Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Jan. 8-13
Monday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Overbrook, 4 p.m. Clayton at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Glassboro at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m. Boys Overbrook at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Wildwood at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Salem vs. TBA, Toms River, 5 p.m.
Tuesday
WRESTLING Oakcrest at Schalick, 5 p.m. Pitman at Pennsville, 6 p.m. Timber Creek at Penns Grove, 6 p.m. Woodstown at Deptford Twp.
BOWLING Salem Tech at Hammonton, 4 p.m.
Wednesday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m. Clayton at Woodstown, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Boys Pennsville at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL Boys Clearview at Pennsvile, 5:30 p.m. Salem at LEAP, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m. Schalick at Clayton, 6 p.m.
SWIMMING Schalick vs. Triton Regional at GCIT, 6 p.m. Woodstown vs. Highland at GCIT, 7 p.m.
BOWLING Clayton vs. Salem Tech, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m. Salem vs. Gloucester City, Westbrook Lanes, 6 p.m.
Friday
BASKETBALL Girls Camden Academy at Salem, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Deptford Twp., 4 p.m. Schalick at Paulsboro, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Bridgeton, 6 p.m. Boys Camden Catholic at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Deptford Twp. at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Gateway at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Woodstown at Clearview, 5 p.m. Buena at Pennsville, 6 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Schalick at NJSIAA Relays, Toms River, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
BASKETBALL Girls South Jersey Invitational Tournament South Region Eastern at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m. Camden Catholic 42, Rancocas Valley 39 Gloucester Catholic 41, Haddon Heights 39 Lenape 62, West Deptford 13 North Region Moorestown Friends at Cherokee Haddon Twp. at Highland Paul IV 81, Delran 12 Shawnee 41, Westampton Tech 36 West Region Williamstown 53, Pennsauken 40 Cherry Hill West 49, Woodbury 37 Moorestown 72, Kingsway 27 Holy Cross 50, Bishop Eustace 45 East Region Gateway at Cinnaminson Clearview at Haddonfield Medford Tech at Sterling Timber Creek 46, Winslow 34
Boys Salem at Cherokee, 12:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Deptford Twp., St. Joseph Academy at Penns Grove, 9 a.m. Woodstown, Hillsborough, Watchung Hills at Park Ridge, 11 a.m. Pennsville vs. Oakcrest, Overbrook, Millville Schalick, Buena, N. Burlington, Timber Creek at Cumberland
Schalick plays one of its most solid games of the year, beats Pennsauken Tech to reach .500 for the third time this season
SATURDAY BOYS BASKETBALL Schalick 39, Pennsauken Tech 26
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – There’s a different vibe buzzing around the Schalick boys basketball team these days.
Call it a carryover from a very successful football season, one in which many of the players on the basketball team participated in, but there’s regular talk within a program that struggled to win games in the past of .500 records and winning seasons.
“We talk about it all the time in practice,” sophomore guard Jase Volovar said. “This year just felt a lot different. I felt like we were going to do way better.”
The Cougars were better Saturday. They played one of their most solid games of the year on both ends of the floor and beat Pennsauken Tech 39-26.
It was their third win of the season, matching their win total for all of last season (3-20), and more importantly got them back to .500 for the third time this year. The 3-3 record is their best this early in the season since 2015-16 when they were 4-2 on Jan. 5 and 6-2 on Jan. 6 on the way to a 22-8 campaign.
And maybe it’s too early to think about, but they are now No. 18 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.
“It just keeps them more motivated,” Cougars coach James Turner said. “Not winning or you win one game and you lose eight then get one and (lose) another five, it’s hard to keep the kids motivated, hard to keep them locked in.
“I don’t think it’s so much as we already won three games, I think it’s also the idea that we’re a .500 team. They just want to constantly keep that. You want to get that next one. We lost to Pennsville, it was all right, we’ve got to get that back.”
The Cougars didn’t win their third game last year until the 20th game of the year. It took them two years to get that many before that. The last time they won more than three games was 2019-20 when they were 9-17 and that third win didn’t come until Game 12.
“I think this is really good for us,” Volovar said. “It’s going to get us moving a lot and we’re going to want to chase for more.”
Reggie Allen bounced back from a tough game against Pennsville and led the Cougars with a game-high 15 points, including a clutch three-point play in the fourth quarter that ramped up the bench and got the crowd into it. It was his best game since the season opener.
Dan Lis added 12 points and Volovar hit three 3-pointers at key junctures in the game to keep the momentum on the Cougars’ side. One of the treys gave the Cougars a four-point lead and kept the energy up, one beat the buzzer to give them a nine-point halftime lead and the last one sealed the deal.
Nylan Sutton scored only three points after back-to-back games in double figures, but he led the defensive effort with quick hands and deflections.
