Conference tournament goes to two tiers, division winners earn first-round byes, official seeding done Super Bowl Sunday
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
The Tri-County Conference basketball tournament will have a different look this year, one that expands the championship bracket to 12 teams and rewards division champions.
The tournament will be split into two sections rather than three divisions, a 12-team “championship bracket” and an 11-team “post-season bracket.” It will be seeded by conference officials on Super Bowl Sunday.
The championship bracket will be contested Feb. 13, 17 and 19, with the championship games on both the boys and girls side being played Feb. 21 at Washington Twp. Teams in the post-season bracket are guaranteed two games, but can drop the second if mutually agreed upon.
All games leading to the championship bracket final as well as all post-season bracket games will be played at the higher seed.
The four division winner will draw first-round byes. All seeds will be determined by the NJSIAA power points standings after Saturday’s games, with some teams leapfrogging the one directly above them if they have the head-to-head advantage.
“They felt like we were cutting teeth between the 8 seed in the A bracket and the 9, 10, even down to the 11 seed, in the B bracket,” said Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas, who assists the TCC in the seeding process.
“There were a couple things at play,” he continued. “If you were that 8 seed in the A, often times you’d rather be the 9 seed in the B. It made it more competitive.
“We often didn’t have all four division champs in the A bracket – I think that happened last year – because of power points and they were basically like that shouldn’t happen. You should at least get something for winning your division.”
Based on the power points standings Wednesday morning, the projected bracket looks like this:
The four byes: 1. Deptford, 2. Kingsway, 3. Salem, 4. Overbrook.
Seeds 5-12: 5. Cumberland, 6. Williamstown (head-to-head over Delsea), 7. Delsea, 8. Timber Creek, 9. Penns Grove, 10. Clearview, 11. Woodstown, 12. Gloucester Catholic.
The bracket would have 8v9 playing the 1 seed, 5v12 playing 4, 6v11 playing 3, and 7v10 playing 2.
Seeds 13-23: Washington Twp, GCIT, Triton, Glassboro, Wildwood (head-to-head over Pitman), Pitman, Highland, Clayton, Schalick, Pennsville, Salem Tech.
And the girls projected seeds based on Wednesday’s power points standings are …
The four byes: 1. Gloucester Catholic, 2. Wildwood, 3. Glassboro, 4. Timber Creek.
Seeds 5-12: 5. Washington Twp. 6. Clearview, 7. Kingsway, 8. Delsea (beat Pennsville), 9. Pennsville, 10. Triton, 11. Woodstown, 12. Cumberland
Seeds 13-23: Schalick, Williamstown (beat Deptford), Deptford, GCIT, Clayton, Salem, Pitman, Highland, Penns Grove (beat Overbrook twice), Overbrook, Salem Tech.
Of course, it all becomes official Sunday,
“I think this will probably make it go a little smoother,” Thomas said. “Because you really only have the one cutoff between the two divisions and, honestly, power points should lock that down.”
Category: BASKETBALL
Personal matters
No. 3 Mighty Oaks hold off Montco in Top 10 battle after dropping in the polls; women’s team loses to No. 12 Union
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – All of a sudden, a midweek game against the No. 8 team in the country became the most important game of the year for the Salem CC basketball team. But they handled it, just as they have all year, albeit with a little drama in the second half.
In a game that figured to carry a lot of post-season implications and even more personal connections throughout the roster, the now third-ranked Mighty Oaks enjoyed some early success and then held off No. 8 Montgomery County 77-71.
The game was important for a number of reasons. Chiefly, it was good to have another one Top 10 win in the bank for at-large bid consideration to the national tournament if they don’t win the region/district tournament.
“Won against another good team,” Salem coach Mike Green said. “Who else beats Top 10 teams other than us? We’re the only ones kicking Top 10 teams asses around here, so hopefully the committee will look at that when they see it.”
Then there was the issue of pride. The Mighty Oaks had been No. 1 in JUCO Division III since the Dec. 15 (Week 6) poll, but falling out of the top spot after just one loss — their only loss — didn’t sit well with the players.
“I can’t speak for everybody but I know it bothered me, for sure,” said sophomore Stefan Phillips, the only holdover from last year’s national tournament team. “I love saying we’re No. 1 in the country. Seeing we’re No. 3, it bothered me. I want to be ranked No. 1.”
“I was irked by that,” Nayeem Johnson said. “I was highly upset about that because we got one loss. There’s not a lot of teams in the country that got one loss and we dropped two slots in the poll.”
When told the new No. 1 team has six losses, more than the next three teams in the poll combined, he said, “that’s crazy.”
But on top of all that, the players said this one was personal.
“No. 8 team in the nation, they beat us in the summer; that stung,” freshman Nasseem Wright said. “All our guys were freshmen and all of us never played with each other (at the time). They still won, but it was kind of personal. Those guys have been watching us all year. We knew it was going to be a war.”
“We’re all from Philly,” Phillips said. “I knew I took it personally. They didn’t recruit me out of high school, so every time I get a chance to beat a team from Philly that hadn’t recruited me, I;m gonna take personally.”
Curiously, the one player you’d think would take this game personally the most – Johnson, because he played for Montco last year and helped beat the Mighty Oaks in the regular-season meeting – just went about it as any other game. There was another emotion he felt afterwards, though.
“I don’t take any game personal; I don’t have no vendetta against anybody or no type of beef,” he said. “I will say everybody in the locker room is ecstatic. I’m ecstatic about the win. No. 1, we didn’t lose, and they came in talking a lot of trash so it definitely was satisfying to win the game.”
The win extended Salem’s home winning streak to 16 games over the last two seasons. All of their remaining regular season games are at home.
Expecting a war, the Mighty Oaks came out with gun blazing. They hit five of their first seven 3-point shots to open a 20-2 lead six minutes into the game and were up 20 at the break. The difference was their seven 3s in the half to none by the Mustangs.
Phillips, usually a force on the inside, hit the first one, followed in rapid succession by Zyaire Gibson and Jarrell Little, and had three in the half. He now has 21 treys on the year and is hitting at a 46.7 percent clip.
“Today, really, it started with me,” Phillips said. “Once they saw me hitting a shot early we were like ‘All right, Stef’s hot, we’re all hot.’ That’s how it starts really.”
As for stepping out and shooting the 3, the sophomore said, “it’s called player development, man. You gotta work on your game, all facets. You can’t just do one thing if you want to get to the highest level you can get to, so I work on everything, not just staying in the post.”
The lead swelled to 22 on Saaid Lee’s first bucket of the second half, but then the Mustangs (14-4) started attacking the rim and were rewarded with multiple and-ones while Mighty Oaks went cold and were dreadful at the free throw line (15-of-30 in the game, 7-of-19 in the second half). Montco ended up tying it at 71 on Issac Cole’s bucket with 1:58 to play.
“Just the way you want to start it,” Green said. “Move the ball, take open shots, run our stuff. When we did it, we looked good. When we didn’t, we looked like we were getting punched on just trying to survive.
“I try to tell them don’t get into the personal stuff, because it’s not personal, it’s you team winning the game. The second half it got personal and they pulled back in it. Everybody taking a chance doing their own stuff and you find yourself in a dogfight. That’s what scares me when my team plays against familiar faces. They get sidetracked. They start thinking about selfish things. Not selfish, but just bragging rights. They look for bragging right. Just win the game.”
That’s what they did down the stretch. Wright broke the tie on a flagrant foul free throw with 1:30 left and Gibson buried a 3 from the right corner on the accompanying possession to give the Mighty Oaks some breathing room.
“Saved the game,” Green said of Gibson’s 3. “Saved the game.”
The Mustangs missed two shots from underneath and two more shots on their next possession before Lee sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 16.8 seconds to play.
Wright led the Mighty Oaks with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and six steals. Lee had 14 points and three assists, while Gibson knocked down three 3s on his way to 11 points. Phillips also had 11 points.
Despite hitting his first 3, Little continued to struggle with his shot, but he came up big in other ways, grabbing 10 rebounds and dealing six assists. Johnson had 10 points and six rebounds against his former team.
