000-POINT WATCH
Nora Ausland, Pennsville (Salem 462/Pennsville 403)	865
Marley Wood, Pennsville	770
x-RaNiyah Wilson, Penns Grove (Kingsway 251/Penns Grove 447)	698

x-Does not include Friday’s game

Boxing Day basketball

Schalick boys, Salem girls fall in post-Christmas events; full schedule for county Friday, listed below

BOYS GAMES
West Deptford Holiday Tournament
Absegami 54, Lindenwold 49
West Deptford 61, Schalick 55
GIRLS GAME
Wildwood Boardwalk Classic
Millville 49, Salem 25

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WEST DEPTFORD — It’s tough being the team that plays the host in a holiday tournament. The home team is wanting to play in the championship to enhance the gate and it isn’t going to schedule the perceived next strongest team in the field in the opening round to increase the chances of that happening.

So you know what that leaves.

Schalick was no easy out for host West Deptford in its Holiday Tournament Thursday. It may have started out that way with the Cougars falling behind 19 in the second quarter and down 17 in the third, but they rallied to draw within one inside of 2:30 left before falling 66-51.

The Cougars (1-3) will play Lindenwold (2-2) in the consolation game at the RiverWinds Community Center Friday at noon. West Deptford (2-1) will play Absegami (3-0) for the championship at 4.

“(It was just) execution,” Schalick coach James Turner said. “The guys, when they execute correctly then they’ll be all right. It’s just the consistency of execution is what we need to work on.

“And they work hard. They put everything they’ve got out there in practice, they’re paying attention and we’ve just got to translate what we go over at practice into games and just make sure we execute for 32 minutes and not just eight minutes.”

The press had given Schalick fits all season and although the one Thursday shouldn’t have caused the Cougars the problems it did, they said, it got away from them too quickly. Turner cited a lack of preparation for it because of the holiday weekend had a little bit to do with it.

The Cougars turned it over in the press and trap 10 of their first 15 possessions and the Eagles raced to a 23-8 lead. It was 32-13 midway through the second quarter and 40-23 early in the third before Cougars began to rally.

They made a small adjustment to the press in the second half and executed better. They had only six turnovers in the second half.

Once they broke the press, they worked on their half-court offense. Jase Volovar hit two 3-pointers and had eight points in an 18-3 run that made it a one-possession game with 1:30 left in the third quarter. He scored all 11 of his points in the second half.

“We worked as a team and just played very hungry, jumping on the floor for the ball … to make them go crazy and get them to turn it over,” leading scorer Nylan Sutton said. “I told the team we’ve got to have the intensity, we’ve got to come out like dogs, we’ve really got to play your hardest the rest of the game.”

Sutton didn’t just talk the talk. He led the Cougars with 16 points and 17 rebounds. He had nine rebounds in the second half and two important baskets in the middle of the fourth quarter to keep them in it when it looked like the Eagles were going to pull away again.

“I knew I had to step up,” he said. “I just really wanted that win. There comes a point in time where you get tired of losing and that’s really my mindset coming into the game, like I’m going to give it my all.”

“Nylan loves basketball,” Turner said. “He was out for the first few weeks of practice where he wasn’t allowed to have contact with the ball (recovering from a football injury). Now that he’s back, he’s a big part of it.

“He brings the emotion to our team. He puts everything out there on the court when he plays, even in practice. The guys respond to him and try to keep up with his passion for the game.”

The Cougars just couldn’t get ahead. They got the margin down to one, 54-53, on Jamari Whitley’s 3-pointer with 2:21 to play. But West Deptford’s Michael Joseph answered it with a layup down low and the Cougars didn’t score again until Whitley beat the buzzer with a layup for the final margin. They missed three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws in between.

Carter Watson led West Deptford with 17 points. Nick Senatore and Joseph had 13 points apiece.

WEST DEPTFORD 61, SCHALICK 55
SCHALICK (1-3) – Nylan Sutton 7 2-4 16, Jase Volovar 4 1-4 11, Justin Iacona 1 0-0 2, Sherrod Jones 3 0-0 6, Reggie Allen 3 2-2 10, Jamari Whitley 3 1-2 8, Shawn Kelly 0 0-0 0, Nick Ashwell 0 0-0 0, Kade Camon 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 6-12 55.
WEST DEPTFORD (2-1) – Nick Senatore 4 4-5 13, Kyree Eason 2 1-2 6, T.J. Cross 2 3-4 8, Anthony Martello 0 0-0 0, Curtis Pearson 1 2-2 4, Braeden Warren 0 0-0 0, Carter Watson 6 4-5 17, Michael Joseph 5 3-5 13, Cole Stanish 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 17-23 61.

Schalick	11	12	18	14–	55
West Deptford	24	14	10	13–	61

3-point goals: Schalick 5 (Volovar 2, Allen 2, Whitley); West Deptford 4 (Senatore, Eason, Cross, Watson). Fouled out: Volovar, Senatore. Total fouls: Schalick 21, West Deptford 15.

GIRLS GAME
MILLVILLE 49, SALEM 25: The Rams fell behind 17-2 in the first quarter at the Wildwood Convention Center and never recovered. Carlysia Pierce led Salem with 12 points. Millville’s Jaylynn Jones led all scorers with 14.

SALEM (0-3) – Marcela Villapando 2 0-0 4, Shyla Parsons 0 0-0 0, Zaniyah Frieson 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Hickman 2 0-0 4, Carlysia Pierce 5 0-0 12, Dakirah Gray 0 0-0 0, Madison 1 3-4 5. Totals 10 3-4 25.
MILLVILLE (1-4) – Brianee Edwards 6 1-2 13, Jaylynn Jones 7 0-3 14, Naomi Burkhart 3 1-3 8, Angeliya Cephas 2 1-2 5, Shaylynn Kelly 0 0-0 0, Aphrea Robinson 1 0-2 2, Rahnasia Casper 2 0-0 4, Kamya Smith 0 1-2 1, Edith Selby 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 4-14 49.

Schalick	2	7	7	9–	25
Millville	17	17	9	6–	49

3-point goals: Salem 2 (Pierce 2); Millville 1 (Burkhart).

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
GIRLS GAMES
Pennsville at Buena, 10 a.m.

Audubon Tournament
Penns Grove vs. Deptford, 12:30 p.m.
Cedar Creek vs. Audubon, 3:30 p.m.

ACIT Holiday Tournament
Salem Tech vs. Camden Tech, noon
ACIT vs. GCIT, 3 p.m.

Haddon Twp. Tournament
Woodstown vs. Cherry Hill East, 10:30 a.m.
Pennsauken vs. Haddon Twp., 12:30 p.m.

Boardwalk Classic
Wildwood Convention Center
Salem vs. Bridgeton, 11:30 a.m.

BOYS GAMES
Penns Grove at Delsea, 9:30 a.m.
Pennsville at Buena, noon
Salem vs. Westampton Tech at Deslea, 5 p.m.

West Deptford Holiday Tournament
At RiverWinds Community Center
Consolation game: Schalick vs. Lindenwold, noon
Championship game: Absegami vs. West Deptford, 4 p.m.

ACIT Holiday Tournament
Salem Tech vs. Camden Tech, 9:30 a.m.
ACIT vs. GCIT, 1:30 p.m.

Warrior Holiday Classic
At New Egypt
Woodstown vs. Pinelands, 12:30 p.m.
Steinert vs. New Egypt, 3:30 p.m.

