Monday girls roundup: Penns Grove uses strong defense to dump Salem, Woodstown dominates Delran, Pennsville falls to Glassboro
MONDAY GIRLS SCORES Glassboro 47, Pennsville 41 Penns Grove 66, Salem 31 Woodstown 65, Delran 31
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – The Penns Grove girls are at their best when their defense is running hot and Monday it was as good as it has been all year – especially in the first half.
The Red Devils forced a ton of turnovers and cleared most of the boards on both ends of the floor while dominating Salem 66-31 to snap a three-game losing streak in which they didn’t really have their best defensive player.
“They did pretty good with the defense,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “They did OK.”
The Red Devils were particularly sharp in the first half. They had 12 steals in the first 12 minutes to fuel a 25-5 lead that became 29-5 at the half. The only two baskets they allowed in the half were a bucket down low by Ava Rodgers in the first quarter and a 3-ball from Carlysia Pierce in the second.
“I feel like we could do better, but it was pretty good at the start,” guard Amani Taylor said.
Taylor was the catalyst. She missed significant minutes or altogether games during the losing streak after taking a shot in the nose during the Pennsville game, but she was back Monday wearing a plastic faceguard and was eager to make up for lost time.
“She was our missing (piece to the) puzzle,” Denby said. “We need her on the floor. She’s our general on the floor.”
Taylor had four steals in the first quarter and seven in the first half, whether it was with quick hands at the front of the press, sealing off the back door in the trap or just being disruptive in the middle of the floor. She finished with eight steals in the game.
“I really missed playing defense knowing my team was struggling a little bit,” she said. “I just like being aggressive.”
All coaches hope their defense leads to offense and it did for the Red Devils. RaNiyah Wilson led them in scoring with 28 points; she had 10 in the first quarter and 14 in the fourth.
Meely Horace put a dent in her bid to reach the 1,000-point plateau with 17; she needs 56. She also had 16 rebounds.
3-point goals: Salem 1 (Pierce); Penns Grove 2 (Wilson 2). Technical fouls: Foote. Total fouls: Salem 14, Penns Grove 16.
WOODSTOWN 65, DELRAN 31: Megan Donelson and Talia Battavio moved closer to the 1,000-point plateau with 22 and 21 points, respectively and Shannon Pierman passed 500 career rebounds with 15 in the game.
Both Donelson and Pierman enjoyed double-doubles. Donelson had 10 steals to go with her points and Pierman had 12 points to go with her rebounds. Pieman now has 503 career boards.
Donelson is now 52 points shy of the milestone. Battavio needs 56.
GLASSBORO 47, PENNSVILLE 41: Nora Ausland returned to the Pennsville lineup for the first time in 10 days and scored six points, but the Eagles didn’t quite have enough to offset a pair of 20-point Glassboro efforts in their first game since coach Sam Trapp announced her decision to step away from coaching at the end of the season.
Kezia Brackett and Tamia Smith had 22 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Bulldogs. Bella Farina led Pennsville with 13 points.
Cover photo: Penns Grove’s Amani Taylor (5) comes up to play defense on Salem’s Ameriyona Hunter during their game Monday. Taylor led a defense effort that was strong all game and held the Rams to two field goals in the first half.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 3; SJIBT Elite 8, four county basketball players could reach 1,000-point milestone among this week’s highlights
Monday
BASKETBALL Girls Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Salem at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Delran, 6:30 p.m. Boys Penns Grove at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Gateway, 5:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Schalick vs. TBA, Toms River
SWIMMING Salem vs. Woodstown at GCIT, 8:15 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Kingsway, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at West Deptford, 4 p.m.
WRESTLING Deptford Twp. at Schalick, 5 p.m.
Tuesday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Boys Schalick at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Salem, 7 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Men CC of Philadelphia at Salem CC, 6 p.m. Women Salem CC at Harcum College, 5 p.m.
BOWLING Salem Tech at Lindenwold, 4 p.m.
Wednesday
WRESTLING Cumberland at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville, Glassboro at Clayton, 6 p.m.
SWIMMING Tri-County Conference Showcase at GCIT, 3 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Salem Tech, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL Girls Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Schalick at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. Wildwood at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Boys Clayton at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Glassboro at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Women Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 5 p.m. Men Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 7 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Hammonton, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Kingsway, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Friday
BASKETBALL Girls St. Joe (Hamm.) at Salem Tech, 5 p.m. Gateway at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Boys Salem Tech at Riverside, 5:15 p.m. Schalick at Gateway, 5:30 p.m. West Deptford at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Salem, Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Timber Creek, 5 p.m. Pennsville at Burlington Twp., 6 p.m. Schalick at Absegami, 6 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK NJSIAA Sectionals, Toms River
SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Haddon Heights at Giant Fitness, 6 p.m.
Saturday
BASKETBALL Girls Pennsville at West Deptford, 11:30 a.m.
South Jersey Invitational Tournament at Eastern HS Paul VI vs. Timber Creek, 5:45 p.m. Woodstown vs. Cherokee, 7:30 p.m.
Boys Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 11:30 a.m. Salem vs. Paulsboro at Atlantic City, 6:30 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Women Raritan Valley CC at Salem CC, noon Men Salem CC at Luzerne County CC, noon
WRESTLING Bordentown, Vineland at Penns Grove, 9 a.m. Clearview, Hammonton, Central Regional at Pennsville, 10 a.m. Woodstown, Lacey, Pennsauken at Burlington Twp., 10 a.m.
Here is a complete look at Saturday’s sports action in Salem County, includes basketball, wrestling, track; will be updated throughout the day
Wrestling
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown’s impressive second-half turnaround continued Saturday morning as the Wolverines won three dual matches to get back to .500 for the season and put themselves in a position to host part of the first two rounds of the South Jersey Group I tournament.
In their last three matches before Saturday’s state cutoff, the Wolverines dominated Clayton/Glassboro 51-13, Penns Grove 54-18 and Millville 57-18, running their winning streak to seven in a row.
They are now back to .500 for the season, 10-10. At one point they were 2-9.
They started the day T-2 with Audubon in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, but were the virtual No. 2 having beaten the Green Wave head-to-head in one of their early-season victories. If it holds through the calculations of the other Saturday matches, as the No. 2 seed they will host 7, 3 and 6 when the tournament opens Feb. 5.
Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra pinned at 215 to clinch the Wolverines’ win over Millville, locking up a 3-0 sweep of the day and the presumptive No. 2 seed. Paulsboro currently holds the No. 1 spot.
With the best information currently available, Woodstown would host Haddon Twp. and No. 3 Audubon vs. No. 6 Palmyra. The other side of the bracket at Paulsboro projects No. 5 Pennsville vs. No. 4 Gloucester and No. 8 Pitman vs. Paulsboro. The seeds become official Monday.