SALEM CC 77, MONTGOMERY 71
MONTGOMERY (14-4): Alantay Dawson 7-16 1-1 15, Quire Bennett 1-3 1-1 3, Tariq Jennings 2-5 3-5 7, Issac Cole 5-9 4-6 14, Julius Marshall 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Williams 3-8 3-4 9, Steven Hill 1-6 0-0 2, Brandon Bush 9-18 1-2 19, Ryan Homburg 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 29-70 13-19 71.
SALEM CC (24-1): Jarrell Little 1-4 0-4 3, Saaid Lee 5-10 4-4 14, Zyaire Gibson 4-8 0-1 11, Nasseem Wright 6-8 5-12 17, Stefan Phillips 4-5 0-0 11, Jahseir Sayles 0-1 0-0 0, Qua Smith 2-4 0-0 5, Nayeem Johnson 3-13 2-5 10, Idris Rines 1-4 4-4 6. Totals 26-57 15-30 77.
| Montgomery | 29 | 42- | 71 |
| Salem CC | 49 | 28- | 77 |
3-point goals: Monaco 0-11 (Dawson 0-2, Cole 0-1, Williams 0-2, Hill 0-1, Bush 0-2, Homburg 0-3); Salem CC 10-23 (Little 1-3, Lee 0-2, Gibson 3-6, Phillips 3-3, Smith 1-2, Johnson 2-6, Rines 0-1). Rebounds: Montco 38 (Hill 7, Bush 7); Salem CC 40 (N. Wright 10, Little 10). Technical fouls: N. Wright. Fouled out: Cole. Total fouls: Montco 22, Salem CC 17.
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| SALEM CC (3) | 11-1 | 24-1 | 17-1 |
| Northampton (10) | 12-2 | 20-3 | |
| Brookdale (RV) | 12-2 | 16-6 | 11-4 |
| Union (9) | 12-3 | 19-6 | 10-2 |
| Montgomery (8) | 10-3 | 14-4 | |
| Camden | 10-3 | 15-8 | 9-7 |
| Bergen | 12-7 | 13-11 | 10-6 |
| Ocean | 10-6 | 13-9 | 9-7 |
| Atlantic Cape | 10-6 | 11-11 | 8-8 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 5-8 | 8-14 | 6-11 |
| Philadelphia | 4-9 | 11-10 | |
| Thaddeus Stevens | 4-9 | 8-12 | |
| Harrisburg Area | 4-9 | 5-15 | |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 5-12 | 7-18 | 1-12 |
| Sussex | 4-12 | 7-17 | 4-11 |
| Passaic | 3-14 | 4-18 | 3-11 |
| Delaware County | 2-13 | 3-19 | |
| Luzerne | 1-12 | 4-19 |
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Montgomery at Salem CC
Atlantic Cape 99, Delaware County 67
Camden 91, Luzerne 65
Philadelphia 70, Union 67 (OT)
Lackawanna at Raritan Valley
Morris at Harcum
Mercer 78, Delaware Tech 68 (OT)
Middlesex 105, Essex 93
Thaddeus Stevens at Williamson Trades
Passaic at Brookdale
Northampton 93, RCSJ-Gloucester 37
Bergen 78, Ocean 76
RCSJ-Cumberland 81, Harrisburg Area 78
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Harrisburg Area at Salem CC
Compass Prep at Morris
Montgomery at Passaic
Essex at Monroe
Camden at RCSJ-Gloucester
Delaware County at RCSJ-Cumberland
Atlantic Cape at Ocean
Rockland at Lackawanna
Middlesex at Mercer
Northampton at Brookdale
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Philadelphia at Salem CC
Union at Camden
Bergen at Montgomery
Brookdale at Luzerne
Delaware County at Sussex
Delaware Tech at Morris
Ocean at RCSJ-Cumberland
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
RCSJ-Gloucester at Passaic
Penns State LV at Thaddeus Stevens
Lackawanna at Harcum
Northampton at Atlantic Cape
Westchester at Middlesex
| JUCO DIVISION III POLL (1st place votes) | REC | PTS |
| Dallas College Richland (9) | 15-6 | 105 |
| Riverland | 22-1 | 98 |
| SALEM CC | 23-1 | 91 |
| Northern Essex | 21-3 | 84 |
| Dutchess | 16-3 | 77 |
| Dallas College Eastfield | 14-7 | 70 |
| Dallas College North Lake | 13-8 | 63 |
| Montgomery County (Pa.) | 14-3 | 56 |
| Union (N.J.) | 19-5 | 49 |
| Northampton | 19-3 | 42 |
| North Country | 17-2 | 35 |
| Mohawk Valley | 11-4 | 28 |
| Sandhills | 16-8 | 21 |
| Herkimer | 14-4 | 7 |
| Monroe-Bronx | 17-5 | 3 |
Women’s game
CARNEYS POINT — The Salem CC women’s basketball suffered another lopsided loss to a nationally ranked team, but there was something about the way it looked early that seemed different somehow.
The Mighty Oaks have getting boat-raced the last couple games, but in the first half Tuesday night at least they looked competitive. Sure, they were down 22 at the break, but coming off a practice sophomore forward Kasey Oliver called “probably better than a lot of our practices,” they came out with an enthusiasm for attacking the basket, battling for loose balls, grabbing rebounds and genuinely giving No. 12 Union a hard time.
The second half it just got away and the Owls went on to bury them 105-39.
“I thought we played hard,” coach Brian Marsh said. “When they were in a zone we did really well against it. We struggled when they went man.
“I thought our team played hard. We got worn down. Union is No. 12 in the country for a reason – they’re good and they come at you in waves. When we’re playing hard we can do a lot of damage. We were just a little overwhelmed today. If we can have that same effort (they showed in the first half) for the last six games I really like our chances in most of them.”
In spite of the Mighty Oaks’ best effort, they still trailed 46-24 at halftime.
The second half was all Union. The Mighty Oaks were outscored 59-15 in the half, 30-2 in the fourth quarter, with the only two points coming from the free throw line. They had more turnovers (45) in the game than points (39), off which the Owls scored 52 points.
Union put all five starters and six players total in double figures. Oliver was the Mighty Oaks’ leading scorer with 13 points.
It has been a tough stretch for the Mighty Oaks. They’ve lost their last three game since their last win by a combined 172 points
“We know we’re a good team,” Oliver said. “Given our record, we really want to prove that to a lot of people, but it’s just not working out. I guess we want to prove to (Marsh) we can work hard.”
UNION 105, SALEM CC 39
SALEM CC (3-15): RayNescia King 3-6 1-1 8, TJ Shaw 3-13 0-1 6, Kasey Oliver 5-10 3-4 13, Paul Wilson 0-3 0-0 0, Jayda Hunter 3-7 0-2 6, Justine Cardona 2-4 1-2 5, Dani Gustin 0-3 1-4 1, Breanne Ruhl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-46 6-14 39.
UNION (19-3): Jasmin McKay 7-9 8-11 22, Zakiyyah Lindsey 5-17 3-4 14, Cianna Papineau 5-10 0-0 13, Darrian Jackson 4-6 0-1 10. Zanaya Parsons 11-18 2-3 24, Aaliyah Littles 1-4 1-1 3, Gracie Cruz 0-4 0-0 0, Kada Rodgers 4-8 3-4 13, Emani Resto 1-4 1-1 3, Maria Paula Urena Rojas 0-3 1-2 1, Brianna Patterson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 39-85 19-27 105.
| Salem CC | 13 | 11 | 13 | 2- | 39 |
| Union | 20 | 26 | 29 | 30- | 105 |
3-point goals: Salem CC 1-11 (King 1-2, Shaw 0-2, Wilson 0-3, Hunter 0-3, Cardona 0-1); Union 8-21 (Lindsey 1-4, Papineau 3-5, Jackson 2-4, Cruz 0-1, Rodgers 2-4, Urena Rojas 0-2, Patterson 0-1). Rebounds: Salem CC 34 (Hunter 8, Gustin 9); Union 45 (Parsons 12, Lindsey 9). Fouled out: King, Gustin. Total fouls: Salem CC 21, Union 14.