Finding their way

Rebuilding Pennsville takes a step forward near end of third quarter, pulls away from Salem Tech in Monday matinee; Battavio now third on Woodstown girls’ all-time scoring list as Wolverines rally to beat Holy Spirit

MONDAY BASKETBALL
BOYS GAME
Pennsville 54, Salem Tech 35
GIRLS GAMES
Washington Twp. 41, Pennsville 30
Boardwalk Classic, Wildwood
Woodstown 46, Holy Spirit 37

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Having a team that suddenly finds itself trying to find its way instead of having the road mapped out for it, Pennsville basketball coach Joe Mecholsky takes small pockets of growth where he can find them.

The Eagles aren’t quite the team Mecholsky expected to have when school started, so they’re going to be a work in progress for a while. That means there are some ups and there are going to be some downs.

They played arguably their best three minutes of the young season late in the third quarter Monday and the stretch helped them put away Salem Tech 54-35 for their first win of the season.

“Apple trees don’t give you oranges,” Mecholsky said. “We are who we are. Success isn’t on the scoreboard. Success is how we approach each game, how we rebound, how we pass, how we pick each other when we’re down, how we communicate, how we handle adversity.

“We’ve got to build something now again. We’re back to rebuilding, so that’s fine, but it’s important that we learn the lessons this year and carry them back to next year. Rebuilding means to keep building up to something. As a coach I’ve left the gym the last three nights feeling that we got the most we could out of them. Couldn’t get any more juice out of the orange. We squeezed it every night.”

The Eagles were expected to have a veteran team coming back to challenge for a winning record and an elusive playoff win. But when the senior baseball players who made up a prime part of the lineup decided not to play to focus on their spring sport, it left the cagers with a roster of sophomores and juniors that’s learning as it goes.

They opened the season with a home loss to Wildwood and did some things better in a loss to Glassboro. They go on the road for the first time Dec. 27 at Buena.

“We’re really young,” said sophomore guard Mason O’Brien, their most experienced player with 29 varsity games under his belt. “It’s not about winning right now. It’s a lot about building up and if we win games, we win games. No one expects us to win games right now, but hopefully in the next two years they do expect us to win.”

The light bulb moment Monday came when they were already winning by 14. From there they slid into a 1-3-1, three-quarters court trap and put the game away. It created a number of steals, which they turned into transition layups and by the end of the quarter the lead had grown to 47-24.

The trap created six turnovers in seven possessions, off which the Eagles scored 11 points. The emotional spark may have been the charge Cole Johnston drew, but the run started with Logan Hitt’s steal and three-point play. O’Brien scored three buckets, two off steals, and Shiloh Jefferson finished it off with a steal and scooping layup right before the buzzer.

The Eagles scored 20 points off the Chargers’ turnovers.

“We just wanted to put pressure on them,” Mecholsky said. “On tape it didn’t look like they could handle the ball under pressure. We were trying to find the right mix. We went man first and we dropped back, then we found the three-quarter court gave them some confusion and it let me use the one thing we do have and that’s athleticism in bunches.

“We’re the same team players 1 to 8. You can interchange anybody out, it’s just the name on the back of jersey (that’s different). We’re all 6-foot guards. When our big guy, Perry Meranti, goes 6-1 ¾, it’s about getting to the spot. We’ve got to hit on all cylinders to win. If we don’t hit on a cylinder one night then we don’t give ourselves the best chance to win.”

O’Brien led all scorers with 20 points, 10 in the third quarter and 12 in the second half. Jovanni Rios helped get them off to a good start with eight of his nine points in the first quarter.

“We’re not a finished product on Dec. 23,” Mecholsky said. “We going to look to be peaking end of January, beginning of February, hope to stay in the playoff mix. Every game is going to be competitive where we’ve got to find ourselves. We’ve got to show up and play. We’re a bunch of sophomores and juniors finding our way.”

Salem Tech is a team finding its way, too. The Chargers (0-4) lost two of their top returning players to the transfer portal and Penns Grove. Daviontae Russell and J.R. Reed had eight points apiece Monday.

PENNSVILLE 54, SALEM TECH 35
SALEM TECH (0-4) – Daviontae Russell 4 0-0 8, Alex Thomas 2 0-0 4, Joseph Hayes 2 0-0 5, Connor Dougan 0 0-0 0, Keidyn Robinson 0 0-0 0, Larry Pompper 2 0-0 4, Aiden Bobo 0 1-2 1, Raphael Busch 2 1-2 5, Charlie Brown 0 0-0 0, J.R. Reed 3 2-3 8. Totals 15 4-4-7 35.
PENNSVILLE (1-2) – C.J. McDevitt 2-4 2-3 6, Jovanni Rios 4-11 1-2 9, Cole Johnston 1-5 0-2 2, Mason O’Brien 9-16 2-2 20, Shiloh Jefferson 4-12 1-2 9, Danny Knight 0-4 0-0 0, Perry Meranti 1-1 0-0 2, Logan Hitt 1-4 1-1 3, Noah Owen 1-2 1-1 3, Jacob Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Griffin Hern 0-0 0-2 0, Gavin Spears 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Farina 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Regner 0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 8-15 54.

Salem Tech	8	7	9	11-	35
Pennsville	15	11	21	7-	54

3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Hayes). Rebounds: Salem Tech 31 (Russell 7); Pennsville 28 (Rios 7).
Total fouls: Salem Tech 20, Pennsville 17.

Woodstown girls overcome
adversity to remain unbeaten

WILDWOOD – Talia Battavio scored 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and helped Woodstown put together a strong second-half defensive effort that helped them turn back Holy Spirit 46-37 in a Boardwalk Classic showcase game in the Convention Center.

It’s the first time since 2021 the Wolverines (4-0) go into the Christmas break undefeated. They were 1-0 that season before the holiday. They were 2-0 before Christmas in 2015.

“It’s definitely a good feeling,” Wolverines coach Matt Smart said. “It was a tough Holy Spirit team today – they were physical, well coached, very skilled and talented – and it was nice to come out on top. It was nice to see the girls battle adversity for the first time all year really being down in the game.”

The Wolverines led by nine in the first quarter, but they didn’t value the ball in the second quarter and trailed by one at halftime. They were down by nine in the third quarter.

But they rallied to retake the lead by the end of the quarter and then outscored the Spartans 14-4 in the fourth to secure the victory. They held the Spartans to one field goal in the fourth.

“Our fourth quarter was very good defensively,” Smart said. “It starts with those two girls up top, Megan (Donelson) and Talia; they do a great job pressuring the ball, making the point guard make difficult passes. And then our wings tonight – Lauren Hengel, Emma Perry, Gianna Maiorini – they were awesome in communication. They knew where everybody was and closed out.

“And we had a force in the middle in that fourth quarter, Kyia Leyman. She stood tall. She stepped out of the paint to attack drivers, make them take difficult shots without fouling and then was a terrific rebounder.

“They battled back and never got too down on themselves. It was great to see them battle through adversity. We knew it was a tough matchup, we knew things weren’t going to go like they had the last three games for us, but we stayed positive, stayed as a team.”

Donelson added 13 points for Woodstown, 11 in the second half. Sabrina Little led Holy Spirit (2-2) with 16 points. Lauren Cella had 11, including 7-of-10 from the free throw line.

Battavio is now seventh on the Salem County girls’ all-time scoring list (1285 points) and third in Woodstown girls’ history. Donelson is now fifth on Woodstown’s all-time list.