“Usually we’re our own worst enemy, but overall they played a great offensive and defensive game,” Turner said. “It was a good offensive game because we didn’t force any shots or any passes, we controlled the ball and took care of the ball. Going into today we really wanted to emphasize being patient on offense and not rush passes and wait for the right shot to come.
“And defensively we were able to put pressure on them and get turnovers, which slowed their team down.”
They’re all the things teams that put together winning seasons do.
SCHALICK 39, PENNSAUKEN TECH 26 PENNSAUKEN TECH (3-6) – Naeem Dale 1 0-0 2, Tyrone Baker 2 0-1 6, Omari Spencer 4 2-3 10, Carlos Cruz 0 2-3 2, Xavier Melendez 1 3-5 6, Jahseem Branch 0 0-0 0, Chris Graham 0 0-0 0, James Stout 0 0-2 0. Totals 8 7-14 26. SCHALICK (3-3) – Reggie Allen 5 3-7 15, Nylan Sutton 1 1-2 3, Dan Lis 3 4-7 12, Jordan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Jake Siedlecki 0 0-0 0, Ryan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Jase Volovar 3 0-0 9. Totals 12 8-16 39.
OLMA puts the clamps on Woodstown’s two big scorers, wins by 20; shorthanded Pennsville, Salem both fall
SATURDAY GIRLS BASKETBALL Delsea 37, Pennsville 20 Gateway 47, Salem 34 OLMA 51, Woodstown 31
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — The girls basketball world has seen what Woodstown can do when its two dynamic scorers are lighting up the scoreboard. On Saturday, it saw what can happen when they are not.
Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson scored most of their team’s points once again, but this time it wasn’t nearly enough to save the Wolverines from a 51-31 loss to once-beaten Our Lady of Mercy.
The two scorers were averaging 20.1 and 18.8 a game, respectively, coming into the power matinee. But the Villagers (10-1) held Donelson to 14 points and Battavio to nine and 0-for-16 shooting from the field in the second half.
They hadn’t been held down like that since Highland held them to 19 combined points last February. It’s only the fifth time in their last 31 games one or the other had been held to single digits.
What’s that mean in the big picture? Consider, over the last two season when they both score 20 in a game, the Wolverines are 6-0. When one of them goes for 20, they’re 10-1. When they both score at least 18 in the same game, they’re 9-1. When one of them is held to less than 10 points, they’re 3-4.
“We know they’re two great performers for the last two years, but we have very, very good defenders and our communication is phenomenal,” OLMA head coach Brian Coyle said. “We had a good game plan on how to take away what they want to do. It really was about communication and staying in a good stance and when they do attack, just wall off.“
Before Donelson hit back-to-back 3s early in the third quarter there was a real threat both Wolverines scorers would be denied double figures in the same game for only the second time in the last two seasons.
Woodstown coach Kara Straughn thought the double treys might have been the spark to get the Wolverines going, but they were just a brief ray of sunshine.
“We couldn’t score anything today,” Straughn said. “I told them 75 percent of those shots would have fallen any other night. Today, they didn’t. It’s gonna happen. It’s the game of basketball.”
Maddie Bernhardt was tasked with guarding Battavio and VonAsia Thompson drew the assignment against Donelson. In the first half, they held the two stars to three combined field goals and Woodstown to 4-of-24 shooting as a team. To a man, they said communication was the key to getting the job done.
“Maddie’s a phenomenal defensive player,” Coyle said. “She’s going to be a 1000-point scorer and I think people look at her as a shooter and scorer, (but) she’s probably our most intelligent defensive player. She’s great at staying in front of the girl, she knows how to read and has great instinct. She’s also our best communicator on defense.”
“I definitely take pride in defending, so I was trying to lock her down,” Bernhardt said. “I kind of keep my hand up, at eye level and kept it in their face to make it harder for them to shoot it.”
But Bernhardt had her scoring chops on, too. She had 19 points and is now only 36 away from 1,000. Savannah Prescott had 13 points and Khalia Lewis dominated the paint with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Lewis became even more effective when Wolverines post Shannon Pierman went to the bench in foul trouble.
“I told (her team) in the locker room they’re almost an identical team to us,” Straughn said. ‘‘They have two guards who are really good; we have two guards who are really good. They have a center that’s really good; we have a center that’s really good. They have so many different weapons and their weapons were just a little stronger than ours today.”
Battavio contemplated becoming one of the Villager people in the offseason, and Straughn conceded the OLMA factor probably impacted her play. The junior guard finished with two baskets — both 3-pointers in the first half – Woodstown’s first bucket of the game for their only lead and the last bucket of the first half.