In the Group IV bracket, Schalick/Cumberland is projected No. 7.
WOODSTOWN 51, CLAYTON/GLASSBORO 13 132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned William Camp, 1:02 138: Conrad Raynor (CG) maj. dec. over Willem Groom, 11-2 144: Shawn McKellick (CG) pinned Angel Hernandez, 1:24 150: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Sam Raynor, 0:56 157: Zayden Donahue (Wo) dec. Brodie Carey, 3-1 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Colby Carr, 3:26 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Jamal Brown, 0:41 190: Karsten Hantho (Wo) dec. Jeffrey Smith, 11-6 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) won by forfeit 285: Luciano Mazzeo (CG) dec. Andre Sinou, 5-0 106: Chase Blandino (Wo) won by forfeit 113: Double forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) pinned Ryan Bivens, 1:13 126: Carson Bradway (Wo) dec. Ryan McKellick, 5-2
WOODSTOWN 54, PENNS GROVE 18 126: Carson Bradway (Wo) dec. Devine Arce, 7-0 132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Raeed Clark, 1:03 138: Willem Groom (Wo) won by forfeit 144: Nasir Garris (PG) pinned Angel Hernandez, 2:53 150: Brett Rowand (Wo) dec. Anthony Brown, 12-8 157: Jayden Owens (PG) pinned Zayden Donahue, 0:16 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Antonio Garris, 1:39 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Clinton Bobo, 3:04 190: Isaiah Underwood (PG) pinned Karsten Hantho, 1:41 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Sumir Brown, 0:44 285: Andre Sinou (Wo) pinned Antonio Cooper, 0:29 106: Chase Blandino (Wo) won by forfeit 113: Double forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) won by forfeit
WOODSTOWN 57, MILLVILLE 18 138: Willem Groom (Wo) pinned Marzine Johnson, 2:25 144: Laitton Roberts (Wo) pinned Alexander Mendez, 2:41 150: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Jacob Jones, 4:59 157: Zayden Donahue (Wo) pinned Ryan Tepper, 2:39 165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Marquis Allen, 5:51 175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Trystan Brooks, 2:59 190: Xavier McBride (M) dec. Karsten Hantho, 7-0 215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Jayden Jones, 2:23 285: Marcus Offer (M) dec. Andre Sinou, 1-0 106: Chase Blandino (Wo) won by forfeit 113: Vincent Devita (M) won by forfeit 120: Travis Balback (Wo) dec. John Roman, 8-1 126: Patrick Tull (M) pinned Carson Bradway, 0:38 132: Alex Torres (Wo) won by forfeit Records: Woodstown 10-10
MILLVILLE 60, PENNS GROVE 15 132: Patrick Tull (M) pinned Raeed Clark, 1:25 138: Marzine Johnson (M) won by forfeit 144: Nasir Garris (P) dec. Alexander Mendez, 9-6 150: Tre Brown (P) pinned Jacob Jones, 1:27 157: Jayden Owens (P) pinned Ryan Tepper, 0:52 165: Marquis Allen (M) pinned Antonio Garris, 4:43 175: Trystan Brooks (M) pinned Clinton Bobo, 3:00 190: Xavier McBride (M) pinned Isaiah Upshur, 0:43 215: Jayden Jones (M) pinned Isaiah Underwood, 1:24 285: Marcus Offer (M) won by forfeit 106: Double forfeit 113: Vincent Devita (M) won by forfeit 120: Caleb Rhodes (M) won by forfeit 126: Josh Roman (M) pinned Devine Arce, 5:29
SC Wrestling Quad
VINELAND 47, SCHALICK/CUMBERLAND 28 175: Noah Cruz (V) pinned Eric Sulik, 1:31 190: Gabriel Rodriguez (SC) pinned Zach Echevarria, 1:28 215: Gavin Gallo (V) pinned Dean Jost, 1:30 285: Donny St. Jean (V) dec. Noval Jenkins, UTB 3-2 106: Dentin Pickett (V) pinned Caleb Jenkins, 1:05 113: Josh Kinchen (V) maj. dec. over DeAnthony Harden, 13-4 120: Luke Silva (SC) pinned Chad Score, 0:37 126: Leland Minkowski (V) pinned Chase Williams, 4:50 132: Jayden Minkowski (V) pinned Ryan Miller, 2:56 138: Daniel Lloyd (SC) pinned Everett Cronk, 0:33 144: Ayden Jenkins (SC) pinned Alejandro Calderon, 4:41 150: Riley Papiano (SC) maj. dec. over Caden Barnes, 12-3 157: Lionel Powell (V) maj. dec. Anthony Deaver, 13-2 165: Matt Torres (V) over Jake Magonagle, injury
RUNNEMEDE – Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky has never really been a big fan of these Saturday matinee games and now he has more reason to dislike them.
The Eagles went on the road and lost to Triton Regional 63-42. They have lost their last eight Saturday games going back to the 2020-21 season.
They were up by one at halftime in this one, but the Mustangs erupted for six 3-pointers and outscored them 30-8 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Triton speared 11 3s in the game, seven in the second half. Jayon Sanders-Cash (19 points) hit all three of his 3s in the quarter, Justice Avery (15) had two of his five, and Richie Kosma had the other.
It was a costly loss for the Eagles (6-10). Post Danny Saulin is facing a two-game suspension for a flagrant foul in the game and possibly more internally. The Mustangs also held Eagles 1,000-point junior Luke Wood to only four points – all in the fourth quarter.
Malik Rehmer led Pennsville with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting and eight rebounds. Saulin went out with five points and nine rebounds.
3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Lis, Johnson, Siedlecki, Na. Sutton); Camden Tech 1 (Ojeda). NOTES: The Warriors staged a fourth-quarter comeback. Schalick enjoyed a 20-point first quarter and then “we just lost ourselves,” coach James Turner said. It was the Cougars’ third straight loss after their win in the Wells Fargo Center, all without guard Reggie Allen in the lineup after receiving stitches for a cut above his left eye he suffered late in that game.
Girls games
WOODBURY 71, PENNS GROVE 48: The Thundering Herd took control of the game in the first half and put four scorers in double figures. Janessa Robinson led the winners with 18 points. Penns Grove’s Meely Horace led all scorers with 21 points and moved to within 72 of 1,000 for her career.
Salem County has the real possibility of four players reaching the 1,000-point milestone this week.
Notes: The Cougars rallied in the fourth quarter and had three shots around the rim in the closing seconds that didn’t fall.
SJIBT Elite Eight
Woodstown learned the identity of the final two teams joining it at Eastern High School for the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament. When Timber Ridge and Cinnaminson won Saturday morning, the Elite Eight was set. The tournament committee met Saturday to reseed the field.