“That’s awesome,” Smart said. “My favorite part about those stats is those girls don’t care about those stats at all. I mentioned to them about the scoring record and they both said they don’t care about the scoring record, they’d rather win every game and not score a point. It’s very special to watch both of them play.”

WOODSTOWN 46, HOLY SPIRIT 37
HOLY SPIRIT (2-2) – Ava Catona 2 4-8 8, Lauren Cella 2 7-10 11, Sabrina Little 5 5-8 16, Kieran Brewster 0 0-0 0, Megan Kane 1 0-2 2, Taylor Murphy 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 16-28 37.
WOODSTOWN (4-0) – Talia Battavio 6 3-4 19, Kendall Young 1 0-0 2, Emma Perry 0 0-0 0, Lauren Hengel 2 0-0 4, Gianna Maiorini 2 0-0 4, Megan Donelson 6 0-0 13, Kyia Leyman 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 3-4 46.

Holy Spirit	7	14	12	4-	37
Woodstown	16	4	15	11-	46

3-point goals: Holy Spirit 1 (Little); Woodstown 5 (Battavio 4, Donelson). Fouled out: Kane. Total fouls: Holy Spirit 9, Woodstown 19.

WASHINGTON TWP. 41, PENNSVILLE 30
PENNSVILLE (1-2) – Taylor Bass 3 0-0 6, Nora Ausland 4 1-3 10, Marley Wood 3 0-0 6, Jaida Burns 1 0-2 2, Ashlyn Fredo 1 0-0 2, Calli Ausland 1 0-0 2, Addison Johnston 0 0-0 0, Izzy Saulin 1 0-0 2, Sofia Belitsas 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 1-5 30.
WASHINGTON TWP. (3-0) – Brianna Rainey 2, Shyla McLean 9, Kate D’Ottaviano 16, Alaina LaMonica 12, Tessa Reilley 2.

Pennsville	10	4	5	11-	30
Washington Twp.	9	9	13	10-	41

3-point goals: Pennsville 1 (N. Ausland)

Scoring watch

SALEM COUNTY ACTIVE LEADING SCORERS	PTS
Talia Battavio, Woodstown	1285
Megan Donelson, Woodstown	1254
1000-POINT WATCH
Nora Ausland, Salem (462)/Pennsville (379)	841
Marley Wood, Pennsville	748
RaNiyah Wilson, Kingsway (251)/Penns Grove (447)	698

Women of Steal

Woodstown girls turn 32 steals into 39 points, rout Highland Regional in SJIBT opener; Wolverines have eye-popping 87 steals in their three wins

SJIBT FIRST-ROUND
Woodstown 77, Highland 38

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – When the Woodstown girls basketball team posted 43 steals in their season opener last week folks might have thought it was some anomaly or miscount. Even new coach Matt Smart had to do a double-take and then double-checked that. It’s gotta be some kind of record, right?

There was no mistake. That’s just how the Wolverines have been playing.

They’ve been picking opponents’ pockets all season, and even more impressively, usually without drawing a reaching foul.

They did have 43 steals in that opener against Salem and they had 32 more Saturday on their way to a 77-38 rout of Highland Regional in their South Jersey Invitational (SJIBT) opener. They now host the winner of the Jan. 11 Shawnee-Medford Tech game in the second round to be completed by Jan. 25.

Unofficially, the Wolverines (3-0) had 29 steals over 61 possessions for 39 points in the three quarters the regulars played against Highland. Megan Donelson was credited with 11 (she had 10 in the Salem game). Talia Battavio and Lauren Hengel each had five. Eight players had at least one.

The Women of Steal now have 87 in their first three games, nearly a third of the number they had in 28 games last season (265).

“It definitely is very impressive,” Smart said. “Those girls just have a knack for the ball. It’s just natural instinct for some of them.”

The Wolverines were good at it out of the 2-3 last year and now it’s translating to their man. Even when they called off the press they still got steals off the trap and front-court defense. They had 18 steals in the first half, then came out of the break and turned over the Tartans on 12 of their first 14 possessions with nine more steals, scoring 19 points.

“We don’t specifically practice it, it’s just the way we play our game,” said senior Gianna Miorini, who added four to the steal total. “We are a fast-motion, quick point team. Megan and Talia are there for the layups and we’re there to make those steals and send them up the court.”

“We wouldn’t be able to get the (number of) steals without everyone else on the team, the shifting and everything,” Battavio said. “I think we’re amazing at it and we attack it well.”

Battavio and Donelson led the offense with 26 and 19 points, respectively, with a lot of layups between them, but they’re in there mixing it up on the defensive end, too. There are plenty of frames on the highlight reel where one will tip the ball away and then get out on a 2-on-1 break with the other and no one can tell who’s going to finish off the play.

“They’re really good at attacking loose balls,” Smart said. “If they tip it, they have that mindset that ball’s mine. My favorite part of this is like one girl will make a steal and they’ll be running with her and she passes the ball off for a layup, giving up a shot for a better shot.”

Of course, the Wolverines know there are some risks associated with such an aggressive approach. If the officials want to call a less physical game they might be in trouble, but it hasn’t been an issue so far.

The Wolverines have picked it and gotten clean away.

WOODSTOWN 77, HIGHLAND 38
HIGHLAND (0-3) – Jianna Beltran 0 0-0 0, Tajai Webb 3 0-0 9, Sage Shaw 6 7-9 19, Christiana Crawford 0 0-0 0, Wilkaliry Rodriguez 1 0-0 3, SeJeida Jordan 3 1-2 7, Keymiyah Shinholder 0 0-0 0, Emily Silva 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 8-11 38.
WOODSTOWN (3-0) – Talia Battavio 11-16 3-5 26, Kendall Young 1-7 3-5 5, Mia Waterman 1-4 0-0 3, Emma Perry 2-9 0-0 5, Talia Guardascione 2-7 1-2 5, Lauren Hengel 2-8 0-0 5, Gianna Maiorini 3-10 0-0 6, Brynley Ecret 1-6 0-0 2, Megan Donelson 7-9 5-5 19, Lizzy Daly 0-1 0-0 0, Jala Thomas 0-1 1-2 1, Kyia Leyman 0-1 0-0 0, Monah Green 0-0 0-0 0, Kailyn Kennedy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-80 13-19 77.

Highland	14	4	3	17-	38
Woodstown	19	23	28	7-	77

3-point goals: Highland 4 (Webb 3, Rodriguez); Woodstown 4 (Battavio, Waterman, Perry, Hengel). Rebounds: Woodstown 40 (Maiorini 6, Young 5). Fouled out: Beltran. Total fouls: Highland 12, Woodstown 16.

Cover photo: Woodstown’s Kendall Young (blue jersey) tries to pry the ball away from Highland’s Jianna Beltran during their SJIBT opener Saturday.

Friday boys basketball

Penns Grove turns back several Woodstown rallies, wins a thriller; Salem remains unbeaten, Pennsville, Schalick fall

FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Penns Grove 63, Woodstown 55
Salem 67, Salem Tech 27
Glassboro 65, Pennsville 51
Overbrook 75, Schalick 41

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Without an experienced senior who plays appreciative minutes, several new players to incorporate into its style of play and an otherwise athletic but young roster, the Penns Grove basketball team is “learning on the fly” this early portion of the season.

Last year with a senior-laden team it took a while to find the right combination and coach Damian Ware’s lineups changed virtually every game. What the Red Devils learned Friday night was how to handle business down the stretch in a close game of a high-intensity rivalry.