“I think part of it was mental,” Straughn said. “I told her sometimes you just overthink. When she misses one or two, instead of just saying let me trust some of the other ones, I think she tries to outwork herself and just keep going, going and going. She’ll even tell you that – she’s the queen of doing too much.”
The Wolverines (5-2) did get something out of the loss and because of OLMA’s strength it’s a gift that will keep on giving – power points.
“I’d rather lose to a team like this than lose to any other type of team,” Straughn said. “Playing teams like OLMA and Eastern, they’re going to make us better. That’s why we put these teams on our schedule. Yeah, it sucks to lose, but it’s even better to get better.”
3-point goals: OLMA 4 (Bernhardt 3, Coryell); Woodstown 4 (Battavio 2, Donelson 2). Technical fouls: Woodstown bench. Fouled out: Pierman. Total fouls: OLMA 10, Woodstown 16. Officials: Carter, Jackson.
Delsea 37, Pennsville 20
PENNSVILLE – The shorthanded Eagles felt the strain of the recent rash of injuries, putting only three players in the scoring column and scoring just six points in the second half. Marley Wood led Pennsville with 11 points.
“We could not produce anything offensively in the second half,” Eagles coach Sam Trapp said. DELSEA (2-4) – Maura Madden 2 0-0 6, Ali Green 2 1-3 5, Kayleigh Barndt 2 3-4 7, Elle Metcalf 1 0-0 3, Ayress Maitland 5 4-5 14, Natalie DiRaddo 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 8-17 37. PENNSVILLE (4-4) – Calli Ausland 1 0-0 2, Nora Ausland 2 3-4 7, Marley Wood 3 5-8 11, Karson Crooksey, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 8-12 20.
Woodstown basketball falls to Delsea; Penns Grove wrestling battles in Maryland, Pennsville suffers first duals loss
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown was looking to purge the bad taste left by the upsetting loss to Penns Grove the night before, but instead lost another close game.
The Wolverines held Delsea to its season-low in points and hit seven 3-pointers Friday, but their fourth-quarter rally came up just short and they fell to the Crusaders 40-37.
Blake Bialecki and Alejandro Vazquez combined for five of the Wolverines’ 3-pointers and had nine points apiece. Delsea’s Chase Ambrosius led all scorers with 17 points, going 11-of-13 from the free throw line.
It was Delsea’s sixth win in a row. It’s the Crusaders’ longest winning streak since winning eight in a row in 2018-19.
CHESAPEAKE CITY, Md. – Three Penns Grove wrestlers scored second-round pins Friday to stay alive in the championship bracket of the Red Devils’ annual pilgrimage to the Battle at the Bridge tournament.
Devine Arce (120), Anthony Brown (150) and Isaiah Upshur (190) all reached the quarterfinals. Arce scored his second round pin in 1:50, Brown scored his in 1:07 and Upshur scored his in 3:37.
The Red Devils, who’ve been coming to the tournament regularly since 2012, brought 11 wrestlers to the event and are currently 16th in the team standings. Plymouth Whitemarsh (Pa.) leads the field.
Clinton Bobo (175) has scored 10 points for the Red Devils win pins in the first round and the consolation second round.
BATTLE AT THE BRIDGE TEAM SCORES: Plymouth Whitemarsh 92, Sussex Central 75, Havre de Grace 66, Aberdeen 58, Harford Tech 57, Conrad Science 56, Langley 55, North Caroline 54, Linganore 51, Marple Newtown 51, Penncrest 44.5, Howard 44, Odessa 44, Queen Anne 41, Concord 36, Penns Grove 33, North East 32.5, Middletown 31, Elkton 19, Kent County 15.5, Bohemia Manor 8, St. Charles 8.
Eagles drop first duals
PENNSVILLE – Absegami won six of seven bouts in the middle of the match to hand Pennsville its first dual match defeat of the season 45-26.
Robbie McDade’s pin at 165 got the Eagles (4-1) to within 33-20 with four bouts remaining, but Julian Rivera scored a pin in the next bout to close out the match.
Travis Hagan (138) and Trevor Waddington (285) also scored pins for Pennsville, while Christopher Daniels and Gabriel Supernavage scored major decisions.
The Eagles are currently No. 2 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, 0.33 points behind undefeated Gloucester.