Region XIX Women’s Standings
| DIVISION II | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| Harcum (3) | 11-0 | 20-1 | |
| Union (12) | 10-2 | 19-3 | 7-0 |
| Mercer (14) | 9-2 | 17-3 | 4-1 |
| Essex | 7-4 | 15-5 | 4-3 |
| Raritan Valley | 3-7 | 7-14 | 3-4 |
| Middlesex | 3-8 | 9-15 | 0-5 |
| Delaware Tech | 3-8 | 7-15 | |
| SALEM CC | 2-9 | 3-15 | 0-5 |
| Lackawanna | 1-9 | 4-13 | |
| Morris | 0-0 | 0-7 | 0-0 |
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Union 105, Salem CC 39
Passaic 68, Brookdale 62
Bergen 74, Ocean 52
Lackawanna at Raritan Valley
Northampton 72, RCSJ-Gloucester 59
Essex 67, Middlesex 62
Mercer 100, Delaware Tech 43
Camden 74, Sussex 49
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Delaware Tech at Salem CC
Camden at RCSJ-Gloucester
Atlantic Cape at Ocean
Bergen at Northampton
Montgomery at Brookdale
Monroe at Raritan Valley
Philadelphia at Sussex
Middlesex at Mercer
Union at Essex
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Middlesex
Camden at Philadelphia
RCSJ-Gloucester at Passaic
Northampton at Atlantic Cape
Ocean at RCSJ-Cumberland
Essex at Orange County
Mercer at Raritan Valley
Bergen at Montgomery
Lackawanna at Harcum
Bialecki hits 1,000
Woodstown senior reaches milestone on 2 FTs with 2.4 seconds left in Wolverines’ win; plus scores and details from Tuesday night’s Salem County sports calendar
BOYS BASKETBALL
Woodstown 45, Cherry Hill West 40
Salem 73, Pitman 35
Glassboro 69, Schalick 23
Overbrook 52, Penns Grove 39
Clayton 80, Salem Tech 60
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pennsville 47, Woodstown 33
Penns Grove 60, Overbrook 39
Clayton 42, Salem Tech 26
Salem 67, Pitman 51
Glassboro 52, Schalick 8
BOYS BOWLING
Salem Tech 4, ACIT 0
Lindenwold 3, Salem 1
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CHERRY HILL — Blake Bialecki became the latest member of the Salem County 1,000-Point Club Tuesday and he took the bid all the way down to the wire.
The Woodstown senior needed 14 points to become the 11th boys player to join the list. He got a game-high 15. He reached the milestone on two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play to seal the Wolverines’ 45-40 bounce back win at Cherry Hill West.
“They were actually really important free throws,” he said. “It was, I needed to ice the game and get my 1,000 points at the same time.
“I wasn’t worried about it. I just wanted to get the win. They face-guarded me. They definitely didn’t want me to get it against them. I didn’t get many shots off today, but when I did I made it.”
For the longest time it looked like he might to extend the celebration to another day. The Lions (6-13) face-guarded him in such a manner “they definitely didn’t want me to get it against them” and limited his touches.
He had eight points with 4:30 to play and the game tied at 34. His 3-pointer from the right side with 3:15 left gave the Wolverines (12-7) a 39-34 lead. He hit two free throws with 1:01 left to make it 41-36, then hit the milestone after being fouled on an inbounds play in the backcourt.
“There are a lot of emotions,” he said. “Me and my parents have worked so hard for it and it’s been a goal of mine since middle school. There’s been countless hours in the gym with my dad. I’m just super excited and happy.
“Over COVID I really fell in love with training and getting better at basketball and I really fell in love with the sport. I set a lot of goals and one of them was 1,000 points.”
The fourth-quarter 3 was his third of the game and equally historic. It tied him with 1,600-point girls scorer Talia Battavio for Woodstown’s all-time 3-pointer record (186), a mark he covets as much as the 1,000-point mark.
“It’s definitely important to me because I define myself as a shooter and I work really hard on shooting 3s,” he said. “I train shooting 3s like a ton. Most of my workouts are focused on 3-point shooting. I still work on other stuff, but it’s mostly based around shooting. I want to be known as a shooter.”
He is the 68th player to make the Salem County boys 1,000-point list. He made sure to credit his coaches and teammates to reaching the milestone, calling it “our award, our 1,000 points and not just mine.”
WOODSTOWN 45, CHERRY HILL WEST 40
WOODSTOWN (12-7): Elijah Caesar 3 4-6 11, Jalen Markward 2 2-2 6, Blake Bialecki 3 6-6 15, Alejandro Vazquez 2 0-0 5, Josh Kiing 4 0-0 8, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-2 0. Totals 14 12-16 45.
CHERRY HILL WEST (6-13): Jordan Wise-Jones 1 2-2 4, Andre Blalock 3 0-0 7, Korey Morton 3 0-0 8, Hayden Boyle 3 2-2 8, Rasheed Braxton 5 3-4 13. Totals 15 7-8 40.
| Woodstown | 11 | 13 | 6 | 15- | 45 |
| Cherry Hill West | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13- | 40 |
| 1000-POINT WATCH | TODAY | TOTAL |
| Blake Bialecki, Woodstown | 15 vs. Cherry Hill West | 1001 |
| Tymear Lecator, Salem | 26 vs. Pitman | 931 |
SALEM 73, PITMAN 35: The Rams’ Tymear Lecator connected on six 3-pointers and scored 28 points to move closer to becoming the 69th player on the Salem County boys 1,000-point list. The junior was 10-for-18 from the field, 6-of-12 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds and five assists. He’s gone for at least 25 in four of his last six games. Twelve players scored for the Rams in the game.
GLASSBORO 69, SCHALICK 23: Xavier Sabb went for 30 points as the Bulldogs beat a Salem County opponent for the second day in a row. The Bulldogs started the year 2-9 but have won four of their last seven.
“We’re just trying to put it all together at the right time,” Bulldogs coach Lynell Payne said after his team dispatched Woodstown Monday. “I don’t want to speak too soon, but I will say we’re understanding what needs to be done. We will be the most dangerous 16 seed in the tournament.”
OVERBROOK 52, PENNS GROVE 39: Lamar Little filled the boxscore with 13 points, two rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals as the Rams clinched the Tri-County Diamond Division title. Bilal Robinson (11) and Gavin Cajuste (10) also scored in double figures. Penns Grove got balanced scoring, but didn’t have a scorer in double figures.
CLAYTON 80, SALEM TECH 60: Aiden Bobo scored a career-high 22 points, but the Chargers couldn’t overcome 12 Clippers hitting the scoring column with half of them going for at least eight points. James Fritz led the winners with 15 points.
Girls games
PENNSVILLE — Robin Efelis didn’t really know what to expect. She was just hoping for the best.
In the 24 hours prior to Tuesday night’s game with Woodstown, Efelis has gone from assistant coach to head coach and had to prepare for her team’s biggest basketball rival.
The new head coach and her Pennsville girls came through it well, taking down the Wolverines for the second time this season, 47-33 to remain on pace to share the Tri-County Diamond Division crown with Glassboro. Both teams are 7-1 in the six-team division and split their series during the season.
Efelis landed in the position after Eagles head coach Steve Merritt abruptly resigned after practice Monday night.
The teams battled it out in the first half with Pennsville going into the break with a 16-13 lead, but the Eagles dominated the second half, outscoring the Wolverines 31-20. They took control with a 12-4 third quarter.
Addie Johnston led the Eagles (11-6) with 20 points, just missing her career high. Taylor Bass had 13 points and Marley Wood had eight. Kendall Young led Woodstown with 11 points.
Among Merritt’s parting words to the team Monday was they had a good chance to win the game if they played like a five-man unit and protected the ball.
“The girls played extremely well tonight,” Efelis said.
PENNSVILLE 47, WOODSTOWN 33
WOODSTOWN (8-12): Lauren Hengel 4 0-2 8, Kyia Leyman 2 0-0 4, Emma Perry 3 0-0 6, Kendall Young 4 2-2 11, Talia Guardascione 1 3-4 6, Totals 14 5-8 33.