Penns Grove withstood several charges from Woodstown, including a stretch in which the Wolverines took a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to two with a little more than two minutes to play, before finally putting them away 63-55 for its first win of the season.

“That’s just the maturation process of a team that’s learning how to play varsity basketball on the fly,” Ware said. “Only two of my guys have played varsity minutes so we’re learning on the fly.

“We grew up a little bit tonight. What I learned (about his team) tonight is we can make some clutch plays down the stretch.”

The Red Devils (1-1) built leads in every quarter with fast starts on the restarts, but each time the Wolverines (0-2) came back.

Penns Grove scored the first seven points of the game, but it was tied 13-all at quarter’s end and was only 26-25 at halftime. The Red Devils opened the second half with a 13-2 run, but by the end of the third quarter led only 45-44.

They had a 10-point lead after Robbins’ flying follow with 6:02 to play, but Woodstown chipped away again and got it back to 56-54 with two minutes left when Blake Bialecki hit two technical free throws after Ware was teed up for being out on the floor all because the officials couldn’t/didn’t hear his frantic pleas for a time out.

The tech got Woodstown with a bucket and it had a shot on the ensuing possession, but it also fired up the Red Devils. They outscored the Wolverines 7-1 the rest of the way.

“When our coach got the tech, that’s when everything started getting fired up,” Ceaser said. “We started getting our coach’s back because we’re a family, a brotherhood. It put more fire in the team to get the win. As a team we back each other’s play.”

“I’m not going to make that a habit,” Ware said of his T as a tool of motivation.

Brandin Robbins led Penns Grove with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Roman Gipson had 12, including a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left that put the Red Devils up six. KaRon Ceaser had nine points and led the Red Devils’ defensive effort down the stretch.

In every case the Red Devils used the press, a smothering trap and quick hands to create turnovers that they turned into baskets.

“My defense was great,” Ware said. “I don’t know what the numbers were, but I know we didn’t give up many shots. We let (Rocco) String get some putbacks, but he’s 6-7, he’s a big, strong kid, so he’s going to get that. What I told my guys was we wanted to limit that as much as possible.”

String did everything he could to bring the Wolverines back when they fell behind. He finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots. He blocked back-to-back shots, grabbed a rebound off a missed Penns Grove free throw and had a putback basket all in the space of about 30 seconds late in the third quarter rally.

Braydon Hall had 16 points and hit four big 3-pointers during the Wolverines’ various rallies.

“We played hard, we just didn’t make enough plays in the end,” said Woodstown coach Ramon Roots, still looking for his first win as a head coach. “If we made just a few more plays we would have won the game today, but we played tough. We played very tough today.”

PENNS GROVE (1-1) – Brandin Robbins 6 0-0 15, Roman Gipson 4 3-4 12, KaRon Ceaser 4 1-2 9, Will Roy 1 0-0 2, Jameel Horace 3 2-6 9, Geonni Conrad 1 0-0 3, Antoine Robinson 1 0-2 2, Haneef Frisbee 5 1-2 11. Totals 25 7-14 63.
WOODSTOWN (0-2) – Garrett Leyman 0 2-2 2, Eli Caesar 4 0-1 8, Rocco String 9 0-0 18, Blake Bialecki 3 2-2 9, Braydon Hall 6 0-0 16, M.J. Hall 0 0-0 0, Alejandro Vazquez 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-12 55.

Penns Grove	13	13	19	18-	63
Woodstown	13	12	18	11-	55

3-point goals: Penns Grove 6 (Robbins 3, Gipson, Conrad, Horace); Woodstown 5 (Bialecki, B. Hall 4). Rebounds: Woodstown 55 (String 15). Technical fouls: Horace, B. Hall, PG coach Ware. Fouled out: Frisbee, B. Hall. Total fouls: Penns Grove 18, Woodstown 21.

SALEM 67, SALEM TECH 27: Tymere Lecator and Neziah Spence each scored 15 points and dished seven assists as the Rams won their third straight game. Deshaan Williams added 10 points and Antwuan Rogers grabbed 10 rebounds.

SALEM TECH (0-3) – Daviontae Russell 3 0-0 6, Ayden Myers 1 0-0 2, Joseph Hayes 1 1-3 3, Conner Dougan 2 0-0 5, Larry Pompper 2 1-2 5, Aiden Bobo 1 0-0 2, Logan Pace 0 0-0 0, Robinson 2 0-0 4, Reed 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 2-5 27.
SALEM (3-0) – Tymear Lecator 7 0-0 15, Antwuan Rogers 4 2-2 10, Deshaan Williams 5 0-0 10, Xavier McGriff 4 1-2 9, Neziah Spence 6 1-2 15, Donovan Weathers 2 0-2 4, Joe Tunis 0 2-2 2, Kyaire Parsons 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0, Harlem Parsons 1 0-0 2, Giovanni Tuvale 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 6-10 67.

Salem Tech	2	6	6	13-	27
Salem	18	11	20	18-	67

3-point goals: Salem Tech (Dougan); Salem 3 (Lecator, Spence 2). Rebounds: Salem 34 (Rogers 10). Total fouls: Salem Tech 10, Salem 12.

GLASSBORO 65, PENNSVILLE 51: Xavier Sabb scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter, highlighted by three spectacular dunks, to stake the Bulldogs to a lead they maintained the rest of the game. Glassboro’s Maurice Davis led all scorers with 20 points. After trailing by 10 at halftime, the Eagles cut their deficit to seven with four minutes to play. Giovanni Rios led Pennsville with 13 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

GLASSBORO (1-2) – Hakim Theresa 1 0-0 2, Xavier Sabb 8 2-4 18, Aiden Harris 4 3-4 11, Maurice Davis 10 0-2 20, Davon Barr 2 4-6 8, Alex Adeleye 2 0-0 4, Marley Crowl 1 2-2 4. Totals 28 11-18 65.
PENNSVILLE (0-2) – Giovanni Rios 6 1-2 13, Perry Meranti 3 1-2 7, Cole Johnston 3 1-3 8, Logan Hitt 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 2 2-3 7, Daniel Knight 2 0-0 5, Shiloh Jefferson 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 5-10 51.

Glassboro	17	16	14	18-	65
Pennsville	12	11	15	13-	51

3-point goals: Pennsville 5 (Johnston 2, Hitt, O’Brien, Knight). Rebounds: Pennsville 24 (Rios 9). Total fouls: Glassboro 11, Pennsville 12

OVERBROOK 75, SCHALICK 41: Lamar Little led three Overbrook scorers in double figures with 15 points as the Rams picked up their first win of the season. Zair Green added 14 and Xavier Wright 12. Sherrod Jones led Schalick with 14 points.

SCHALICK (1-2) – Reggie Allen 3 0-0 8, Nylan Sutton 4 4-7 12, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 2, Justin Iacona 1 1-1 3, Sherrod Jones 5 1-1 14, Jamari Whitley 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 6-9
OVERBROOK (1-1) – Lamar Little 7 0-0 15, Xavier Wright 4 4-4 12, Zair Green 6 2-2 14, Elvin Santiago 3 0-0 6, Bilal Robinson 3 0-0 8, JR Stanley 1 0-0 3, Angel Bermudez 2 0-0 5, Jayden Wilkerson 1 0-0 2, Jaden St. John 3 0-0 6, Kyle Johns 2 0-0 4. Totals 32 6-6 75.
3-point goals: Schalick 5 (Allen 3, Jones 3); Overbrook 5 (Little, Robinson 2, Stanley, Bermudez).