ABSEGAMI 45, PENNSVILLE 26 106: Liam Kisby (A) pinned Lucas Thomas, 2:31 113: Amelia Taylor (A) pinned Vincent Ciccantelli, 3:02 120: Christopher Daniels (P) maj. dec. over Tristan Brown, 14-1 126: Gabriel Supernavage (P) maj. dec. over Michael Famelio, 14-2 132: Nathaniel DeStefano (A) pinned Ayden Perez, 2:43 138: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Brendan Ross, 1:25 144: Johnny Font (A) pinned Joseph Maurer, 5:11 150: Christopher Eaton (A) won by forfeit 157: Ibn Russell (A) dec. Sky Eppes, 4-3 165: Robbie McDade (P) pinned Joshua Herring, 1:00 175: Julian Rivera (A) pinned Justin Oldaker, 0:36 190: Brayden Wright (A) dec. Elias Lussi, 5-0 215: Thomas Appello (A) dec. Daniel Emmons, 3-0 285: Trevor Waddington (P) pinned Brandon Miller, 2:58 Records: Absegami 1-2, Pennsville 4-1
Woodstown passes its first major test of the season, Pennsville overwhelms Schalick in a battle of teams fighting the injury bug, Salem gets second straight win
THURSDAY GIRLS SCORES Woodstown 61, Penns Grove 53 Pennsville 52, Schalick 14 Salem 45, Salem Tech 19
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – As almost everybody’s favorite to win the Tri-County Diamond Division and then some in South Jersey, the Woodstown girls basketball team knows it’s going to get everybody’s best shot every night.
The Wolverines faced their biggest test of the young season Thursday night and answered the bell like the favorites they are.
In a battle between the two best teams in the division, Woodstown grabbed the lead late in the first quarter, endured some anxious moments near the end of the first half and then finally pulled away in the second half for a 61-53 victory over Penns Grove.
“This is probably the biggest challenge we’ll have in all of our division games,” Wolverines coach Kara Straughn said. “They’re athletic, they’re quick, they’re the second-best team in our division, but I’ve got 10 girls who play together. There’s nobody in my opinion in our division who has as much of a team as I do.”
While Megan Donelson (25 points) and Talia Battavio (20) did most of their scoring as usual, the Wolverines (5-1) got contributions from throughout the lineup. Shannon Pieman grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked three shots. Alyssa Baber had 10 boards.
And they needed every bit of it. They took the lead midway through the first quarter, but Penns Grove never let them get comfortable.
The Red Devils were out of sorts during their two games in Wildwood after Christmas, but they were determined to play their game and not get caught up in the early-season enormity of the game. They pressed from the jump and made the Wolverines work for everything they got.
Donelson and Battavio combined for all of Woodstown’s points in the first quarter and 28 of their 30 in the first half.
Penns Grove is a team that likes to drive and attack the basket. But as the first half worn on, the Wolverines’ defense kept forcing the Red Devils farther out for shots and it produced the predictable results.
Woodstown led by 12 with less than two minutes left in the first half, but Penns Grove rallied and things got real intense in the final minute of the half. With 25.8 seconds to go in an eight-point game, Penns Grove’s RiNiyah Wilson was fouled by Battavio driving to the basket and the reaction led to a technical foul on the Wolverines guard.
Wilson hit three of the four free throws to make it a five-point game and the Red Devils had the ball with a chance to cut it to two or three. But Gianna Maiorini thwarted those plans when she stole the possession and fed Donelson who banked in a short jumper in the lane with six seconds to go. Donelson then stole the next inbounds pass and the Wolverines ran out the clock to take a seven-point halftime lead.
“If they would’ve gotten the lead I think it would’ve been a different game,” Straughn said.
The Red Devils got to within four several times early in the second half, but the Wolverines pushed it back out to 10 . They kept the Red Devils at arm’s length the rest of the game to win their fifth in a row while sending their hosts to their third straight loss.
“I think we could’ve done a little bit better than what we actually did, but we ended up pulling out the win and that’s just all that matters,” Donelson said.
While Donelson and Battavio were the big producers for Woodstown, Wilson did all she could to keep Penns Grove in it. The transfer from Kingsway led all scorers with a career-high 33 points and she grabbed nine rebounds.
“My coach talks about mental toughness, fight through the game, if we’re down pick my teammates up, keep going, keep fighting,” Wilson said. “I like playing in big games. I like competition.”
3-point goals: Woodstown 3 (Battavio 2, Donelson); Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, Dowe). Technical fouls: Battavio. Fouled out: Taylor. Total fouls: Woodstown 16, Penns Grove 19.
Pennsville 52, Schalick 14
PENNSVILLE – The Eagles had the best of it in this battle of teams fighting through injuries. They opened a 24-7 halftime lead, then erupted for 21 points in the third quarter and shut out the Cougars in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were down to four core players because of the injuries and brought up several players from the junior varsity to replenish the ranks. Veterans and newcomers alike got together for a film session before the start of the night’s JV game to hammer out a game plan for the main event.
They got the bulk of their scoring from Marley Wood (20 points) and Nora Ausland (18) while the others help keep it in the road. Wood and Ausland combined for all of Pennsville’s points in the first half.
“The girls who got pulled up stepped up and played the role we needed them to play,” Pennsville coach Sam Trapp said. “Izzie Saulin really stepped up on the defensive end. She had some great blocks and solid rebounding.”