PENNSVILLE (11-6): Taylor Bass 5 1-2 13, Marley Wood 2 2-2 8, Addie Johnston 8 2-2 20, Izzy Saulin 2 0-0 4, Jaida Burns 1 0-0 2, Jaiden Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-6 47.
| Woodstown | 7 | 6 | 4 | 16- | 33 |
| Pennsville | 9 | 7 | 12 | 19- | 47 |
SALEM 67, PITMAN 51: The Rams got a combined 56 points from their big three — Carlysia Pierce, Dyaira Anderson and Maddie Dixon — produced a pair of double-doubles and outscored Pitman in the fourth quarter 21-6 to pull away. Pierce had a team-high 19 points, 14 rebounds and six steals. Anderson delivered 18 points and 17 boards, and Dixon scored 16 points (with five rebounds and four steals).
GLASSBORO 52, SCHALICK 8: The Bulldogs did to Schalick wahat the Cougars usually do to their opponents: D them up. The Bulldogs held their visitors to one points in the first quarter and shut them out in the third to snap their seven-game winning streak. Kezia Brackett led their offense with 27 points. Sianna Wedderburn and Lily Czubas both grabbed 11 rebounds and Sanaa Thomas dealt 10 assists.
CLAYTON 42, SALEM TECH 26: India Bryant led Clayton with 14 points. Shelby Drummond led the Chargers with seven.
PENNS GROVE 60, OVERBROOK 39: The Red Devils collected their second win of the season and snapped a nine-game losing streak. Their other win came over the Rams in early January.
Abrupt ending
Pennsville girls basketball coach Merritt resigns after two winning seasons with the team, Efelis promoted to head coach
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – On rhe day of one of its biggest games of the season the Pennsville girls find themselves a team in transition following the abrupt resignation of head coach Steve Merritt.
The long-time county coach, in his second year with the Eagles after coming out of retirement, stepped down after practice Monday night.
Assistant coach Robin Efelis immediately was promoted to head coach. The Eagles host county rival Woodstown tonight in a game that has some bearing on the Tri-County Diamond Division race.
Neither Merritt nor Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas would comment on the elements of what led to the resignation.
“It was a very, very, very difficult decision to make,” Merritt said. “In part, for my health, both mental and physical, it’s just not a good idea to continue.”
Merritt, 73, was 28-16 in his two seasons at Pennsville. He came out retirement last year and directed the team to an 18-10 record and the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Group I tournament. He helped produce three 1,000-point scorers – Nora Ausland, Marley Wood and, this year, Taylor Bass.
His all-time record as a basketball coach, including 19 years at Salem, is 285-246. He was inducted into the Salem County Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
This year’s team is 10-6 and currently tied with Glassboro for first place in the TCC Diamond Division. It beat Woodstown 47-46 in their first meeting in January, ending the Wolverines’ 39-game winning streak against in-county competition.
“I was under the impression the kids had learned some things,” Merritt said of his time with the team. “This freshmen group that came in, the six players who came in, they made some significant improvements over the skills that I saw when they first started, and I’m not going to say it was solely because of me. But they learned some things and I did my best to teach them some things. Hopefully in the future that will carry on, but who’s to say.
“Beyond that, the numbers speak for themselves. We were successful. They have a genuine shot at winning today and if they take care of business against Penns Grove and Schalick then they can share the title with Glassboro. I told them yesterday at the start of practice they needed to do two things – play as a five-person group, not a four, not a three, but as a five-person group, and they needed to take care of the ball.”
Efelis, meanwhile, has been with the program for the last five years, through the tenures of former coach Sam Trapp and Merritt. Thomas said in a statement “the administration is confident that Coach Efelis is the perfect person to help lead us through this transition.”
The Eagles made Efelis’ coaching debut a success, overcoming the turmoil to win the game 47-33.
Top photo: Steve Merritt makes a point during a timeout in one of his first games as coach of the Pennsville girls basketball team.
Monday sports report
Glassboro denies Bialecki bid for 1000, Salem takes control of division, Schalick girls set up Willoughby for special Senior Night experience and more
BOYS BASKETBALL
Gateway 64, Salem Tech 31
Glassboro 71, Woodstown 49
Salem 55, Wildwood 43
Schalick 54, Cape May Tech 40
West Deptford 58, Pennsville 15
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Millville 46, Woodstown 39
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
Overbrook 55, Salem Tech 35
Schalick 34, Cape May Tech 16
WRESTLING
Schalick 65, Salem 12
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
GLASSBORO — The banner had been prepared and was folded neatly in the car. The plan was to bring it in sometime during the second half if Blake Bialecki was getting close to the milestone.
The Woodstown senior has been closing in on the 1,000-point barrier, but Glassboro — and Mekhi Parker — were determined not to have it happen on their watch.
The Bulldogs played what their coach, Lynell Payne, called “one of our better” defensive games of the season. They held Bialecki to nine points and stuffed the “sleepwalking” Wolverines, 71-49.
The nine points left Bialecki with 986 for his career. His nine points came on three 3-pointers – one in each of the last three quarters – and moved him within four of breaking the school’s all-time record for 3s, currently held by Talia Battavio (186).
“We made it a point,” Payne said. “He was sitting at 977 and I told the guys we don’t let anybody get that 1,000th point on us, so they collectively took it upon themselves and said OK we’re going to have some pride. We’re playing at home, we’ve been up and down all year ,so today we’re going to have some pride and definitely stop him because he torched us last time.”
Bialecki went for 25 when the teams played right before Christmas. He needed almost that many Monday to reach the milestone, but was held to single digits for just the fifth time this season and the first time in six games.
“When you look at our games people have been scoring on us,” Payne continued. “The LEAP guy (Gabriel Shoultz) had 30. Last week, the guy from Camden County Tech (Charles Barbour) had like 25. So, we’ve got to take some pride on defense and not let anybody score on us and I think tonight we actually locked in and did that.”
Actually, they’ve had an opposing player go for at least 25 in three of their previous four games.
The assignment to keep Bialecki in check fell to Parker. The 6-foot-4 sophomore never let his man get more than arm’s length away and held him to 3-for-16 shooting.
“When I said we cannot let this guy go off on us, he said, ‘Coach, I got him,’” Payne said of Parker “That’s what I look for. I can assign any of you, but whoever’s comfortable and you don’t want to let your brothers down, you guard him. And then he said ‘I got him’ and we all trusted him.”
“They definitely played very good defense on me today,” Bialecki said. “They did a really good job. My shot was rushed, took away my confidence kind of.”
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs dictated the pace. Xavier Sabb led all scorers with 19 points. Parker had 16 and Will Boggans 10. Alejandro Vazquez was the only Woodstown scorer in double figures. He hit three 3s and finished with 14.
The Wolverines held a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, then starting going the other way. They were outscored 13-5 in the second quarter and 46-30 in the second half. Sabb, Parker and Maurice Davis combined for 33 points in the second half.
“Sleepwalking,” Woodstown coach Ramon Roots said. “We were sleepwalking. They played tougher. They played stronger. That’s what it came down to. (His team) didn’t play tough tonight.”
Bialecki’s next shot at the milestone is Tuesday, when the Wolverines — and the banner — travel to Cherry Hill West. He’s not pushing it.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to help us win,” he said. “If that comes, it comes.”
WOODSTOWN (11-7): Eli Caesar 1 0-0 2, Jalen Markward 1 2-4 4, Blake Bialecki 3 0-0 9, Alejandro Vazquez 5 1-3 14, John Hood-McGinley 0 0-0 0, Josh King 1 0-0 2, Andrew White 2 2-2 7, Trey Markward 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Bryce Ayars 0 0-0 0, Frankie Hoerst 0 0-2 0, Connor Miller 3 2-2 9, Brian Booker 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-13 49
GLASSBORO (5-12): Xavier Sabb 7 5-8 19, Mehki Parker 7 0-2 16, Will Boggans 5 0-0 10, Riley Brown-Dispensa 1 4-4 6, Marley Crowl 3 2-2 8, Maurice Davis 3 3-4 10, Wolfgang Donoway 0 0-0 0, Cam Parker-Akins 0 1-2 1, David Gillis 0 0-0 0, Lorenzo Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 15-22 71.
| Woodstown | 14 | 5 | 14 | 16- | 49 |
| Glassboro | 12 | 13 | 23 | 23- | 71 |
Top photo: Glassboro’s Mekhi Parker (5) keeps a close eye on Woodstown’s Blake Bialecki during Monday’s game.