The eight teams in order of seeds are Paul IV (11-4), Cherokee (11-5), Moorestown (14-3), Cinnaminson (14-5), Williamstown (11-4), Gloucester Catholic (11-4), Woodstown (11-3) and Timber Creek (10-7).
The Wolverines will play Cherokee Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Top-seeded Paul VI plays Timber Creek at 5:30. The Final Four games are Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:15. The consolation game is Super Bowl Sunday at 1 p.m. with the championship game at 3.
Indoor Track
TOMS RIVER – The Salem girls led the Salem County contingent at the Tri-County Conference Indoor Track Showcase at the Bennett Complex Bubble Friday.
Led by Anna Buzby, the Rams fiished fifth in the girls standings with 28 points. Buzby won the pole vault (8-0), finished third in the 800 (2:24.82), sixth in the 400 (1:01.14) and ran the lead leg on the third-place 4×400 relay team (4:22.57).
Buzby was joined on the relay by Karima Davenport-White, Rhionna Timmons and Sairis Jiminez. Timmons scored with a sixth-place finish in the 55 dash (7.62) and Dominique Lewis was fourth in the shot put (36-11.5).
Woodstown and Pennsville tied for 11th with two points. Woodstown’s 4×400 relay team of Kayla Ayars, Sarah Seiden, Arie Still and Jaime Deal finished fifth (4:27.66) and Pennsville’s Megan Morris was fifth in pole vault (7-6).
Penns Grove’s boys 4×400 relay of Kylee Goodson, Theus Berios, Jared Ortiz and Knowledge Young was fifth in its race (3:39.85).
Pennsville girls basketball coach tells team she’s leaving in March to become Triton’s vice principal and AD; also includes Friday night’s results, race for 1000
FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Haddon Heights 56, Pennsville 22 Glassboro 47, Penns Grove 42 FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES Salem 83, Camden Academy Charter 76
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Sam Trapp knew the post-game meeting she was about to conduct Friday night was going to be different than any other she’s conducted before as a head coach.
It was going to be difficult enough to break down Pennsville’s 56-22 loss to Haddon Heights, but as soon as she announced the player of the game she called the girls together for the news that would change the room.
She tearfully informed her players that she was stepping down at the end of the basketball season to become vice principal and athletics director at Triton Regional High School.
“As soon as I waked in I gave out the player of the game award and then I said ladies can I get your attention, I need to make an announcement, and I just started crying,” Trapp said. “I felt sick to my stomach and my face was all flushed.
“They kind of all looked at me weird. They had no idea what was coming and I, obviously, had not mentioned it to anyone, so I just tried to pull it together. It was hard because I’ve been really emotional about it because I really do love the students and the staff and have built good connections with a lot of the parents, so it’s going to be really hard to walk out those doors on March 15 and know I’m leaving that chapter behind.”
Trapp, 33, had always had a role in administration as a goal and received her degree in school leadership in 2021. She wasn’t quite ready to make the move at that time and was going to be “very selective” in the opportunities she would pursue. Triton was simply the opportunity to advance her professional career she couldn’t refuse. The board approved her Thursday night.
She purposely kept it quiet until after the game to avoid becoming a distraction to the task at hand, which was the Eagles trying to snap a two-game losing streak. As it turned out, with one of their top scorer Nora Ausland still out with an ankle sprain, they didn’t have enough firepower to combat the 13 3-pointers the Garnets hit against them.
“Some of the them cried,” Trapp said describing the locker room scene. “One asked if she could get cleared to play real quick because she always wanted to play for me. There were a lot of really sweet gestures. My assistant was crying and gave me a big hug and said she was really excited for me.
“It’s a bittersweet moment because I am excited to challenge myself and take another step in my career goals, but at the same time I’ve got a lot of great relationships with the staff and the students and it’s going to be hard to walk away from such a good family dynamic here at Pennsville.”
Trapp also is the Eagles’ girls soccer coach so Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas will be looking to fill two coaching vacancies when Trapp leaves in mid-March. Because their sport is out of season, Trapp told her soccer players on the team’s social messaging page.
Thomas said Friday night he will be looking for “the best qualified applicant” for the health/PE teaching position at the school, but plans to “highlight” in the posting the Eagles will be in need of basketball and soccer coaching positions.
Trapp has been the head coach of both programs at Pennsville for three years.
The basketball Eagles were 15-11 South Jersey Group I tournament teams each of her first two years and are 6-9 so this year with at least eight more games to play. The soccer team went 29-23-5 with three South Jersey tournament appearances and a trip to the sectional final her first year.
She was the basketball assistant for two years prior to become head coach and the soccer assistant for one.
Trapp hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning to coaching at some point in the future, but for now she’s concentrating on the administrative side of her career.
In the meantime, for the time they have left together, she wants her players to “make this last season a really good one.”
“Let’s go out with a bang and just have fun doing it,” she told them.
GLASSBORO 47, PENNS GROVE 42 PENNS GROVE (6-6) – Meely Horace 5-3-14, RaNiyah Wilson 7-3-19, Brianna Robbins 2-0-4, JaNiyah Cummings 1-0-2, Arianna Down 1-0-3. Totals 16-6-42. GLASSBORO (8-5) – Tamia Smith 7 2-6 16, Kezia Brackett 6 3-5 16, Sanaa Thomas 2 2-4 7, Anye Davis 0 0-2 0, Sianna Wedderburn 3 0-0 6, Kimora Miles 2 0-0 5. Totals 20 5-15 47.
Penns Grove
13
11
8
10 –
42
Glassboro
11
18
9
9 –
47
3-point goals: Penns Grove 4 (Horace, Wilson 2, Down); Glassboro 2 (Brackets, Miles).
Boys Game
SALEM 83, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 76: The Rams trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter on the road but Anthony Farmer put the game on his back and delivered once again.
The senior guard scored 16 of his career-high 36 points in the fourth quarter, including 12-of-13 from the free throw line, to fuel the Rams’ comeback. He was a career-high 17-of-25 from the line for the game.
“He put us on his back tonight,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “He refused to lose in a must-win situation. We’ve been looking for one like this. We’ve been close couple times and just haven’t been able to get over the hump. That was huge.”
Over his last three games, Farmer has scored 77 points and gone 29-of-38 from the foul line. He’s averaging 19.6 ppg this season and is a 77-percent shooter from the line. He’s now 35 points shy of 1,000 points of his career, a feat he’s likely to get Tuesday against Salem Tech. His father and coach scored over 1,700 points in his prep career at St. Augustine and 1,000 later at Rutgers.
“He’s a senior, he’s put his time in,” his dad said. “The basketball gods, they reward you for doing the right things. I tell my kids that all the time, play the right way, do the right things, you’ll be rewarded. Ant is just one of those kids who puts the time in, puts the work in and the basketball gods are just shining that light on him to reward the kid.”