3-point goals: Schalick 1 (Fisler); Pennsville 5 (N. Ausland 2, McGee 2, Wood). Total fouls: Schalick 8, Pennsville 12.
Salem 45, Salem Tech 19
SALEM – The Rams put together another strong defensive effort to grab their second straight win. They collected 30 steals and blocked 20 shots against the Chargers.
Ava Rogers had 10 points, nine rebounds and blocked seven shots. QwenNazha Johnson-Logan had nine points, 12 rebounds, eight blocks and had five steals. Ryann Foote had seven steals.
The Rams have recorded 59 steals and 40 blocked shots in their two-game winning streak. Johnson-Logan has had 23 blocks in the two games and is averaging 7.6 per game this season.
Penns Grove uses 20 seconds of chaos from Giomar Conrad at the end of the first half to take the momentum from Woodstown, Salem uses a big second half to beat Salem Tech, Pennsville’s balanced attack takes down Schalick
THURSDAY BOYS SCORES Penns Grove 64, Woodstown 54 Pennsville 57, Schalick 37 Salem 84, Salem Tech 52
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Think of all the things you can do in 20 seconds. Maybe sprint from the easy chair to the mailbox and back on a cold winter’s day. How about a quick run to the fridge during a TV timeout of the big game.
Some teams take longer than that to attack the basket, a situation that could be remedied with the introduction of a shot clock, but that’s a discussion for another time.
Penns Grove boys basketball coach Damian Ware isn’t sure he can do anything in 20 seconds, but he’s glad his team can.
That’s all the time Giomar Conrad and the Red Devils needed to flip the script on Woodstown Thursday night and turn a double-digit deficit into a halftime lead and an eventual 64-54 win to spoil the previously unbeaten Wolverines’ long awaited home opener.
Woodstown (4-1) led by double digits most of the first half, but Conrad scored eight straight points over the final 20 seconds to give his team a 32-30 halftime lead they never lost.
“That was crazy,” Conrad said, “but at the same time it felt good. I’d never done anything like that before.”
It started with a 3-pointer from the right side to cut the deficit to 30-27. Then in rapid-fire succession, Mekhi Ballard got a steal and fed him for a layup to make it 30-29, he put back a missed shot after another steal to put the Red Devils ahead, and then Willie Slocum picked off another rushed pass in the backcourt and fed Conrad for one final strike.
With time running out, Conrad drove wildly and appeared to lose his footing. His throw at the basket didn’t go in, but he was fouled right before the horn sounded. With no one else on the floor, he made the first of his two free throws and Penns Grove led by two at the break. If you want to extend the run even farther back, he hit two free throws inside 40 seconds that made it 30-24.
“I’m thinking, ‘finally,’” Ware said. “That’s what we did, honestly, in our heyday. Back when we won the South Jersey championship in 2020, that’s what we did all game long. We were known for that type of play, just tempo, tempo, turning teams up. And we didn’t have to come back, we just blew teams out.
“We’re trying to get this team to that same level to where they understand how they have to play, how hard we have to play and the energy we have to play with. We’re starting to get there. I’ve seen it in spurts for the last three games. Today I think was the culmination of everything and we kind of made a great run.”
The Red Devils (3-5) carried the momentum of those 20 seconds of chaos into the second half. Slocum scored the first three buckets of the third quarter to fuel a 14-3 run that gave them a 13-point lead with just over three minutes to go in the quarter.
The Wolverines tried to come back, but never got closer than six the rest of the game. They were 8-of-27 from the field with nine turnovers in the second half.
Understandably, Woodstown coach Phil Campbell was in no mood to talk about it and declined a post-game interview request.
Conrad finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points. Slocum had 11 and Ballard added 10. Rocco String led Woodstown with 17 points.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 6 (Conrad 4, Ceaser, Ballard); Woodstown 6 (Ortega 2, Bialecki, Hall, Bokolas, Webb). Total fouls: Penns Grove 13, Woodstown 14. Officials: Lawler, Montacalva.
Pennsville 57, Schalick 37
PITTSGROVE – Luke Wood led three Pennsville scorers in double figures with 16 points as the Eagles started the new year with a win for the second year in a row. Cohen Petrutz and Jayden Thomas both hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points apiece.
The Eagles trailed after the first quarter, then took the lead for good in the second quarter and steadily pulled away.
Wood is now 66 points away from 1,000 for his career. He has scored in double figures in his last 14 straight games.
3-point goals: Pennsville 6 (Petrutz 3, Thomas 3); Schalick 6 (Allen, Johnson 2, Lis 2, Volovar). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Schalick 14.
Salem 84, Salem Tech 52
WOODSTOWN – The homestanding Chargers gave the Rams all they could handle for a half, but they changed defenses at halftime and Salem erupted for 58 points in the second half to win going away.