Friday girls basketball

Woodstown power pair, Battavio and Donelson, have another big game; Pennsville, Schalick, Salem Tech score first wins of the year

FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Woodstown 70, Penns Grove 38
Pennsville 52, Glassboro 44
Schalick 51, Overbrook 29
Salem Tech 36, Salem 22

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE — When he watched them from a distance for scouting purposes last year Matt Smart thought then Woodstown’s dynamic duo of Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson were “phenomenal” players. Now that he sees them up close every day as their coach his appreciation for them is even greater.

Battavio and Donelson are never far apart on or off the basketball floor. On the court Friday night, Donelson scored 28 points with five 3-pointers and Battavio scored 26 with three as the Wolverines took down shorthanded Penns Grove 70-38.

Than, when they discovered one had left behind her water bottle as the team was leaving the gym, both tore out of the team bus and raced across the lawn to go back inside to retrieve it.

“We’ve had two tough tests this year so far and Megan and Talia have been great in both of them,” Smart said. “You see their court vision. They have a way of finding each other in situations that I might not even see. They are just so unselfish right now and they want each other to succeed. It’s not a race to see who can score how many points.

“I scouted them for one game that didn’t end up happening (last year), they were phenomenal. It was how do we stop them offensively and how do we attack them defensively. They are just as advertised, if not better.”

It was the 11th time in their career they both scored 20 in the same game and eighth in the last 30 games. Only 18 points separate them on the career scoring list – Battavio now has 1,240 points, Donelson 1,222.

With the two of them combining for 20 points, the Wolverines (2-0) opened a 24-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, although the Red Devils (1-1), playing with only six players, scored the first nine points of second quarter and played them even to halftime.

They weren’t the first points the Wolverines scored in the game. Those belonged to Gianna Maiorini, who hit their first two baskets before the other two got going.

“Today I was most proud of Gianna,” Smart said. “It was a slow kind of start and she comes up and hits two big shots for us. She’s been that way all year. She’s kind of the quiet leader who kind of knows where everybody is.”

Donelson, a Millersville signee, also had seven rebounds and six more steals. Battavio, a Goldey Beacom signee, had six rebounds and seven assists, several of the whip-around variety that usually found Donelson in the corner for a 3.

Donelson was 5-for-8 from behind the arc in the game.

“Working in the summer just really improved my shooting,” she said.

In perhaps the definition of their collaboration, there was a play early in the fourth quarter when Donelson made a steal that sent them off on a 2-on-1 break. She passed it to Battavio and just as they got to the foul line Battavio returned it past the unfortunate Penns Grove defender caught in the flow and Donelson soared in for an easy layup.

The play came right after Battavio hit a 3

“Me and Talia work really well together,” Donelson said. “We both know we play and we just work off that and it’s really good.”

WOODSTOWN (2-0) – Talia Battavio 7 9-10 26, Megan Donelson 9 5-6 28, Gianna Maiorini 2 0-0 4, Kyla Leyman 1 0-0 2, Lauren Hengel 0 0-0 0, Emma Perry 1 0-0 3, Jala Thomas 1 0-0 3, Kendall Young 1 0-0 3, Talia Guardascione 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, Kailyn Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Brynley Ecret 0 1-3 1, Ava White 0 0-0 0, Mia Waterman 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 15-19 70
PENNS GROVE (1-1) – Brianna Robbins 2 3-8 7, NyAsia Numan 2 0-0 5, RaNiyah Wilson 5 4-6 17, Keziah Patterson 1 0-0 2, MiKayla Washington 0 0-2 0, JaNiyah Cummings 3 1-3 7. Totals 13 8-19 38.

Woodstown	24	10	16	20–	70
Penns Grove	5	10	13	10–	38

3-point goals: Woodstown 11 (Battavio 3, Donelson 5, Perry, Thomas, Young); Penns Grove 4 (Numan, Wilson 3). Fouled out: Robbins, Washington. Total fouls: Woodstown 19, Penns Grove 23.

PENNSVILLE 52, GLASSBORO 44: Marley Wood helped the Eagles hold it together after two of their top players fouled out in the fourth quarter and Glassboro was rallying to help coach Steve Merritt get his first win with the program.

Wood scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists. It was her third career double-double. She was particularly instrumental after Taylor Bass (11 points, seven rebounds) and Nora Ausland (12 points, six rebounds) fouled out in the fourth quarter while Glassboro cut a 15-point deficit to six.

Although she didn’t do much scoring in the quarter, she was the rudder that steered the ship. Freshman Addison Johnston also played a big role, scoring four points in the fourth, including her first career 3-pointer.

“One-and-one feels a lot better than 0-2,” Merritt said. “I was almost giddy with joy postgame. I was so proud of how they did what I have been drilling into them.”

Glassboro’s Kezia Brackett led all scorers with 18 points. She had 13 in the second half.

PENNSVILLE (1-1) – Taylor Bass 4 1-1 11, Marley Wood 5 2-4 14, Nora Ausland 4 1-2 12, Jaida Burns 3 1-1 7, Addison Johnston 1 1-2 4, Izzy Saulin 2 0-0 4, Ashlyn Fredo 0 0-0 0, Calli Ausland 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 6-10 52.
GLASSBORO (0-2) – Tamia Smith 6 1-4 14, Grace Moore 1 0-0 2, Kezia Brackett 6 2-2 18, Kimora Miles 0 0-0 0, Sianna Wedderburn 1 0-0 2, Lily Czubas 4 0-2 8. Totals 18 3-8 44.

Pennsville	7	17	16	12–	52
Glassboro	3	12	16	13–	44

3-point goals: Pennsville 8 (Bass 2, Wood 2, N. Ausland 3, Johnston); Glassboro 5 (Smith, Brackett 4). Rebounds: Pennsville 33 (Wood); Glassboro 28 (Wedderburn 13, Czubas 10). Fouled out: Bass, N. Ausland. Total fouls: Pennsville 16, Glassboro 13.

SCHALICK 51, OVERBROOK 29: Freshmen Naveah Robinson and Willow Davis knocked down seven of Schalick’s nine 3-pointers and the long-range bombing led the Cougars to their first win of the season.

Robinson hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points. Davis hit three in her first career start and had 14 points. The Cougars (1-2) have hit 12 3s in their first three games. They had 41 in 22 games last season.

The Cougars hit six from behind the arc in the first half while opening a 33-10 halftime lead. Robinson and Davis had five of them.

“The 3-ball is definitely something Nevaeh and Willow bring to this team,” Cougars coach John Whalen said. “It allows us to do much more on offense and really helps us spread the floor.

“I think both (Robinson and Davis) are starting to more comfortable, more confident, and will be a major part of this team’s success.”

OVERBROOK (0-2) – Gianna Simon 5 7-14 18, Jael Pressley 1 4-6 6, Rosetta Loibman 0 0-0 0, Lelani Knight 1 0-0 2, Kayla Reynolds 1 1-2 3, Talia Wiggins 0 0-0 0, Leslies Rosario 0 0-0 0, Lily LaFountain 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 12-22 29.
SCHALICK (1-2) – Abby Willoughby 1 1-1 3, Cali Fisler 0 1-2 1, Nevaeh Robinson 7 0-1 18, Ava Scurry 3 1-2 7, Willow Davis 5 1-2 14, Emily Miller 2 0-0 5, Olivia Lunemann 0 0-0 0, Carly Vicente 1 0-0 3, Vic Basich 0 0-0 0, Kyleigh Cutler 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 4-8 51.