The Rams scored 35 points in the fourth quarter. In addition to Farmer’s eruption, Jabez DeJesus had 11 of his 24 in the fourth and Paul Weathers had six of his 13 in it. DeJesus also was 6-for-6 from the line in the quarter.
It was their highest-scoring quarter since putting 36 on Clayton in the first quarter of a wild 111-105 win on Jan. 2, 2020. It was the second time they’ve scored 30 in a quarter this season and the fifth time in the last three years.
SALEM 83, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 76 SALEM (9-6) – Anthony Farmer 9 17-25 36, Ramaji Bundy 1 0-0 2, Jabez DeJesus 8 6-6 24, Paul Weathers 5 3-3 13, Tymear Lecator 1 1-2 3, Xavier McGriff 0 0-0 0, Antwon Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Marshall Stephens 2 0-0 4, Joseph Tunis 0 1-2 1, Davonte Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 28-38 83. CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER (11-4) – Julius Dominguez 8 7-10 25, Daniel Casasola 5 4-5 14, Joseph Devine 4 3-7 11, Michael Morton 4 3-4 12, Kamar Goodhall 5 2-5 14, Omar Quinones 0 0-0 0, Marcus Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 19-31 76.
Salem
18
13
17
35 –
83
Camden Acad. Charter
20
18
19
19 –
76
3-point goals: Salem 3 (Farmer, DeJesus 2); Camden Academy Charter 5 (Dominguez 2, Morton, Goodhall 2). Fouled out: P. Weathers, Stephens, Casasola, Morton. Total fouls: Salem 26, Camden Academy Charter 24.
Penns Grove suffers third heartbreaking loss n four days; Pennsville, Salem, Woodstown all pick up wins
THURSDAY’S BOYS SCORES Pennsville 72, Salem Tech 44 Salem 67, Schalick 32 Wildwood 66, Penns Grove 60 (OT) Woodstown 87, Clayton 63
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – This was supposed to be a big week for the Penns Grove basketball team, a week in which the Red Devils had a chance to make a significant move in the South Jersey Group I playoff picture and Tri-County Diamond Division standings.
But now, after a third heartbreaking loss in four days, they’re left to think about what might have been and what can they do to bounce back from it.
The Red Devils lost to Wildwood Thursday night 66-60 in a game that went to overtime. Stack that on top of losing to Clearview on a steal and layup with 12 seconds left Monday and then losing to Glassboro the next night on a buzzer-beating 3 in a game they led by three with a minute to play and it’s enough to make any sane person lose it a little.
Penns Grove coach Damian Ware said he’s never gone through a stretch like that before, at least not one with three losses in a row like that.
“It’s tough,” he said. “because the kids are playing so hard and they’re playing so well. In the beginning of the season we were struggling a little bit, but now we’re playing at a high level and we’re hanging right with the teams that are the cream of the crop. It’s encouraging for me, but at the same time disappointing because we’re not getting the wins.
“It’s a double-edged sword. It’s rough, but at the same time I see the light at the end of the tunnel. If we could just finish a little bit better or not make a couple mistakes that we’re making here and there we can really get over the hump and really start challenging and be one of the teams that’s going to be there at the end of the season.”
The game against the current No. 3 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings was close throughout. The Warriors jumped out 9-0, but the Red Devils brought it back with their own seven-point run and no one led by more than five the rest of regulation.
Penns Grove’s Giomar Conrad sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer at the buzzer; it was his third 3 of the fourth quarter. Conrad lhad four 3s in the game and led the Red Devils with 22 points. Mekhi Ballard had three 3s – two in overtime – and finished with 11 points and Karon Ceaser had 13.
Brian Cunniff led Wildwood with 25 points, including nine in overtime. Junior Hans had 14 of his 15 in the second half and overtime. They were a combined 7-of-9 from the free throw line in overtime.
“We just ran out of steam,” Ware said. “We fought so hard to get back and tie the game … all that energy might have tapped us out.”
Energy was a key element during one portion of the game. There was a 10-minute delay in the second half when the gym lost power with 5:08 left in the third quarter. Ware believes the stoppage hurt the Red Devils as they had just cut the margin to two and were about to take the momentum.
“I told them in the locker room, we’re 5-10, but we’re not a 5-10 team,” Ware said. “Our record does not define us, that’s not who we are. Who we are right now is we see we’re right there with the best teams in the league, the best teams in the division and playing right there with all the top teams.
“We’re just trying to get to their head and help them understand that even though we’re losing these games I want them to understand the progress we’re making and by the end of the season I think we’re going to turn the corner all the way and we’ll be right there.”
3-point goals: Wildwood 3 (Fusik, Basile 2); Penns Grove 8 (Conrad 4, Ceaser, Ballard 3). Fouled out: Slocum, Peterson. Total fouls: Wildwood 13, Penns Grove 23.
WOODSTOWN 87, CLAYTON 63: Rocco String returned to some early-season form, scoring a career-high 24 points and grabbing 14 rebounds while leading the Wolverines to their highest scoring game in three seasons. It was String’s fifth double-double. He had four in the first five games this season, but had scored only 39 points in his previous seven games.
Four Wolverines scored in double figures. Blake Bialecki had 12, Garrett Leyman 11 and Manny Ortega 10. Leyman had 16 rebounds and Max Webb distributed 11 assists.
The 87 points were the most the Wolverines have scored in a game since they put 90 on Camden Academy Charter in early January 2022. It’s the second time they’ve scored in the 80s in coach Phillip Campbell’s two-year tenure. CLAYTON (3-12) – Dillon Jones 5 2-4 12, Nazir Davis 3 0-0 7, Demetris Williams 5 2-4 12, Jon Cox 2 0-1 5, Ashaud Hines 2 0-0 4, Nasir Carter 2 0-0 6, Fareed Mamah 3 2-2 8, John Carter 2 0-0 6, Deion Scott 1 0-0 3. Totals 25 6-11 63. WOODSTOWN (8-5) – Manny Ortega 4 0-0 10, Blake Bialecki 5 0-0 12, Alejandro Vazquez 2 0-0 5, M.J. Hall 4 0-0 8, Connor Sanderson-Dick 1 0-0 2, Garrett Leyman 5 1-1 11, Anthony Bokolas 3 0-0 6, Lucas Fulmer1 0-0 2, Max Webb 2 0-0 4, Rocco String 12 0-0 24, Elijah Caesar 1 0-0 3. Totals 40 1-1 87.
Clayton
18
14
7
24 –
63
Woodstown
21
27
18
21 –
87
3-point goals: Clayton 7 (Davis, Cox, N. Carter 2, J. Carter 2); Woodstown 6 (Ortega 2, Bialecki 2, Vazquez, Caesar).
SALEM 67, SCHALICK 32: Jabez DeJesus led three Rams in double figures with 19 points. Anthony Farmer and Paul Weathers each tossed in 12.