“Momentum killed us,” Tech coach Bryan Riley said. “(Antoine) Robinson got his third foul as soon as the third quarter started and we switched from man to zone (defense) at half.”
Jabez DeJesus and Anthony Farmer took advantage of the switch. DeJesus scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half while Farmer had 10 of his 12.
Salem, meanwhile, held Tech’s two main scorers, Robinson and Haneef Frisby, to eight points apiece, but the Chargers got 13 from Tyler Zampino and 12 from Chase Wills.
Zampino had eight in the first quarter. Robinson scored six of his points in the second quarter as the Chargers took a 31-26 halftime lead, but he picking up his third foul early in the second half limited his effectiveness the rest of the game.
Pennsville girls trying to make their way after a spate of injuries, Trapp contemplating options for lineup
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOOLWICH TWP. – When it rains, it pours.
The Pennsville girls basketball lineup already was being impacted by injuries, but the bug dug in even deeper during Wednesday night’s 43-35 loss at Kingsway, leaving coach Sam Trapp to search for answers as the Eagles head into the most demanding part of their schedule.
“It’s been extremely challenging; we’re struggling,” Trapp said. “We’ve got a lot of thinking to do in a short amount of time.”
The Eagles are down to four of the players Trapp dedicated to her varsity lineup – Marley Wood, Nora Ausland, Izzy Saulin and Kylie Harris – and not all of them are 100 percent.
Point guard Wood is playing on a sore ankle she hurt in the Buena tournament last week. Ausland, the team’s leading scorer, jammed her finger Wednesday. Additionally, Taylor Bass is out another two weeks with a broken finger, Anikka Macalino has a knee injury and Bella Farina has a head injury.
It’s not the sort of news a coach wants with the Eagles heading into a stretch of four Tri-County Diamond Division games within its next seven or before Bass is expected to return.
The immediate answer is to call up some JV players to replenish the lineup, but many of them aren’t really ready yet for the varsity grind. Freshman Karson Cooksey is now serving as their sixth man.
All the available varsity players are expected to engage in some film study before Thursday night’s JV game against Schalick to develop some sort of gameplan.
“The way things are going I’m basically putting almost everybody on my roster and act like each kid has an extra fifth quarter to play,” Trapp said. “There are 10 kids down on the JV level who are splitting time, so I have six who are dressing for me right now.
“I’m hoping moving forward we can finish at least the rest of this season healthy with what we have and hopefully we get these kids back on the court sooner rather than later.”
Despite the injuries, the Eagles were tied 21-21 at halftime Wednesday before “the cookie crumbled the wrong way.” They were outscored 22-14 in the second half, 18-7 in the third quarter. Pennsville’s Ausland led all scorers with 24 points.
Schalick girls draw some positives from their loss to Gloucester, boys get first road win since February 2021
TUESDAY BASKETBALL Girls Gloucester 33, Schalick 24 Boys Schalick 47, Cape May Tech 35
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – The Schalick girls basketball team’s approach hasn’t changed even if the calendar has turned the page to a new year. Their goal remains to continue to improve every game.
A nine-point loss in their first game of the new year – 33-24 to Gloucester Tuesday – may not appear to have done anything to further that agenda, but there were several positive takeaways hidden within the setback.
“I told them this isn’t a game to hang your head,” Cougars coach John Whelan said. “It’s a tough loss, but we played astronomically better on defense today. We played with energy.
“Even before I said anything Cianna (Gaines), one of our team captains, stepped in and said even though it’s a loss it’s a confidence booster because we showed flashes of the way we played. It definitely feels good as a coach to have players step up and speak, especially in that regard. I think they’re coming to the realization of what they’re capable of doing if we can put together four full quarters of basketball.”
Among the positives, the Cougars (1-3) scored 20 points in the second half and were outscored by only two. They cut a nine-point halftime deficit to four with 1:25 left in the third quarter and had a chance to make it a one-point game going into the fourth when Cali Fisler was fouled on a 3-point shot right before the horn, but she made only one of the three free throws.
The Lady Lions (4-3) opened the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run to retake the momentum.
“The second half, you can’t complain about putting 20 points on the board in a half,” Whelan said. “There are a lot of good things to come out of this loss and that’s with missing two key pieces to our team. We just want to continue to grow.”
Of course, they still have things to clean up. The Cougars lost under the weight of 52 turnovers, off which Gloucester scored 29 of its points. They scored only four points in the first half.
Part of their troubles can be attributed to their inexperience. It didn’t help they were missing two key players. Taylor Sparks has been out all season after hurting her knee in the final scrimmage; the Cougars are hopeful she’ll return Friday. Point guard Abby Willoughby also missed the game, having sprained an ankle in a basketball-related activity over the holidays.