Overbrook	6	4	9	10–	29
Schalick	16	17	10	8–	51

3-point goals: Overbrook 1 (Simon); Schalick 9 (Robinson 4, Davis 3, Miller, Vicente). Fouled out: Lunemann. Total fouls: Overbrook 9, Schalick 17.

SALEM TECH 36, SALEM 22: Shelby Liber hit two 3-pointers among her team-high nine points and the Chargers dominated the boards to win their season opener for the first time in program history. Demajae White had a game-high 12 rebounds. Rylee Doerr didn’t scored, but she grabbed 11 boards.

Kaylin Beardsley and Shelby Drummond both had full boxscores. Beardlsey had four points, five rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Drummond had three points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.

The Chargers won only one game all last season. They had never beaten Salem before (0-4).

SALEM (0-2) – Zaniyah Frieson 1 0-2 2, Nevaeh Hickman 4 0-0 10, Carlysia Pierce 3 3-5 10, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Marcela Villalpando 0 0-0 0, Taleah Elliott 0 0-0 0, Dakirah Gray 0 0-0 0, Amariah Frye 0 0-0 0, Jania Adams 0 0-0 0, Shyla Parsons 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 3-7 22.
SALEM TECH (1-0) – Kaylin Beardsley 2 0-0 4, Hannah Dewitt 2 3-8 7, Shelby Drummond 1 1-2 3, Shelby Liber 3 1-6 9, Lavae Scott 1 0-0 2, Demajae White 2 2-2 6, Evening Amedee 2 1-1 5, Rylee Doerr 0 0-0 0, Jadelynn Stoffyn 0 0-0 0, Rachel Reed 0 0-0 0, Payton Fitzpatrick 0 0-0 0, Tiara Bazemore 0 0-0 0, Amora Delaine 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 8-19 36.

Salem	3	11	2	6–	22
Salem Tech	2	15	7	12–	36

3-point goals: Salem 3 (Hickman 2, Pierce); Salem Tech 2 (Liber 2).

Festive in the Fieldhouse

Salem CC men’s basketball team sets modern-era single-game record for points, wins before Christmas in rout of RCSJ-Cumberland; score four double-doubles

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Salem Community College had its annual Christmas party in the lobby of the Dupont Fieldhouse Wednesday. The Mighty Oaks basketball team had its own party in the gym Thursday night.

Call it a Festival of Heights.

The coaches were decked out in colorful Christmas sweaters. There was hip-hop holiday music playing over the sound system. And by the end of the night the players were flying around the gym like Santa’s reindeer.

What better way to go into the holiday break than with an historic 114-56 rout of winless RCSJ-Cumberland in their final game of the first semester.

“It makes the holidays really good,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “You’re not going anywhere with 99 concerns. You’re going in there building off what you just had.”

“It gives me a really positive attitude going into the holidays,” post Rodney Shelton said.

The game was historic on so many fronts. The Mighty Oaks (10-4) set a modern-era record for points in a game and became the first team since the school revived the program in 2019 to win 10 games before the break. They had six players score in double figures and an incredible four double-doubles, which Green said was “pretty cool.”

They had only six double-doubles all season prior to Thursday night and never more than two in any game. They had had only 11 in the previous 31 Green-coached games.

Their previous single-game high was 113 points against Atlantic Cape on Feb. 4, 2020. They had scored 110 under Green last season and 106 earlier this year (Lancaster Bible JV). The 10 wins are one more than Green won last year after being hired on Dec. 23. Ironically, RCSJ-Cumberland was his first game and first victory.

The 2021-22 team won nine games before its holiday break.

“That’s big time; that’s good,” Green said. “Take your hat off to the guys and our coaching staff. It shows we’re going in the right direction. It’s always great being the first. We want to be the first one with however many wins; is it 25? 30? We want to be the first with everything. That’s how you build programs. We’ve got 10, so we’re better than we were last year already.”

“I kind of knew (they’d do this well), if I’m being honest,” guard Josh Ramos said. “Coming into the season I felt with the group of guys we had, especially after last year with the low number we had, I had so much confidence that we would be one of the best teams in the region and (have) double-digit wins before the break.”

Ramos hit a career-high eight 3-pointers in the game, six in the second half, and led the Mighty Oaks in scoring with 28 points. The double-doubles in points and rebounds went to Shelton (17/13), A.J. Jones (17/10), Tyrese Fortune (14/10) and Xavier Brewington (13/14). Ramos also had five assists and Shelton had five blocked shots. It was the fourth time they went over 100 in Green’s tenure.

“Just everybody chipping in,” Green said. “That’s how we want the team to look. It showed tonight. We just played the right way and shared the ball. It was a good look for us.”

“It really shows how deep we are, how good we actually are,” Ramos said. “I feel like when we all play as a team, everyone’s playing hard, look at the box score, there are four double-doubles, everyone’s in double digits, that’s how we should play every night.”

“When we all share the ball it’s like we’re out there playing outside,” Shelton said. “That’s exactly what it felt like. It felt like an outside game playing with the bros.”

It wasn’t as if the Mighty Oaks were intentionally running it up. They called off the press with 12 minutes left. They only have nine players available, so it’s not like they could empty the bench with deep reserves. And the shot clock keeps them from holding onto the ball.

The Mighty Oaks hit eight 3-pointers in the second half as a team. Ramos, who said his range is all the way to “the parking lot,” was 6-for-9 from a variety of distances behind the arc in the half. He hit three in a row early in the half and had four in the 25-5 run it became. He goes into the break ranked third in JUCO Division III 3-pointers (43-107) while the team is third in 3s made per game (9.6) and attempts per game (29.0).

“My biggest thing is I know if I come out slow I just stay sane,” he said. “I keep myself composed just knowing that there’s a whole ‘nother half to shoot and help win the game. I don’t really dwell too much on the first half and I just come out in the second half.”

Jason Brice led the Dukes (0-14) with 24 points, three 3s and six rebounds. Schalick product Nasir Sutton had a JUCO career high eight points and five rebounds.

SALEM CC 114, RCSJ-CUMBERLAND 56
RCSJ-CUMBERLAND (0-14) – Kyelle Ruiz 0-2 0-0 0, Lemann Johnson 5-17 1-4 13, Ryan Due 3-16 4-9 11, Jason Brice 8-13 5-9 24, Rodrigo Gonzales 0-7 0-0 0, Mike Dougherty 0-4 0-0 0, Nasir Sutton 2-3 4-4 8, Aidan Hobson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-62 14-26 56.
SALEM CC (10-4) – Dontarius Jones 4-5 1-2 11, Tyrese Fortune 4-11 6-6 14, Tivon Woolford 0-4 0-0 0, Xavier Brewington 5-11 2-2 13, Rodney Shelton 8-16 1-1 17, A.J. Jones 6-14 4-4 17, Josh Ramos 9-16 0-0 26, Shyheed Taylor 2-6 3-5 7, Stefan Phillips 4-7 0-0 9. Totals 42-90 17-20 114.