Nylan Sutton (11 points) was the only scorer in double figures for the Cougars, who were without top scorer Reggie Allen for the second straight game. Allen took a shot above his left eye near the end of the Cougars’ game with Clayton Monday at the Wells Fargo Center and went for further attention when the team returned home. SALEM (8-6) – Tymear Lecator 3 0-0 8, Jabez DeJesus 7 3-3 19, Anthony Farmer 4 3-3 12, Ramaji Bundy 1 0-0 2, Paul Weathers 5 2-2 12, Xavier McGriff 1 0-0 3, Antwan Rodgers 2 0-0 4, Marshall Stephens 2 3-5 7, Davante Jackson 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 11-13 68. SCHALICK (5-7) – Jordan Johnson 2 0-0 4, Jake Siedlecki 1 0-0 3, Nasir Sutton 3 0-0 7, Nylan Sutton 4 1-2 11, Levi Freeney-Childers 1 4-11 6, Dylan Sheehan 0 1-2 1. Totals 11 6-15 32.
PENNSVILLE 72, SALEM TECH 44: Daniel Saulin had 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed six rebound as the Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak with their fourth straight win over the Chargers.
The Eagles scored the first 12 points of the game to take control and carried it to a 35-17 halftime lead. Luke Wood (14) and Jayden Thomas (12) also scored in double figures for Pennsville. All 11 players scored for the Eagles. Josh Muntz led Salem Tech with 10. SALEM TECH (1-12) – Chase Willis 2 0-2 4, Haneef Frisby 2 5-9 9, Joseph Hayes 3 0-0 5, Josh Muntz 3 4-8 10, Tyler Zampino 4 0-0 9, Antoine Robinson 2 0-0 5, Gio Holmes 0 0-0 0, Chase Ayars 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 9-19 44. PENNSVILLE (6-9) – Luke Wood 6-12 2-3 14, Peyton O’Brien 3-4 0-2 6, Daniel Saulin 6-7 4-6 16, Jayden Thomas 4-6 4-6 12, Malik Rehmer 2-6 1-2 5, Cohen Petrutz 2-6 1-3 5, Mason O’Brien 2-4 1-2 5, Connor Starn 1-1 0-0 2, Logan Hill 0-0 1-2 1, Carlo Merindino 1-2 0-0 3, Cole Johnston 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 28-51 14-28 72.
Salem Tech
8
9
14
10 –
44
Pennsville
21
14
15
22 –
72
3-point goals: Salem Tech 3 (Hayes, Zampino, Robinson); Pennsville 2-15 (Wood 0-3, Thomas 0-2, Rehmer 0-2, Petrutz 0-3, M. O’Brien 0-1, Johnston 1-3, Merindino 1-1). Technical fouls: Rehmer. Total fouls: Salem Tech 18, Pennsville 15.
Girls basketball: Woodstown buried under barrage of Wildwood 3s; fourth quarter goes in opposite directions for Salem, Pennsville; Schalick rolls over Salem Tech
THURSDAY’S GIRLS SCORES Clayton 67, Pennsville 50 Salem 62, Overbrook 44 Schalick 44, Salem Tech 8 Wildwood 84, Woodstown 57
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – The Woodstown girls made the two-hour trip to the shore Thursday for one of their biggest basketball games of the season and when they got there a four-alarm fire broke out.
Now before anyone gets concerned, it wasn’t a physical fire. The venerable old school on Pacific Avenue is still standing. It’s just that the Wildwood team Woodstown played was on fire from behind the 3-point arc the likes of which the Wolverines had never seen before.
The Warriors, the No. 1 team in South Jersey Group I power points, busted 21 3-pointers in the first three quarters and ran past the Wolverines 84-57.
“Cudos to them, but, geez, they even had some of their fans saying we never shoot like that,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said. “They were like, yeah, we’re good shooters, but what the heck. I was like, what the heck.”
The Warriors (12-3) hit 13 of the deep balls in the first half – and their first eight buckets of the third quarter were 3s. At one point 16 straight of their baskets were 3s. They came from four players – Macie McCracken, Sophia Wilber, Angela Wilber and Rebecca Benichou.
Angela Wilber and McCracken each had seven and finished with 25 and 31 points, respectively. Benichou had six for all 18 of her points. Sophia Wilber hit the first one of the game and it was on. Woodstown hit two 3s in the game.
The Warriors took 42 3-pointers in the game and were hitting from everywhere. When Benichou banked one in from the top of the key early in the third quarter, if you didn’t know it then, you just felt they couldn’t miss. When they shot one and didn’t make, the crowd was disappointed.
And it wasn’t like the Wolverines were just letting them shoot. They actually played good defense denying anything inside, the Warriors just worked it around until they got that outside shot.
“We went through five different defenses and nothing seemed to be it,” Straughn said. “If we guarded them up top, they would hit them on the baseline. If we guarded the baseline, they would hit them at the top of the key. They were just on fire.”
And the Wolverines got enough offense that would have won most of their games, they just couldn’t keep pace with the 3s. Talia Battavio led Woodstown with 18 points and made it a doiuble-double with 10 assists. Megan Donelson had 17 points and Shannon Pierman had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
It was the fifth time this year the Warriors had 10 or more 3s in a game. Their previous single-game high this season was 16 against Clayton. They topped that Thursday midway through the third quarter and showed no signs of stopping. They made it 20 when McCracken hit one from the top of the key with 1:12 left in the third.
The loss snapped Woodstown’s six-game winning streak. The Wolverines (11-3) were third in SJ-I power points entering the game. Curiously, by the end of the game, despite the loss, they had moved up to No. 2 in the power points, but after the results of some other games slipped back to No. 3 behind Woodbury.
“I think they’re pretty accurate right now,” Straughn said. “We’ve beaten some really good teams and they continue to win, so I think that bumped us up. Pennsville and Clayton played tonight; if either one of those teams win we get points because we beat them.
“I would love the No. 1 seed. It would be possible, Wildwood has some tough games and we’ve got some big games coming up. It’s not out of the question, but it’s going to be tough. Either way, I think on February 10 I think it’s going to be Wildwood and us 1 and 2, whichever way it goes. That’s my 99.9 percent promise.”
3-point goals: Woodstown 2 (Battavio, Donelson); Wildwood 21 (S. Wilber, A. Wilber 7, McCracken 7, Benichou 6). Total fouls: Woodstown 13, Wildwood 8.
SALEM 62, OVERBROOK 44: The Rams erupted for an 18-4 fourth quarter to pull away from a game that was tight for three quarters.
They got six points each from Ryann Foote and Ava Rodgers in the quarter to fuel the flurry. Rogers had 14 points in the second half and led all scorers with 23. Foote finished with 19.