With Willoughby on the mend, it felt to Fisler to handle the point and Whelan said the sophomore did a “fantastic” job. Fisler led the Cougars with 11 points, all of them coming in the second half. Ava Scurry had six points and nine rebounds.
SCHALICK 47, CAPE MAY TECH 35: Daniel Lis scored 14 points and Nylan Sutton had 11 as the Cougars evened their record to 2-2 with their first road win since Feb. 5, 2021 (Woodstown).
It’s the last time they had two wins after four games and marks the earliest they’ve gotten their second win since 2018-19 (Dec. 20). They didn’t get their second win last year until their 14th game, Jan. 24 (Woodstown).
“It’s always nice getting a win in front of your home crowd, but good teams need to find a way to win on the road,” Cougars coach James Turner said.
Lis and Sutton combined for 11 points in the first quarter as the Cougars opened a 13-8 lead. The Cougars were 8-for-14 from the free throw in the fourth quarter to close it out.
SCHALICK 47, CAPE MAY TECH 35 SCHALICK (2-2) – Reggie Allen 3 0-2 7, Nylan Sutton 3 5-8 11, Nasir Sutton 3 2-5 9, Jordan Johnson 1 1-4 3, Dan Lis 4 4-4 14, Jase Volovar 0 0-0 0, Jake Siedlecki 1 1-1 3. Totals 15 13-24 47 CAPE MAY TECH (0-7) – Paul Simmerman 0 0-0 0, Ronnie Neenhola 4 0-0 8, Colin Gery 1 4-6 6, Chance Ginyard 1 0-0 2, Ben Lynch 5 2-3 14, Alec Dooley 0 1-2 1, Tyler Dille 0 2-3 2, Henry O’Brien 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 9-14 35.
Schalick
13
10
Cape May Tech
12 –
47
Cape May Tech
8
12
10
5 –
35
3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Allen, Na. Sutton, Lis 2); Cape May Tech 2 (Lynch 2). Fouled out: Johnson. Total fouls: Schalick 14, Cape May Tech 17.
Penns Grove skips halftime meeting to regain its stroke; it worked in second half, but Red Devils come up short
BOARDWALK CLASSIC Saturday’s Boys Games Tatnall 63, Pleasantville 50 Triton 54, Paulsboro 50 Brandywine (Del.) 66, St. Paul’s (Md.) 52 Ocean City 54, Shawnee 41 Kingsway 55, Glassboro 47 Lower Cape May 51, Penns Grove 38 Middle Twp. 63, Rancocas Valley 42
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – Damian Ware would have liked to have thought that fourth quarter slump his Penns Grove basketball team went through in its last game against Vineland was just an anomaly, a one-time thing that would disappear the next time the Red Devils took the floor.
Well, it didn’t disappear. It actually carried into the first half of their Boardwalk Classic game Saturday against Lower Cape May.
It took nearly 10 minutes of game clock for the Red Devils to hit their first field goal of the game and they had only three in the first half. The did find the range in the second half after a unique bit of strategy and got as close as three, but they couldn’t come back completely and eventually lost 51-38.
The shooting woes were such a concern that when the horn sounded to end the first half and the Caper Tigers (4-1) sprinted to their locker room, Ware – for the first time in his career – kept his team in the bench area and then rolled out the basketballs to get in some halftime shooting practice. Given the Red Devils would’ve had to walk halfway to the Crest to get to their dressing area, that might not have been such a bad an idea.
“That wasn’t it at all,” Ware said. “I just wanted to get some shots up because we couldn’t score the ball at all and that’s been part of our problem. I wanted them to shoot some extra shots to see the ball go through the net, especially in this gym. It’s a different feel, it’s a different acoustic in here, so I wanted them to get a better rhythm for the shots.
“I’m no genius. I figure you get more shots and get more repetitions, you get better looks at the basket. I didn’t feel we played bad in the first half. We got what we wanted. We just missed the shots and we missed free throws. That’s part of our problem all season. We get what we want on offense, it comes down to executing and finishing and making the shot.”
The slump actually started in the fourth quarter against Vineland at Delsea. The Red Devils rallied to take a lead in the third quarter of that game, then in the fourth quarter they went 1-for-10 from the floor, committed seven turnovers and were outscored 19-2.
They scored only four points in the first quarter against Lower Cape May and they all came from the free throw line, and even that could have been better. Lower’s deliberate style didn’t give the Red Devils many shots to begin with, but the ones they were getting they weren’t making. They were just 0-for-4 in the first quarter and 3-of-15 in the first half. On top of that, they were 4-for-10 from the foul line in the first quarter.