RCSJ-Cumberland	27	29-	56
Salem CC	51	63-	114

3-point goals: RCSJ-Cumb 6-22 (Johnson 2-7, Due 1-3, Brice 3-7, Gonzales 0-2, Dougherty 0-3); Salem 13-31 (D. Jones 2-2, Fortune 0-1, Woolford 0-2, Brewington 1-5, A. Jones 1-4, Ramos 8-15, Taylor 0-1, Phillips 1-1). Rebounds: RCSJ-Cumb 26 (Brice 6); Salem 67 (Fortune 10, Brewington 14, Shelton 13, A. Jones 10). Technical fouls: RCSJ coach Stalling. Fouled out: Woolford, Phillips. Total fouls: RCSJ-Cumb 17, Salem 22.

Salem CC head coach Mike Green (R) and his assistants sport colorful Christmas sweaters for Thursday’s final game before the holidays. Sophomore post Rodney Shelton wanted in on the fun, but it was coaches only.

Deep-rooted debut

Woodstown’s Roots returns to alma mater as opponent in his first game as a head coach, 3 other coaches also debut with their Salem County teams Wednesday

WEDNESDAY BASKETBALL
BOYS GAMES
Salem 71, Woodstown 48
Wildwood 54, Pennsville 34
Clayton 87, Schalick 67
GIRLS GAMES
Woodstown 61, Salem 16
Wildwood 70, Pennsville 39
Clayton 65, Schalick 21

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – Ramon Roots had all the emotions one would expect from the day of his first game as a head coach. He was excited. He was nervous. He was anxious all day.

But for the new Woodstown boys basketball coach there was more to Wednesday’s debut than just a first game as the guy in charge. It was on the road … against the team he used to help coach … in the gym where he used to play.

And he still teaches in the district, so he was embedded with the “enemy” all school day long.

Once the game started, however, it felt like any other game. And it hurt just as bad as any loss he’s ever had before after the Wolverines lost to Salem, 71-48.

“I was just anxious, I was anxious to get out here and start the program, start the journey,” Roots said. “You’re going to hear me say that a lot, we’re starting the journey.

“It was a little weird being on the other side, but I was ready for this moment. Going in I didn’t know what to really expect but I kind of knew how it would be. Things happen, but I was ready for it.”

Roots was one of four Salem County basketball coaches debuting with their teams Wednesday night. The other three were girls coaches Matt Smart (Woodstown), Steve Merritt (Pennsville) and Jerry Macon (Salem).

Merritt has been around the block a time or two, having won more than 500 games across multiple sports in 19 years at Salem and returning to the bench after a two-year break. Smart and Roots are head coaches for the first time. Macon has been a head coach before.

Before and after his game Roots was greeted by acquaintances who welcomed him back to the gym he experienced some of his fondest moments in sports. The Rams and their faithful were a lot less accommodating in the 32 minutes in between.

As the game moved into the final minute a section of fans on the far side of the floor began waving and chanting “Good-bye, Roots,” to which he responded by pointing in the direction of Salem’s 1,000-point scorer banner on which his name appears third from the bottom. A not-so-subtle reminder that no matter where he goes in the world he’ll always be connected to Salem.

“I knew what it would be like,” he said. “I know Salem’s a hostile environment. I know I got love here. I knew how the fans are going to be. It’s all love. I’m used to it already.

“I’ve been living in Salem all my life. I know the environment. I know what to expect. I’ve been on the other side of this. I was a coach for Salem three years and seen how they treat other coaches and other players. It wasn’t nothing I wasn’t used to. But I had a lot of love here tonight that was cheering for both sides.”

“We love him, he’s helped build this program to what it is so we appreciate him and want to see him to well just obviously not tonight,” Salem coach Anthony Farmer said. “It’s a mindset. He knows I’m a competitor. Give him a little high-five, welcome, if we can help you with anything, but (once the game starts) there’s really not much to talk about, there’s no handshakes, no high-fives, until obviously the game is over.”

The two teams gave both sides a lot to cheer about early, playing even for a quarter with Woodstown hitting an acrobatic layup at the buzzer to tie it at 16. Rocco String cleared a rebound to M.J. Hall, who threw an over-the-head backwards pass that found Eli Caesar on the low right block for a wide open layup that beat the horn.

But then Tymear Lecator got in the game in the second quarter, which got the offense going, the Rams turned up the defense and they steadily pulled away. The Rams scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second quarter and never trailed again.

Lecator, held out of the first quarter for an unspecified issue, scored 12 points in the second quarter and then opened the second half with back-to-back 3s. The sophomore guard finished with 27 points – mostly in the second and third quarters – and seven assists.

Antwuan Rogers added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Darrelle Johnson grabbed 10 boards. Woodstown didn’t have a double-figure scorer. Rocco String had 17 rebounds.

“They played us well for a quarter without our best kid, but obviously (Lecator) is a game-changer,” Farmer said. “When you insert him, you’re inserting a game-changer.”

“We definitely started strong, but I think we just turned over the ball a little bit too much and they had momentum plays that really hurt,” Roots said. “I liked our energy coming out. We’ve just got to maintain it.”

It was a physical game, as Roots expected, with 51 total fouls and 49 combined free throws. When Roots protested a call a little too vehemently he got hit with the first technical foul of his coaching career — 13 and a half minutes into his tenure — proving right there he may be a son of Salem but he was going to fight for his new charges.

“Everyone goes to bat for me, I’ll go to bat for them,” he said. “I’ve got their back when they’ve got mine.”

WILDWOOD GIRLS 70, PENNSVILLE 39: It may have been two years ago that Steve Merritt last coached a high school girls basketball game, but he remembers the experience being “every bit as frenetic as I remember it” as he directed his new Pennsville team through its regular-season opener.

The Eagles trailed the defending South Jersey Group I champions 10-8 with two minutes left in the first quarter, but the Warriors scored the last nine points of the quarter coming out of a timeout and steadily pulled away. Wildwood led 36-19 at halftime and 55-24 after three quarters.

“We just didn’t play sharp defense,” Merritt said. “We let Macie (McCracken) go to the baseline too often. We didn’t stay with our player; we switched when I wanted them to get through the screens. It’s not what I had hoped.”

McCracken finished with 36 points (to surpass 1,800 for her career) and 14 rebounds. She hit five 3-pointers. Taylor Bass led Pennsville with 16 points. Nora Ausland had 13.

Before their first scrimmage together, Merritt was so amped for the exercise he had restless night of sleep, took his dog for a walk at 6 a.m. and wound up coming to the gym some two hours before the scheduled tip.

It wasn’t nearly as disquieting awaiting the first real game, but he agreed his emotions he was experiencing were probably on a par with those of the county coaches going into their first games a head coach because he’d been away from it a few year.

“The anticipation for the game seemed to drag on forever … but as soon as it’s over I’m thinking ‘Holy cow, that was fast,’” he said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow when I go on line and look at all the results and start doing my stat track and everything else. I get excited about that. Chews up the whole morning. The poor dog may not get out.”

WOODSTOWN GIRLS 61, SALEM 16: The Matt Smart Era of Woodstown girls basketball couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. The Wolverines jumped out to a 19-2 first-quarter lead, held the Rams scoreless in the third quarter, put 10 players in the scoring column and enjoyed their biggest opening day win since 2021.

“It was a fun experience, it was a great learning experience as well – for me and the girls,” Smart said. “I get to learn how the girls react to my coaching style, they get to see me in a real game scenario. It was a lot of fun. The girls responded great.”

Both teams were playing under new coaches as Salem’s Jerry Macon was coaching his first game with the Rams.

Smart admitted he was a “little nervous” waiting for the game to start, but once it got underway it was just like any other game.

And it was just like any other Woodstown game.