“It was an intense game, back and forth, and they took all the fire and put their foot on their necks and never let go,” Salem coach Tiasia Tatem said. “We had a conversation at halftime and let them know it was going to be an intense game and it was going to come down to who wants it more. The third quarter I could see the fire coming.”
It was the second game in a row the Rams used a big fourth quarter to pull away. They outscored Pitman 17-6 in the fourth quarter of their last game – and 31-14 in the second half – to stretch a slim halftime lead.
“The last two games it’s been the team I’ve been waiting for and what we had,” Tatem said. “There’s been a lot of communication, a lot of holding each other accountable, a lot of coaching on the floor. They’re pushing each other. It’s beautiful to see we’re hitting that stride as a team.” OVERBROOK (3-9) – Jael Presley 4 2-5 10, Sarah Evans 2 0-0 6, Lelani Knight 0 0-0 0, Ahlani White 0 0-0 0, Zahaisha Nevius 6 5-16 20, Gianna Simon 3 0-0 6, Nahia Smith 0 0-0 0, Taija Wiggins 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Burkhardt 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 7-21 44. SALEM (6-8) – Ryann Foote 6 6-7 19, Ava Rodgers 8 7-10 23, Ameriyona Hunter 0 0-2 0, Carlysia Pierce 5 0-0 10, Dahkirah Grey 0 0-0 0, Kaela Nichols 0 0-0 0, Naveah Hickman 1 0-0 2, Marjziah Bundy 0 0-0 0, Madison Dixon 3 0-2 8. Totals 23 13-21 62.
Overbrook
15
12
13
4 –
44
Salem
12
18
14
18 –
62
3-point goals: Overbrook 5 (Evans 2, Nevius 3); Salem 3 (Foote, Dixon 2). Fouled out: Presley. Total fouls: Overbook 20, Salem 18.
SCHALICK 44, SALEM TECH 8: Carly Vicente scored a career-high 14 points and Schalick held the Chargers scoreless in two quarters on the way to their third win in the last four games. Vicente’s previous career high was 13 against LEAP Academy earlier this season.
“She was hitting shots all night,” Cougars coach John Whelan said. “It was really good to see her shoot the ball with confidence. She is growing towards her potential of being the scorer we know she can be and showing she can be a major piece of the team. I’m excited to watch her continue to grow.”
CLAYTON 67, PENNSVILLE 50: The Eagles went shot for shot with the Clippers for three quarters, but ran out of gas in the fourth, had two key players foul out and were outscored 20-4. Taylor Bass had her best game since returning from an injury, leading the Eagles with a season-high 20 points.
Clayton’s Rainelle Blocker led all scorers with 32 points. PENNSVILLE (6-8) – Taylor Bass 9 2-5 20, Karsen Cooksey 1 0-0 2, Bella Farina 3 0-2 6, Kylie Harris 1 0-0 2, Izzy Saulin 1 1-5 3, Marley Wood 7 2-2 17, Sofia Belitsas 0 0-0 0, Calli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Avery Watson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 5-14 50. CLAYTON (7-8) – Jordyn Jones 5 0-1 10, Rainelle Blocker 12 7-12 32, Rosalina Pereira 1 0-0 2, Deondria Simon 2 4-4 8, Ava Delaney 4 1-5 11, India Williams 0 0-0 0, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, K. Guntner 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 12-22 67.
3-point goals: Woodstown 8 (Battavio 3, Donelson 2, Baber 3). Total fouls: Woodstown 6, Schalick 9. Notes: Woodstown, ranked No. 10 in the latest SJIBT rankings (its highest ever), has won six in a row. Donelson is now 106 points shy of 1,000, Battavio needs 111.
Here are the scores and box scores from Tuesday night’s Salem County basketball games; Penns Grove falls at buzzer, Pitman’s Crispin goes over 1,000 in shootout with Salem’s Farmer, and more
TUESDAY’S BOYS GAMES Glassboro 61, Penns Grove 60 Gloucester Catholic 72, Salem Tech 53 Overbrook 65, Pennsville 33 Pitman 71, Salem 60 Woodstown 53, Schalick 30
3-point goals: Salem 8 (Bundy, Farmer 4, Lecator 3); Pitman 5 (Devanney, Crispin 2, Fisicaro 2). Technical fouls: Salem bench 2, Farmer. Total fouls: Salem 21, Pitman 16. Notes: Pitman’s Crispin scored 36 points and hit the 1,000-career point mark with a 3-pointer in the second quarter. Farmer led Salem with 29 points and moved within 83 of the milestone.
WOODSTOWN 53, SCHALICK 30 SCHALICK (5-6) — Levi Freeney-Childers 4, Dan Lis 6, Jordan Johnson 2, Nylan Sutton 7, Jake Siedlecki 5, Nasir Sutton 4, Sherrod Jones 2. WOODSTOWN (7-5) — Manny Ortega 0, Blake Bialecki 8, Alejandro Vazquez 7, M.J. Hall 19, Connor Sanderson-Dick 0, Garrett Leyman 5, Anthony Bokolas 2, Max Webb 0, Rocco String 8, Elijah Caesar 4.
GLASSBORO 61, PENNS GROVE 60 GLASSBORO (7-7) — Xavier Sabb 3-4-10, Charles Graves 10-7-28, Clinton Suggs 2-4-8, Michael Dougherty 0-1-1, Josh Buff 3-0-8, Jayce Grays 3-0-6, Aiden Harris 0-0-0. Totals 21-16-61. PENNS GROVE (5-9) — Brandon Robbins 0-0-0, Roman Gipson 0-1-1, Giomar Conrad 6-3-20, Karon Ceaser 2-0-5, Willie Slocum 0-0-0, Mehki Ballard 8-1-22, Camren Thompson 0-0-0, Khiry Higgs 0-0-0, Mr Peterson 4-0-8, Dameon Wilson 2-0-4. Totals 22-5-60.
Glassboro
13
11
19
18 —
61
Penns Grove
19
12
15
14 —
60
3-point goals: Glassboro 3 (Graves, Buff 2); Penns Grove 11 (Conrad 5, Ceaser, Ballard 5) Notes: Charles Graves hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Penns Grove to its second heartbreaking loss in as many days. The Red Devils were up three with a minute to play.
OVERBROOK 65, PENNSVILLE 33 PENNSVILLE (5-9) — Luke Wood 7, Malik Rehmer 3, Daniel Saulin 4, Jayden Thomas 13, Mason O’Brien 6. OVERBROOK (11-4) — Lamar Little 2 0-0 5, Chris Grier 1 0-2 2, Amare Kee 2 0-0 5, Maki Ortiz 1 0-0 2, Angel Bermudez 0 0-0 0, Shaun Mills 6 0-0 14, Tory Scott 2 0-0 4, Zair Green 4 0-0 10, Kevin Satchell 2 1-1 5, Elvin Santiago 0 0-0 0, Nic Johnson 7 2-4 18. Totals 27 3-7 65.