Mr Peterson finally broke the ice with a short jumper in the lane with 6:09 left in the second quarter. Giomar Conrad hit a 3-pointer a minute later and Carmen Thompson scored with 35 seconds left in the half.
While the Red Devils were missing, Lower Cape May sophomore Josh Gretta was torching them from outside. Penns Grove had 11 points at halftime, Gretta had four 3s and 14 points for Lower Cape May.
“It was frustrating a little bit, but I always had in the back of my mind we could always come back,” Peterson said.
The shots were falling in the halftime shooting session and it continued in the second half. The Red Devils hit six of their first seven from the floor and had the deficit down to three with four minutes to go in the third quarter. KaRon Ceaser hit the first two buckets, Mekhi Ballard hit a pair of 3s and Conrad had a three-point play and a layup.
“I’m glad he did it,” Ballard said. “I was happy when he said that because in the first half we weren’t making any of our shots. I was kind of annoyed (with the first half), but I knew I had to keep shooting if we wanted to get back into the game.”
The Caper Tigers stretched the lead back out to a safe distance and with time now the enemy it forced the Red Devils to rush some shots in hopes of making one last push. They missed the four shots they got in the final 2:15 to finish 10-of-20 from the field in the half and 13-of-35 for the game.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Conrad, Ballard 2); Lower Cape May 6 (T. Bonner 2, Gretta 4). Total fouls: Penns Grove 14, Lower Cape May 17.
Cover photo: The Penns Grove basketball team spent its halftime Saturday getting in some extra shooting practice to break out of a slump that started in the fourth quarter of its previous game.
Denby questions team’s mental toughness and heart after Penns Grove girls drop their second straight at the Shore
BOARDWALK CLASSIC Saturday’s Girls Games Egg Harbor Two. 57, Newark Academy 28 Absegami 50, Timber Creek 28 Cumberland 34, Oakcrest 13 Ocean City 66, Penns Grove 34 Holy Spirit 47, Cheltenham (Pa.) 30 OLMA 45, Wildwood 43 Wildwood Catholic 60, Bishop Eustace 32
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – The theme of this year’s Penns Grove girls basketball team is playing with mental toughness. It certainly faces its biggest challenge after this week’s trip to the Boardwalk Classic.
The Red Devils went into the Christmas break undefeated for the second year in a row and ranked No. 25 in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament poll, but find themselves spiraling into the New Year 4-2 after losing their second straight game in the Wildwood Convention Center 66-34 to Ocean City Saturday.
Their resolve was going to be tested Saturday as it was after the way their loss to St. Dominic went down Thursday night. It was strained even further after a listless showing against the Red Raiders (2-4).
“As a coach, you’ve got to have players who have heart – we ain’t got no heart, we ain’t going to win nothing,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “We can’t just have one girl play the whole game. We need everybody on the bench.
“We’re lacking heart right now, to be honest. We need everybody to carry the heart. We can’t just rely on one person.”
Brianna Robbins was the only Penns Grove player to score in double figures and led all scorers in the game with 17 points. Most of those (13) came in the second half when the Red Devils’ two other main scorers all but disappeared. The junior made the biggest plays in the second-half comeback against St. Dominic that was thwarted by a no-call on a drive in the closing seconds of a two-point game.
The Red Devils’ two other big scorers – RiNiyah Wilson and Meely Horace – had seven and five points, respectively, Saturday. Wilson, who averaged 17.6 ppg entering the game, had two points in the second half – on a pair of third-quarter free throws. Horace, who averaged 18.5 before Christmas and is on track to reach the 1,000-point plateau later this season, didn’t score in the second half.
“For you to be ranked and not put any points up and take your own self out of the game because mentally (you weren’t in it in, is not a good look),” Denby said. “Mentally is emotions. If you can’t control your emotions because your shot’s not falling, you get mad, you get upset, and instead of turning that negative energy to positive, you wind up on the bench because it’s too late. As coaches, we’re going to go to our freshmen and put them in the game.”
This one was easy to dissect and it goes directly to heart. The Red Devils committed too many turnovers and were outplayed on the boards. They didn’t get their first offensive rebound until RiNiyah Wilson banged a ball off an Ocean City defender under the basket; the Red Devils promptly turned over the inbounds play. The Red Raiders, meanwhile had 21 offensive boards off which they scored 26 points.
Penns Grove didn’t get its first putback basket until about two minutes left in the third quarter when Robbins followed her missed and-one free throw
The Red Devils have no time for a pity party. Their first game after the new year is an early Diamond Division showdown with Woodstown Jan. 4.
“Hopefully it will put some fire up their (rear ends),” Denby said. “Moving forward, these last two losses, when they get in practice they’re going to feel it. They’re going to feel it. And hopefully mentally they’ll get back by themselves.”
“It’s going to make us play harder,” Robbins promised.