SALEM 55, WILDWOOD 43: The Rams solidified their hold on the Tri-County Classic Division lead by completing their season sweep of the Warriors.
The game was tight throughout, but the Rams carried a four-point lead into the fourth quarter, never lost it and closed it out with six straight Tymear Lecator free throws in the final minute. Lecator was 8-for-8 from the line in the game — all in the fourth quarter — and finished with 28 points.
“I believe we’re starting to become a more disciplined team down the stretch,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “That has helped us come out on the other side of some really tough games. I’m proud of my guys.”
The Rams, still No. 2 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, are the only undefeated team in the Classic with three divisions games to play. They hold a two-game lead in the loss column over Wildwood, which has one division game left, and a three-game lead in the loss column over Clayton, which has three division games left.
SALEM (14-3): Tymear Lecator 8 8-8 28, Deshaan Williams 3 2-7 8, Neziah Spence 2 0-0 6, Marshall Stephens 2 0-0 4, Xavier McGriff 1 0-2 2, Donnie Weathers 2 1-3 5, Darrelle Johnson 0 2-2 2, BJ Robbins 0 0-0 0, Harlem Parsons 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-22 55.
WILDWOOD (7-11): Owen Bannon 7, Gianni Troiano 1, Jordan Dozier 4, Trevor Troiano 14, Nolan Mawhinney 12, Michael Sciarra 3, Vinny Sweeney 2.
| Salem | 16 | 9 | 8 | 22- | 55 |
| Wildwood | 13 | 12 | 4 | 14- | 43 |
GATEWAY 64, SALEM TECH 31: Evan Haase hit five of the Gators’ 11 3-pointers and scored a game-high 15 points.
SALEM TECH (2-13): Chase Pompper 3 2-4 9, Ayden Myers 4 0-0 9, Luke Kroll 2 0-2 4, Brody Kroll 1 0-0 3, Raphael Busch 1 0-0 2, Micah Cavanaugh 1 0-0 2, Sterling 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 2-6 31.
GATEWAY (8-9): Evan Haase 5 0-0 15, DJ Bink 4 3-4 13, Eddie Coryell 3 0-0 8, Naqwon Langston 3 0-0 7, Ben Runner 3 0-0 6, Ben Cook 2 0-0 4, Devin Forman 2 0-0 5, Tamil James 3 0-0 6, Pierce Kaeferie 0 0-0 0, Max Hohl 0 0-0 0, JaQuahn Smith-Carney 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 3-4 64.
| Salem Tech | 8 | 4 | 6 | 13- | 31 |
| Gateway | 17 | 16 | 18 | 13- | 64 |
WEST DEPTFORD 58, PENNSVILLE 15: Michael Joseph scored 13 points and West Deptford got points from 11 players. West Deptford opened a 24-3 lead in the first quarter.
PENNSVILLE (3-15): Danny Knight 2 1-2 5, Shamir Watkins 1 0-0 2, Gavin Spears 1 0-0 3, Colt Willis 1 1-3 3, Aidan Clark 1 0-2 2. Totals 6 2-7 15.
WEST DEPTFORD (6-12): Curtis Pearson 3 0-2 6, Kyree Eason 2 0-0 4, Thomas Cross 2 2-2 7, Carter Watson 2 0-0 5, Yasmine Abdel-Hamid 1 0-0 2, Anthony Martello 2 1-2 5, Michael Garcia 1 0-0 2, Michael Joseph 6 1-3 13, Zamir Davis 1 0-2 2, Talib Bogar 1 3-4 5, Cole Stanish 3 1-1 7. Totals 24 8-16 58.
| Pennsville | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3- | 15 |
| West Deptford | 24 | 11 | 19 | 4- | 58 |
| 1000-POINT WATCH | TODAY | TOTAL | NEXT |
| Blake Bialecki, Woodstown | 9 vs. Glassboro | 986 | at CHW, Tues. |
| Tymear Lecator, Salem | 28 vs. Wildwood | 905 | vs. Pitman, Tues |
Girls games: Special moment
PITTSGROVE — Schalick recognized its seniors Monday night and orchestrated a special moment for one of them.
Abby Willoughby hasn’t been able to play this basketball season while recovering from an injury during the soccer season, but the but the Cougars gave her a chance to score one more time in their 34-16 win over Cape May Tech.
It came right out of the gate. They positioned Willoughby under the basket, Ava Scurry directed the opening tip to Vicky Basich, who then passed to Willoughby for a layup.
“It was a special moment for her as I know she has missed being on the court,” Cougars coach John Whelan said. “Abby has been a big part of this program the last four years and she without a doubt earned this moment. I’m glad she was able to celebrate it with her teammates and family.”
After the bucket the Cougars subbed her out and allowed CMT to get the points back.
“Cape May Tech showed great sportsmanship and we truly appreciate their understanding,” Whelan said.
She played in 65 of 69 games over her first three years and wraps her high school career with 158 points, 242 rebounds and 138 steals.
The game was tight in the first half, but the Cougars (12-3) pulled away in the second for their seventh straight win. They outscored their visitors 22-5 in the second half.
Olivia Vanacker scored seven of her team-high nine points in the second half. Scurry had six of her eight and Cali Fisler five of her seven in the half.
CAPE MAY TECH (6-11): Sam Cabral 0 0-0 0, Bobbi Fashaw 2 0-2 4, Camryn James 2 0-0 4, Sofia Alegre 0 0-0 0, Bella Culican 0 0-0 0, Hayli Estes 1 0-0 2, Kiley Dicta 0 0-0 0, Aryanna Crawley 0 0-0 0, Emma Oravits 2 0-0 6, Olivia Kiser 0 0-0 0, Riley Puvilla 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 0-2 16.
SCHALICK (12-3): Abby Willoughby 1 0-0 2, Cali Fisler 1 5-10 7, Ava Scurry 4 0-0 8, Vicky Basich 2 0-0 4, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Robinson 1 0-0 2, Willow Davis 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 1 0-0 2, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Olivia Vanacker 4 0-2 9. Totals 14 5-12 34.
| Cape May Tech | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2- | 16 |
| Schalick | 8 | 4 | 12 | 10- | 34 |
MILLVILLE 46, WOODSTOWN 39: The Wolverines had everything going on early, jumping out to a 10-2 lead, then the game completely changed. Millville’s Naomi Burkhart scored a game-high 20 points. Lauren Hengel and Kendall Young led Woodstown with 10 points each.
WOODSTOWN 8-11): Lauren Hengel 5 0-0 10, Kyia Leyman 3 3-8 9, Kendall Young 5 0-0 10, Talia Guardascione 3 2-5 8, Jaelyn McDonald 1 0-4 2. Totals 17 5-17 39.
MILLVILLE (7-10): Kamya Smith 1 1-2 3, Rahnasia Casper 3 5-7 11, Naomi Burkhart 6 7-8 20, Angeliya Cephas 2 1-3 5, Aphrea Robinson 0 0-0 0, Brielle Rivera 2 2-4 7, Anya Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 16-24 46.
| Woodstown | 10 | 6 | 10 | 13- | 39 |
| Millville | 2 | 13 | 16 | 15- | 46 |
OVERBROOK 54, SALEM TECH 37: Gianna Simon had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rams. She also had five assists and four steals.
| Salem Tech (2-11) | 9 | 5 | 18 | 5- | 37 |
| Overbrook (4-13) | 8 | 14 | 15 | 17- | 54 |
Wrestling
SCHALICK 65, SALEM 12
106: Victor Fenske (SC) won by forfeit
113: Nicholas Latona (SC) won by forfeit
120: E’Shion Underwood (SC) pinned Adrien Morales, 0:30
126: Caleb Jenkins (SC) tech fall over Zachary Tortella, 17-2 (2:30)
132: Guilherme Quintanilha (S) dec. Jacob Potts, 11-6
138: Aiden Piernikowski (SC) pinned Brodie Parker, 0:23
144: Michael Baisch (SC) pinned Joseph Goetaski, 1:30
150: Ziyon Moore (S) pinned Gabriel McFeeley, 3:30
157: Mason Hollywood (SC) won by forfeit
165: Anthony Deaver (SC) pinned Jordan Brown, 3:30
175: Ricky Watt (SC) pinned Josthen Jimenez, 1:16
190: Gerardo Felipe (SC) pinned Kaleb Ewald, 0:56
215: James Cook (SC) won by forfeit
285: Abdullah Jenkins (S) dec. Jeff Edmonds, 7-0
This week’s schedule
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Feb. 1-7
SUNDAY, FEB. 1
INDOOR TRACK
Woodstown 4×800 in Millrose Games, 2:37 p.m.