Pennsville
7
11
7
8 —
33
Overbrook
22
9
17
17 —
65
3-point goals: Overbrook 8 (Little, Keeper, Mills 2, Green 2, Johnson 2). Notes: Pennsville dropped its third straight, all Tri-County Diamond Division games.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 72, SALEM TECH 53 GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (8-5) — Carlos Mendez 4 0-0 8, Trey Battle 4 3-3 11, Ehthan Dugue 2 2-2 6, JonCarlo Coia 0 0-0 0, Nick Calzonetti 3 0-0 9, Kyle Guldin 7 1-4 15, Jack Pund 1 0-0 3, Jack Mustaro 8 1-1 17, Henry Pancoast 0 0-0 0, Billy Ginipro 0 0-0 0, Danny Zellner 0 0-0 0, Mendez 1 0-0 3. Totals 30 7-10 72. SALEM TECH (1-11) — Chase Wills 5 1-1 12, Haneef Frisby 4 0-2 8, Joseph Hayes 2 0-0 5, Daviontae Russell 0 3-4 3, Josh Muntz 1 3-6 6, Tyler Zampino 3 1-2 8, Antoine Robinson 2 3-4 8, Gio Holmes 0 0-0 0, Charlie Brown 0 0-0 0, Chase Ayers 1 1-2 3. Totals 18 12-21 53.
Gloucester Catholic
19
21
22
10 —
72
Salem Tech
14
11
11
17 —
53
3-point goals: Gloucester Catholic 5 (Calzonetti 3, Pund, Mendez); Salem Tech 5 (Wills, Hayes, Muntz, Zampino, Robinson). Total fouls: Gloucester Catholic 15, Salem Tech 12.
Both Salem Tech teams charge into the win column with their first victories of the season; includes other county boys and girls games
MONDAY’S BOYS SCORES Schalick 42, Clayton 35 Glassboro 74, Pennsville 54 Salem Tech 55, Camden Tech 45 Gloucester Catholic 53, Salem 50 Clearview 58, Penns Grove 56
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The third time, they say, is the charm and it was for the Salem Tech basketball team Monday night.
Playing Camden Tech for the third time this season, the Chargers had a pretty good idea of what their opponent was all about. They used those experiences to good form, especially in the fourth quarter, and pulled out a 55-45 victory for their first win of the season.
“We’ve still got work to do, but I’m very proud of them,” Chargers coach Bryan Riley said. “They showed me grit tonight.”
It was a good night all around for the Chargers. Their girls team also picked up their first win of the season, beating Camden Academy Charter 41-28.
The boys teams played in a pre-season scrimmage and a game in the ACIT Holiday Tournament.
On this night, the Chargers used a balanced scoring attack and a big fourth quarter on both ends of the floor to snap their 10-game season-opening losing streak.
“We knew what they had and they knew what we had,” Riley said. “The big message was lock in on defense and capitalize at the rim when we took it. Defensively, they locked in in the first quarter and the fourth quarter.”
The Chargers grabbed a 10-4 lead in the first quarter, but Camden Tech battled back and carried the lead into the fourth. But the Chargers bowed up again and outscored their visitors 24-6 in the final eight minutes.
They were down five with three minutes to play and dug deeper to close it out.
Four Chargers scored in double figures with Antoine Robinson and Wills scoring 14 apiece. Robinson had eight in the fourth quarter and Wills had six. Haneef Frisby had six of his 11 in the fourth quarter.
3-point goals: Camden Tech 2 (Brummel, Figueroa); Salem Tech 1 (Muntz). Fouled out: Cox. Total fouls: Camden Tech 23, Salem Tech 16.
CLEARVIEW 58, PENNS GROVE 56: Daulton Phalines’ layup with 12 seconds left broke a 56-56 tie and the Pioneers held their breath down the stretch.
The Red Devils had two shots in the closing seconds to either take the lead or tie it. Mekhi Ballard, who had the hot hand all night, missed an open 3 and Willie Slocum’s tip at the buzzer didn’t fall.
Ballard hit a career-high six 3-pointers in the game and led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, his third career 20-point game and first since February 2022. Kaprice Stewart led Clearview with 18. Phalines finished with 16.
GLASSBORO 74, PENNSVILLE 54: Charles Graves and Clinton Suggs each scored 22 points and Xavier Sabb had a double-double to lead the Bulldogs. Jayden Thomas and Luke Wood had 12 points apiece for Pennsville.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 53, SALEM 50: The Rams tied the game at 50, but the Lions made three free throws down the stretch to win it.
The Rams hit a pair of free throws to tie the game. The Lions made the first of two to retake the lead, Salem rebounded the missed second shot but turned it over and to foul again for the final margin.
GC’s Jack Mustaro led all scorers with 25 points, Carlos Mendez had 13 points and Kyle Guldin grabbed 12 rebounds. Jabez DeJesus led the Rams with 19 points. Anthony Farmer had 15 and is now 112 points shy of joining his father and coach as career 1,000-point scorers.
3-point goals: Gloucester Catholic 4 (Mendez, Mustaro 3); Salem 7 (Farmer 3, DeJesus 3, D. Weathers).
Girls Games
MONDAY’S GIRLS SCORES Schalick 46, Pennsauken Tech 32 Paulsboro 68, Salem 65 (2 OT) Salem Tech 41, Camden Academy Charter 28
SCHALICK 46, PENNSAUKEN TECH 32: Ava Scurry scored a career-high 16 points and the Cougars got good play from a different pair of players each half to score their second straight victory.
Scurry and Cianna Gaines were strong on the interior in the first half, combining for 15 points as the Cougars opened a 21-17 halftime lead. Guards Taylor Sparks and Abby Willoughby combined for 17 points in the second half and both of their 3-pointers to help them pull away.
Willoughby had six of her eight points in the third quarter and Sparks had 11 of her 13 in the second half.
“Taylor hit a lot of big shots for us in critical moments through the game,” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “The team moved the ball and put forth a really good defensive effort, especially in the second half.”
PAULSBORO 68, SALEM 65 (2 OTs): In the end of the longest game of Salem coach Tiasia Tatem’s tenure, her Rams simply ran out of players with varsity experience and time on the clock.
It was a game of runs and attrition. Three players on each side fouled out. The Rams made a big run in the fourth quarter behind some unsung reserves to rally from a 43-36 third-quarter deficit, but it was Paulsboro that sent the game into overtime.
The Red Raiders tied it at 53 with 16 seconds left in regulation. Salem had a chance to win it, but threw a bad inbounds pass and Paulsboro couldn’t get a shot before the clock ran out. A free throw by Ryann Foote sent the game into a second overtime and the Red Raiders went on a four-point run at the end to win it.