South Jersey girls basketball observers have gotten used to this phrase: Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson once again led the way. Battavio scored 20 points. Donelson had 13 points and 10 steals.

The Wolverines produced 43 steals in the game; six players had at least four each. They also had 21 assists among their 27 baskets.

“It was a great defensive effort for us,” Smart said. “I was most proud of how unselfish the whole team was. We were playing great defense, making unselfish passes for layups. I think the box score shows that we had 10 contributors scoring, which is awesome.

“We have to play to the Woodstown level and every day we’re just trying to get better. There’s always room to improve and that’s what we’re going to try to do every day.”

Salem coach Anthony Farmer (R) embraces new Woodstown coach Ramon Roots in the post-game handshake line Wednesday. Roots was Farmer’s assistant for three years before getting his first chance to be a head coach this season.

BOYS BOX SCORES
SALEM 71, WOODSTOWN 48
WOODSTOWN (0-1) – Eli Caesar 2 0-0 4, John McGinley 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 2 3-3 8, Alejandro Vazquez 2 4-5 9, M.J. Hall 2 2-3 7, Garrett Leyman 1 1-2 4, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 1 3-4 5, Rocco String 1 2-5 4, B Mall 2 1-2 7. Totals 13 16-24 48.
SALEM (2-0) – Donovan Weathers 0 0-0 0, Xavier McGriff 1 1-3 3, Neziah Spence 3 0-0 8, Kyaire Parsons 0 0-0 0, Deshawn Williams 2 0-1 4, Tymear Lecator 7 10-13 27, Darrell Johnson 3 0-0 6, Antwan Rogers 4 4-5 12, Harlem Parsons 1 0-0 3, Joe Tunis 3 2-3 9, Giovanni Talave 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 17-25 71.

Woodstown	16	10	14	8-	48
Salem	16	24	14	17-	71

3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki, Vazquez, Hall, Leyman, Mall 2); Salem 6 (Spence, Lecator 3, H. Parsons, Tunis). Technical fouls: Woodstown coach Roots. Fouled out: Bialecki, Hall. Total fouls: Woodstown 28, Salem 22.

WILDWOOD 54, PENNSVILLE 34: Brian Cunniff led three Wildwood scorers in double figures with 17 points. Trevor Troiano had 12 and Nolan Mawhinney 11. Mason O’Brien led Pennsville with 13 points.

WILDWOOD (1-0) – Eric Jordan 3, Nolan Mawhinney 11, Trevor Troiano 12, Brian Cunniff 17, Jordan Dozier 4, Gianna Groiano 2.
PENNSVILLE (0-1) – Mason O’Brien 3 6-10 13, Charles McDevitt 1 3-5 5, Giovanni Rios 2 4-7 8, Perry Meranti 0 1-4 1, Cole Johnston 1 0-0 3, Logan Hill 1 0-0 2, Daniel Knight 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 14-26 34.

Wildwood	7	10	20	11-	54
Pennsville	8	8	6	12-	34

3-point goals: Pennsville 2 (O’Brien, Johnston). Rebounds: Wildwood 35, Pennsville 21 (Rios 6).

CLAYTON 87, SCHALICK 67: Princeton Sackor scored 21 points, Nazir Davis had 20 and two others scored 11 apiece as the Clippers opened their season with a victory.

Clayton	18	22	24	23-	87
Schalick	10	13	25	19-	67

**New Pennsville girls coach Steve Merritt (R) watches his team go through pre-game warmups before sending it out to play Wildwood in their first regular-season game together.**

GIRLS BOX SCORES
WOODSTOWN 61, SALEM 16
SALEM (0-1) – Carlysia Pierce 4 0-2 9, Zaniyah Frieson 0 0-0 0, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Marcela Villalpando 0 1-2 1, Taleah Elliott 0 0-0 0, Dakirah Gray 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Hickman 3 0-0 6, Amariah Frye 0 0-0 0, Jania Adams 0 0-0 0, Shyla Parsons 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 1-4 16.
WOODSTOWN (1-0) – Megan Donelson 6 0-0 13, Talia Battavio 8 0-0 20, Gianna Maiorini 1 0-0 2, Lauren Hengel 1 0-0 2, Kyia Leyman 2 0-0 4, Emma Perry 2 0-1 4, Kendall Young 3 2-2 8, Lizzy Daly 0 0-2 0, Kailyn Kennedy 1 0-0 3, Talia Guardascione 0 0-0 0, Brynley Ecret 1 0-0 2, Ava White 0 0-0 0, Mia Waterman 1 0-0 3, Monah Green 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 2-5 61.

Salem	2	4	0	10-	16
Woodstown	19	17	11	14-	61

3-point goals: Salem 1 (Pierce); Woodstown 7 (Donelson, Battavio 4, Kennedy, Waterman). Total fouls: Salem 10, Woodstown 8.

WILDWOOD 70, PENNSVILLE 39
WILDWOOD (1-0) – Macie McCracken 14 3-3 36, Angela Wilber 5 1-2 13, Rebecca Benichou 6 0-0 14, Kiana D’Antuono 1 0-0 3, Cydnee Kilian 0 0-0 0, Addison Troiano 0 1-2 1, Sara Bjellal 1 1-1 3, Laila Fathi 0 0-0 0, Lily Atkinson 0 0-0 0, Emma Contreras 0 0-0 0, Julia Ennis 0 0-0 0, Antoinette Cooper 0 0-0 0, Ellasyn Morey 0 0-0 0, Mollie Farrell 0 0-0 0, Janet Conzalez 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 6-8 70.
PENNSVILLE (0-1) – Taylor Bass 7 1-1 16, Marley Wood 3 2-4 8, Izzy Saulin 1 1-2 3, Nora Ausland 5 2-3 12, Jaida Burns 0 0-2 0, Ashlyn Fredo 0 0-0 0, Calli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Addison Johnston 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-10 39.

Wildwood	19	17	19	15-	70
Pennsville	8	11	5	15-	39

3-point goals: Wildwood 10 (McCracken 5, Wilber 2, Benichou 2, D’Antuono); Pennsville 1 (Bass). Rebounds: Wildwood 33 (McCracken 14). Total fouls: Wildwood 12, Pennsville 8.

CLAYTON 65, SCHALICK 21: Rainelle Blocker dominated the game with 33 points and 26 rebounds. Teammate Ava Delaney had 16 points and 13 of the Clippers’ 24 steals.

SCHALICK (0-2) – Abby Willoughby 0 1-2 1, Cali Fisler 0 1-2 1, Neveah Robinson 2 1-2 5, Ava Scurry 0 0-0 0, Olivia Vanacker 2 0-0 4, Willow Davis 2 0-0 5, Emily Miller 1 0-0 2, Olivia Lunemann 1 0-0 2, Victoria Basich 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neill 0 1-2 1, Kyleigh Cutler 0 0-0 0, Carly Vicente 0 0-2 0. Totals 8 4-10 21.
CLAYTON (1-0) – Ava Delaney 7 1-6 16, Rainelle Blocker 12 9-13 33, Rosa Pereira 1 0-0 3, India Williams 3 2-2 8, India Bryant 2 0-0 5, Bella Wiseburn 0 0-0 0, Kayma Revels 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 12-21 65.

Schalick (0-2)	2	5	6	8-	21
Clayton (1-0)	13	9	22	19-	65

3-point goals: Schalick 1 (Davis); Clayton 3 (Delaney, Pereira, Bryant). Total fouls: Schalick 16, Clayton 13.

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