MONDAY, FEB. 2
BOYS BASKETBALL
Pennsville at West Deptford, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Gateway, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Cape May Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove at Paulsboro, 4 p.m.
Cape May Tech at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Overbrook, 4:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Millville, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING
Schalick at Salem, 5 p.m.
BOWLING
Salem Tech vs. Collingswood, Westbrook Lanes, 3:45 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK
Penns Grove, Salem at Ott Center, Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
TUESDAY, FEB. 3
BOYS BASKETBALL
Woodstown at Cherry Hill West, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Clayton, 5:30 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Clayton at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at Pitman, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
BOWLING
Salem Tech vs. ACIT, Wood Lanes, 3:45 p.m.
Salem vs. Washington Twp., Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Montgomery at Salem CC, 7 p.m.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Union at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4
WRESTLING
Woodstown at Overbrook, 5 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 6:30 p.m.
BOWLING
TCC Showcase, Lucky Strikes, 4 p.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 5
BOYS BASKETBALL
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Buena, 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Clayton at Salem, 5:30 p.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
Pennsville at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING
Salem, Oakcrest at Hammonton, 4 p.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Harrisburg Area at Salem CC, 6 p.m.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Delaware Tech at Salem CC, TBA
FRIDAY, FEB. 6
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Millville at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at Bridgeton, 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEB. 7
BOYS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove at Deptford, 11:30 a.m.
Pennsville at Woodstown, noon
Battle by the Bay, Atlantic City
Salem vs. Cherry Hill East, 4 p.m.
WRESTLING
Lindenwold, Vineland, Winslow at Penns Grove, 9 a.m.
Clearview, Egg Harbor, Haddon Twp. at Pennsville, 10 a.m.
Salem, Oakcrest, Sterling, Timber Creek at Mays Landing, 10 a.m.
Woodstown, Lacey at Williamstown, 10:30 a.m.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Philadelphia at Salem CC, noon
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Salem CC at Middlesex, noon
Saturday sports report
Here are the scores and details from Saturday’s Salem County sports calendar; Schalick, Woodstown get boys basketball wins; wrestling results
BOYS BASKETBALL
Schalick 70, Collingswood 64
Woodstown 60, Washington Twp. 55
By Riverview Sports News
MANTUA — Woodstown put four scorers in double figures and made just enough plays in the fourth quarter to outlast Washington Twp., 60-55 Saturday. The teams were knotted at halftime and the end of the third quarter, but the Wolverines outscored their hosts 25-20 in the fourth quarter to win get their third straight win.
Alejandro Vazquez hit four 3-pointers and led the Wolverines with 17 points. Andrew White had 15, Blake Bialecki 13 and Eli Caesar 12.
Bialecki moved with 23 points of becoming the Wolverines’ 11th boys 1,000-point scorer and first since Billy McMackin in 2003. He also hit three 3-pointers in the game, leaving his seven shy of tying Talia Battavio’s all-time school record.
His next attempt to break both barriers is Monday at Glassboro. He had 25 points and six 3-pointers when the team played in late December and sat out the majority of the fourth quarter.
“I’m very excited about it, but I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself,” Bialecki said. “I’m just out there playing and enjoying it, having fun and trying to win, and just let whatever happens happen.”
WOODSTOWN 60, WASHINGTON TWP. 55
WOODSTOWN (11-6): Eli Caesar 4 2-2 12, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 4 2-4 13, Alejandro Vazquez 5 3-4 17, John Hood-McGinley 0 0-0 0, Josh King 1 1-2 3, Andrew White 5 5-7 15, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Connor Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 13-19 60.
WASHINGTON TWP. (6-12): Jahsir Sansbury 7 1-1 18, Dominic Aqilino 4 2-3 13, Justin Federici 1 0-0 2, Dom DeNobile 3 0-0 6, Anfernee Arias 1 0-0 3, Jackson Chudzinski 0 2-2 2, Julian Robinson 2 0-0 6, Andrew Verchiarelli 2 0-0 5, Brayden Mumbower 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-6 55.
| Woodstown | 7 | 13 | 15 | 25- | 60 |
| Washington Twp. | 13 | 7 | 15 | 20- | 55 |
SCHALICK 70, COLLINGSWOOD 64: Dylan Sheehan came back to the basketball court this season after a year away and has been a presence for the Cougars. On Saturday, the senior scored a career-high 22 to points to help them turn back a serious threat from the winless Panthers.
Sheehan’s previous career high was 20 in a three-point loss to Glassboro on Jan. 6. He scored 11 in a loss to Penns Grove Friday night.
The Cougars fought off a barrage of 11 3-pointers from the Panthers. Leading scorers Aaron Young (20) and Croix Kelly (14) both hit four.
COLLINGSWOOD (0-19): Courtney Bunch 4 2-2 11, Croix Kelly 5 0-0 14, Zack Washington 4 1-2 9, Aaron Young 8 0-0 20, Landon Forero 1 0-0 3, Jayden Diaz 1 0-0 2, Messiah Norman 2 0-0 5. Totals 25 3-4 64.
SCHALICK (7-8): Sherrod Jones 3 3-7 9, Jase Volovar 3 0-0 7, Justin Iacona 2 0-0 6, Dylan Sheehan 8 6-10 22, Cooper Willoughby 2 1-2 5, Kade Macom 2 2-3 6, Julian Dickerson 2 8-9 13, Orion Baldwin 1 0-1 2. Totals 23 20-32 70.