“It went back and forth pretty much the entire game,” Tatem said. “It came down to the wire. They had three girls foul out, we had three girls foul out. It came down to experience and they had more varsity experience. It was not enough varsity experience, not enough time.”
Paulsboro’s Brookelyn Graham led all scorers with 38 points. She had 18 in the fourth quarter and overtimes, including 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Foote scored a career-high 27 for Salem and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Cougars take the big stage at Wells Fargo Center, enjoy an NBA experience and pick up a win while doing it, then going back and watching Embiid put 70 on the Spurs
MONDAY’S BOYS GAMES Schalick 42, Clayton 35 Clearview 58, Penns Grove 56 Glassboro 74, Pennsville 54 Salem Tech 55, Camden Tech 45 Gloucester Catholic 53, Salem 50
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PHILADELPHIA — Danny Lis wasn’t much good in school today for as long as it lasted for the players on the Schalick basketball team Monday. All the Cougars senior – and the rest of his teammates for that matter – could think about from the time the bell rang was what he was going to be doing later in the day.
Game days occupy a special realm in a player’s mind anyway, but this one was a much different game day entirely. For a high school basketball player with dreams of playing in the big time, it was the ultimate field trip.
Call it Ferris Bueller’s day off with basketball benefits. The Cougars had the good fortune to be invited to play their game with Clayton in the Wells Fargo Center, on the same floor the main tenant 76ers were going to play the San Antonio Spurs later that evening.
They were going to play on the biggest stage in the biggest arena probably all of them will play in their life. They were playing in an NBA arena.
“It’s amazing, honestly,” Lis said. “It’s actually my first time on an NBA court. This is what I’ve been thinking about all day. I didn’t think about anything except just playing basketball on this court where the 76ers are playing.”
What made the trip even better is they beat the Clippers and the clock 42-35 pulling away in the fourth quarter for their fifth win of the year, more than they had the last two years combined.
It didn’t matter there weren’t a lot of people there, just the parents the scattered technical staff getting the arena set up for the NBA game scheduled for later in the evening, a game all of the players and their parents were going to attend.
It was a rather rushed experience that Cougars coach James Turner conceded detracted from making the memories last longer, but he’ll always remember the excitement of the players on an NBA and what it meant to them being in the arena.
The Cougars’ bus pulled in at 1:14 p.m. for the 2 p.m. tip, just a few minutes behind the Clayton bus and weren’t allowed in the arena until 1:30. It didn’t matter that they didn’t dress in one of the fancy locker rooms. Or they didn’t have any interaction with the players who call the place their office. And they had to be off the floor at 2:55 whether the game was over or not, so there wasn’t much of a halftime and they ran the fourth quarter with a running clock.
That was the trade off for being on the floor. That floor. That magnificent NBA floor many of them had only seen before on TV.
The anticipation had been building for weeks. It was all worth it when they magic walked through the tunnel from the concourse and finally stepped onto the court that has hosted Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and the NBA greats of their generation and later tonight Victor Wembanyama.
“Oh my gosh, it was amazing,” junior forward Nylan Sutton said. “I’m running down the court, I’m supposed to get back on defense, and I just look up and I’m like, wow. It was just unbelievable, a time to remember. I’m going to remember it the rest of my life.
“It was a mix of everything. The legends who play on this court. My dream is playing college basketball; me playing on this court in high school is just a dream come true. And just scoring on the court.
“I missed a couple shots, the nervousness in my body, but when I scored my first basket, I was like wow, I just scored where Joel Embiid, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan shot a basketball and it was like wow, I just did it. Me knowing that my sports career is not coming true yet, but I’m getting there, is making me happy.”
Schalick senior Danny Lis looks to get the ball past two Clayton defenders and into the front court in the Cougars’ game at the Wells Fargo Center Monday. (Photo by Brian Tortella)
As you might expect, between the nerves of the day and the depth perception in an empty arena, both teams had trouble hitting shots. There were times the players looked like they were trying to score like their favorite NBA stars, but many of them missed the mark.
There was one trip down the floor with about five minutes left in the first half Sutton looked like he was going to get a dunk in an NBA arena, but then pulled up and laid it in because he remembered the rules.
“They told us we couldn’t dunk,” he said. “I was feeling bouncy today, I was going to dunk it, but I didn’t want them to kick us out because I dunked it because I know they have a game later today. I was going to dunk, I really was.”
The arena staff might not have let them dunk, but they sure let them shoot the 3. Schalick’s Jordan Johnson had the honor of the first basket of the game and it was a 3 from the top of the key. The Cougars led most of the game after that.
Clayton took its only lead on a basket by A’Shaud Hine-Pope to open the fourth quarter, but it didn’t last.
Reggie Allen and Lis came up big down the stretch. Allen had two big steals and hit four straight free throws to put the Cougars back on top for good. He also took a shot above his left eye that took some doing to close. Lis had two buckets in the closing minutes to extend it to the final margin.
“It felt good to score on an NBA court where the professionals play, like Joel Embiid,” Allen said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day.”
The Cougars’ work was done when the game ended, but their day was far from over. After they were whisked off the concourse and the doors, the players headed out to a nearby Dave & Busters for a post-game meal and some revelry before returning to the arena to watch Embiid put 70 on the Spurs in a 133-123 win with the tickets they had to sell as part of the deal. Their seats were in the upper corner across the floor from the bench they occupied for the game.
“Our job is done,” Turner said. “As coaches and players our job is done. Now it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy.”
SCHALICK 42, CLAYTON 35 CLAYTON (3-11) — Dillon Jones 4 0-0 8, Nazir Davis 3 0-0 7, Demetris Williams 2 0-0 4, Jon Cox 1 0-1 2, Cristan Scott 2 0-0 4, A’Shaud Hine-Pope 1 0-0 2, Nasir Carter 0 1-2 1, Mason Gable 0 0-0 0, John Carter 1 0-0 3, Brian Marshall 2 0-0 4, Dean Madden 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Aviles 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 1-3 35. SCHALICK (5-5) — Reggie Allen 4 5-6 14, Dan Lis 2 0-0 4, Jake Siedlecki 3 0-0 6, Jordan Johnson 3 0-0 7, Ryan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Nylan Sutton 3 0-2 6, Levi Mason 2 1-1 5, Jase Volovar 0 0-0 0, Nasir Sutton 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 6-9 42.
Clayton
7
15
9
4 —
35
Schalick
11
16
5
10 —
42
3-point goals: Clayton 2 (Davis, J. Carter); Schalick 2 (Allen, Johnson). Total fouls: Clayton 6, Schalick 11.
Cover photo: Schalick’s Reggie Allen drives to the basket during the Cougars’ win over Clayton in the Wells Fargo Center a few hours before the 76ers took the floor. (Photo by Brian Tortella).
Riverview Sports News 