| Collingswood | 18 | 11 | 17 | 18- | 64 |
| Schalick | 21 | 11 | 16 | 22- | 70 |
| 1000-POINT WATCH | TODAY | TOTAL | NEXT |
| Blake Bialecki, Woodstown | 13 vs. Washington Twp. | 977 | at Glassboro, Monday |
| Tymear Lecator, Salem | DNP | 877 | at Wildwood, Monday |
Wrestling
SCHALICK TRI-MEET
HADDONFIELD 48, SCHALICK 24
106: Victor Fenske (S) pinned Michael Scocca, 1:47
113: Cole Spence (H) pinned Nicholas Latona, 0:29
120: Harrison Carroll (H) pinned E’Shion Underwood, 0:29
126: Alexandar Frey (H) maj. dec. Caleb Jenkins, 11-0
132: Michael Lamb (H) pinned Jacob Potts, 1:20
138: Pierce Hoffman (H) pinned Colin Bittle, 1:59
144: Michael Baisch (S) pinned Charlie Falco, 1:04
150: William Dietz (H) pinned Mason Hollywood, 3:58
157: Ayden Jenkins (S) maj. dec. William Barker, 17-7
165: Hutch Rhyne (H) tech fall over Anthony Deaver, 15-0 (3:45)
175: Ricky Watt (S) tech fall over Thomas Reilly, 16-1 (5:22)
190: Parker Bawidamann (H) dęć. Gerardo Felipe, 6-2
215: James Cook (S) dec. Logan Rhea, 11-8
285: Michael Grant-Hines (H) pinned Jeff Edmonds, 1:59
WILLIAMSTOWN QUAD
PENNSVILLE 46, CEDAR CREEK 28
120: Earl Wynn (P) pinned Luke Senn, 0:45
126: Hector Villarrubia-Torres (CC) pinned Mehki Dicks, 0:29
132: Chase Baker (P) maj. dec. Gavin Marcasciano, 14-2
138: Nathaniel Mason (P) pinned Cameron Reid, 5:00
144: Masen Cruz (CC) pinned Vincent Grether, 3:20
150: Travis hagan (P) pinned Jakob Dase, 0:40
157: Gabe Supernavage (P) won by forfeit
165: Robbie McDade (P) pinned Cole Burton, 0:55
175: Carlos Villarrubia (CC) pinned Cristian Blyler, 5:36
190: Giovanni Carnes (CC) maj. dec. Stephen Pangle, 15-6
215: Hunter Coulbourn (P) won by forfeit
285: Jacob Hand (P) over Slayton D’Amico, UTB 3-2
106: Sincere Wilcox (CC) pinned Brett Land, 4:41
113: Erick Davalos (P) maj. dec. Charles Cordery, 16-4
*-Pennsville had team point deduction at 106
WILLIAMSTOWN 36, PENNSVILLE 35
106: Brett Land (P) won by forfeit
113: Erick Davalos (P) pinned Ayden Danley, 1:38
120: Maddox Slotnick (WI) tech fall over Earl Wynn, 17-1 (4:00)
126: Freedom Neff (WI) pinned Mehki Dicks, 1:55
132: Chase Baker (P) tech fall over Joseph Lascala, 15-0 (5:13)
138: Jayden Hennessy (WI) dec. Nathaniel Mason, 4-0
144: Ahmed Valverde (WI) pinned Vincent Grether, 3:22
150: Gabe Supernavage (P) pinned Wayne Farmer 0:59
157: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Jack Masterson, 1:12
165: Robbie McDade (P) dec. Erick Garcia, 6-2
175: Aiden Garcia (WI) tech fall over Cristian Blyler, 18-1 (3:02)
190: Karlens Borgart (WI) tech fall over Stephen Pangle, 21-6 (5:29)
215: Bernardo DeJesus (WI) pinned Hunter Coulbourn, 1:57
285: Jacob Hand (P) dec. Logan Kennedy, 6-2
WOODSTOWN QUAD
WOODSTOWN 41, BURLINGTON TWP. 36
106: Leo Poblete (B) pinned TJ Conto, 0:28
113: Jadon Middlemiss (WO) pinned Connor Falkenstein, 0:54
120: Carson Bradway (WO) pinned Xavier Thomas, 0:13
126: Walker Battavio (WO) pinned Enzo Caldara, 0:50
132: Barry Coverly (WO) maj. dec. Tyler Littlewood-Fine, 11-2
138: Brayden Casella (B) pinned Jacob Tocco, 2:09
144: Xavier Moy (B) pinned Nehemiah Carter, 0:41
150: Jacob Palentchar (B) pinned Josh Woronicak, 3:12
157: Brody Tellefsen (B) pinned Tyrell West, 4:20
165: Nicholas Davis (B) pinned Ricky Watts, 2:31
175: Greyson Hyland (WO) pinned Gurpreet Singh, 0:46
190: Asher Fitzpatrick (WO) dec. Andrew Schätzer, 8-3
215: Bradley Snitcher (WO) maj. dec. Kaleb Fisher, 13-2
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (WO) pinned Aiden Straeter, 0:39
LACEY TWP, 52, WOODSTOWN 6
106: Christopher Hingston (L) pinned TJ Conto
113: Luke Miller (L) maj. dec. Jadon Middlemiss, 12-4
120: Brandon Lefebvre (L) won by forfeit
126: Aidan Flynn (L) pinned Carson Bradway, 3:46
132: Ryan Leonard (L) tech fall over Walker Battavio, 15-0 (3:34)
138: Isaiah Heilala (L) maj. dec. Barry Coverly, 10-0
144: James Facciolli (L) dec. Nehemiah Carter, 14-13
150: Jacob Pelenski (L) maj. dec. Josh Woronicak, 16-6
157: Chase Meredith (L) dec. Tyrell West, 9-5
165: Noises Ricart (L) dec. Ricky Watts, 7-3
175: Michael Colon (L) dec. Greyson Hyland, 4-3
190: Jake Mott (L) tech fall over Asher Fitzpatrick, 16-1 (4:13)
215: Double forfeit
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (WO) pinned Colton Taps
A.L. JOHNSON QUAD
NUTLEY 62, SALEM 17
113: Luke Finkelstein (N) won by forfeit
120: Elizaiah Perez (N) pinned Zachary Tortella, 0:45
126: Adam Youssef (N) tech fall over Adrien Morales, 19-3 (2:05)
132: Guylherme Quintanilha (S) pinned Evan Seborowski, 3:39
138: Patrick Chell (N) pinned Brodie Parker, 1:28
144: Michael Koster (N) pinned Joseph Goetaski, 0:31
150: Jesse Quinn (N) over Christian VanTonder, inj.
157: Ziyon Moore (S) pinned Owen Marsala, 3:13
165: Antonio Maiden (N) pinned Jordan Brown, 4:13
175: Jaivion Sydnor (S) tech fall over Nicolas Rivera, 19-2 (3:23)
190: Russell Van de Zilver (N) pinned Josthen Jimenez Barreto, 1:17
215: Sean Vilchez (N) pinned Abdur Jenkins, 2:59
285: Nolan Brewer (N) dec. Abdullah Jenkins, 3-2
106: Valen Delaney (N) won by forfeit
ARTHUR JOHNSON 72, SALEM 12
106: Gerad Alvarez (J) won by forfeit
113: Philopatear Boules (J) won by forfeit
120: Matty Ortega (J) pinned Zachary Tortella
126: Jeff Lordi (J) pinned Adrien Morales
132: Keegan Parkhill (J) pinned Guylherme Quintanilha
138: Charles Wilkinson (J) pinned Brodie Parker
144: Nick Cilento (J) pinned Joseph Goetaski
150: Giovanni Donofrio (J) pinned Christian VanTonder
157: Aiden Rogers (J) pinned Ziyon Moore
165: Sam Wilkinson (J) pinned Jordan Brown
175: Raphael DaRocha (J) pinned Jaivion Sydnor
190: Frank Mentzel (J) pinned Josthen Jimenez Barreto
215: Abdur Jenkins (S) pinned Joaquin Nikolic
285: Abdullah Jenkins (S) pinned T.J. Kershaw
Back on track
Top-ranked Salem CC returns to winning ways after suffering first loss of the season, retakes sole possession of first place in region; women’s team struggles in home loss to Raritan Valley
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
NANTICOKE, Pa. – The Salem CC men’s basketball team got back to their old selves and back on the winning track in its first game since its first loss of the season, making Luzerne CC the unfortunate victim of circumstances 106-68 in its final road game of the regular season.
It may not have been as sharp in some areas as they would have liked, but the top-ranked Mighty Oaks (23-1) did plenty of good things to control a game they should have had no trouble winning and it’s a win.
And, with Union taking down Northampton elsewhere in Region 19 Saturday, the Mighty Oaks retook sole possession of first place in the region Division III standings.
They had been cruising along at 22-0 before running into Brookdale Thursday night. In a crisis of focus, they fell behind by 17 with nine minutes to play. They did rally to make it a three-point game with 3:33 left, but then went cold again and the Jersey Blues stretched the lead into the final minute.
This time they placed six scorers in double figures, got scoring from 10 of the 11 players who got in the game and had eight players with at least one assist. Nasseem Wright led the offense with 24 points (with nine rebounds and five assists). Nayeem Johnson had 16 points and five assists. Stefan Phillips had 13 points, Jarrell Little and Jahseir Sayles had 12 each, and Saaid Lee had 10 (with five assists). For Phillips and Sayles they were career highs.
“Every time we play the way we practice and play the way that we’re playing it works well; it has worked well all year,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “We ran into a team that’s better on that given night, so it’s just about being back to our principles and being the best team we can be.”
It’s all about ball movement, wearing teams down and playing good defense. They turned the Trailblazers (4-18) over 20 times, thanks in part to 10 steals, and were credited with 30 assists on their 41 baskets.
Perhaps the only thing disappointing about Saturday’ was the continuation of their shooting slump from 3-point range. The Mighty Oaks were only 7-for-32 (22 percent) against Luzerne and are 13-for-49 over the last two games, dropping their shooting percentage from behind the arc 60 points to .337.
Green doesn’t seen concerned about it right now, but he’d certainly like to see it turn around.
“We’ve got enough guys hitting enough, it’s just the looks we’ve been getting,” he said. “Normally they’ve been knocking them down, so we just have to get in that rhythm.
“I’m a real believer in the law of averages, man, so somebody’s gonna get it, the parade of 3s. It’s boiling up.”
It took the Mighty Oaks a little while to get going, but once they got cranking they were hard to stop. The game was tied at 18, then Salem went on an 11-0 run to finally take control and steadily pulled away. They hit the 100 mark for the tenth time this season.
“You really don’t need to rile them up, they’re already that,” Green said. “Except for one game I believe this whole year they’ve always been riled up. There’s nothing that I need to do. They take it among themselves.
“I never thought we would lay down. Those guys responded and came out and scored 106 points, which should have been 130, but you’ve got to make shots.”
They have six regular season games remaining and they’re all at home, starting Tuesday night against No. 8 Montgomery County, a game they probably need to win to stay in contention for at-large bid to the national tournament if they don’t win the district tournament. No. 10 Union and testy Camden are also in the gauntlet.
“I think it’s great, as long as we don’t get too complacent,” Green said. “I think it’s great because we’ve had our fair share on the road. We haven’t been shooting it well these last two games and ironically both those games were on the road, so hopefully those guys are back in form and ready to knock it down.”
The game will be a particularly special one for at least two people directly involved. Mustangs assistant coach Jerome Monroe was on Green’s national tournament staff last year and Mighty Oaks’ guard Johnson played at Montco last year, scoring 15 off the bench against Salem in the regular-season game almost a year ago to the day.
“That’s the tough part,” Green said. “I’m sure there are a lot of emotions on his behalf. You just try to help him channel it and use it whatever it is for the best of Salem.”
SALEM CC 106, LUZERNE 68
SALEM CC (23-1): Nasseem Wright 9-14 6-6 24, Nayeem Johnson 7-13 2-4 16, Stefan Phillips 5-6 1-1 13, Jarrell Little 4-8 2-4 12, Jahseir Sayles 5-10 1-2 12, Saaid Lee 4-6 2-2 10, Qua Smith 3-7 1-1 7, Idris Rines 1-5 2-2 5
J Wright 2-3 0-2 4, Zyaire Gibson 1-8 0-0 3. Totals 41-81 17-24 106.
LUZERNE (4-18): Jacob Patterson 8-16 8-11 24, Jaidyn Johnson 1-7 1-1 3, Jayden Austin 2-7 1-2 7, Amare Ellis 2-14 6-8 11, Jonathan Mateo 3-8 0-0 7, Tyler Collins 1-3 0-0 2, Christopher Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Melvin Egbeto 1-3 0-1 2, Time Welcome 0-4 0-0 0, Kobe Jacobs 1-3 0-0 2, Bryan Ferreira 2-3 4-4 10. Totals 21-68 20-27 68.
| Salem CC | 52 | 54- | 106 |
| Luzerne | 33 | 35- | 68 |
Rebounds: Salem CC 45 (N. Wright 9, Phillips 6); Luzerne 35 (Ellis 11, Johnson 7). Fouled out: Patterson. Total fouls: Salem CC 19, Luzerne 19.
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| SALEM CC (1) | 10-1 | 23-1 | 17-1 |
| Union (10) | 15-2 | 19-5 | 13-2 |
| Brookdale | 13-2 | 16-6 | 11-4 |
| Northampton (5) | 11-2 | 19-3 | |
| Montgomery (8) | 9-2 | 13-3 | |
| Camden | 8-3 | 13-8 | 8-7 |
| Ocean | 10-5 | 13-8 | 9-6 |
| Bergen | 11-7 | 12-11 | 5-10 |
| Atlantic Cape | 8-8 | 9-11 | 7-9 |
| Thaddeus Stevens | 4-8 | 8-11 | |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 4-8 | 7-14 | 6-11 |
| Harrisburg Area | 4-8 | 5-14 | |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 5-11 | 7-16 | 1-12 |
| Sussex | 4-12 | 7-16 | 4-11 |
| Philadelphia | 3-10 | 9-10 | |
| Passaic | 3-14 | 4-18 | 3-11 |
| Delaware County | 2-11 | 3-17 | |
| Luzerne | 1-11 | 4-18 |
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 106, Luzerne 68
Brookdale 78, Ocean 77
Harrisburg Area 87, Passaic 68
Montgomery at Thaddeus Stevens
Delaware County at Williamson Trades
Morris 90, Westchester CC 64
Philadelphia 76, RCSJ-Cumberland 73
Mercer 103, Essex 95
Atlantic Cape at RCSJ-Gloucester
Camden 102, Bergen 87
Union 67, Northampton 57
Harcum 87, Delaware Tech 65
Lackawanna 86, Middlesex 59
Women’s game
CARNEYS POINT — No matter how difficult things had gotten during the season, Salem CC women’s coach Brian Marsh would never question the effort his undermanned team gave on the court.
He couldn’t say that Saturday.
Coming off one of their biggest losses of the season, the Mighty Oaks just seemed in a fog and lost to Raritan Valley 72-35.
‘There’ve been games where we played hard,” Marsh said. “We just went into Lackawanna on the road and beat Lackawanna. We come home and … I just don’t think the effort was there today.
“We shot horrendous. We did not shoot well and I was telling them if your ball’s not going into the basket then you have to play good defense, you have to rebound, you have to dive on the floor and win those 50-50 balls and we just didn’t want to do that. I don’t know what happened. A lot of our players’ heads were just not in this game today.”
There was a lot that didn’t go right. The Mighty Oaks (3-14) shot 23 percent from the floor for the game, hit just one of 20 3-point attempt – TJ Shaw in the second quarter – were charged with 29 turnovers and scored just 15 points in the second half. They gave up one-sided 20-point quarters on the front and back end of the game.
They’ve lost their last two games by a total of 106 points. That’s the way they were losing games two years ago when they brought the program back.
It seemed to bottom out in the fourth quarter when they shot 2-for-17 from the floor and scored only six points. It didn’t help that Shaw, their only player doing any consistent scoring, went out with a leg injury with 3:41 to play.
“I think this is the worst game we played this year,” Marsh said. “Now, have I seen it before in stretches, of course; but lately, really since the Cecil game right before Christmas I thought we played hard.
“Obviously there’s been times when we’ve been overmatched against some highly ranked teams, but they still played hard and they still finished hard. Today I don’t think they played hard. We just didn’t have it today. I just felt like the team kind of took their butt-kickin’ and were OK with it. That’s not normally Salem basketball.”
Shaw finished with 20 points. Kasey Oliver had 10, but nobody else scored more than three and two starters didn’t score at all. Shaw was 8-for-26 from the floor, 1-for-3 from 3-point range, but the other six players were 7-for-40 and 0-for-17 from 3. Raritan Valley, meanwhile, hit 10 3-pointers, had two 20-point scorers, three scorers in double figures and two double-doubles.
“It was just one of those things where we weren’t here today,” Marsh said. “I don’t think a couple of our players, their heads weren’t in the game; they didn’t want to be here.
“I just told them you have seven games left, how do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as a team that fought through adversity with injuries and illness and all that or do you just want to give up? That’s where they have to do it.”
RARITAN VALLEY 72, SALEM CC 35
RARITAN VALLEY (7-14): Julia Sole Pons 2-5 0-0 5, Maria Eguizabal Ruales 11-22 0-0 27, Paula Aguilera Ortega 1-3 0-0 2, Elizabeth May 8-17 2-2 21, Saionni Patrick 1-6 2-2 5, Aviva Palms 4-7 3-4 11, Jayla McNeil 0-2 0-0 0, Telma Comba 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 27-65 8-10 72.
SALEM CC (3-14): RayNescia King 1-10 1-2 3, TJ Shaw 8-26 3-5 20, Kasey Oliver 5-11 0-2 10, Paula Wilson 0-10 0-0 0, Jayda Hunter 0-6 0-0 0, Dani Gustin 1-3 0-12, Breanne Ruhl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-66 4-10 35.
| Raritan Valley | 20 | 16 | 12 | 24- | 72 |
| Salem CC | 8 | 12 | 9 | 6- | 35 |
3-point goals: Raritan Valley 10-23 (Pons 1-2, Eguizabal Ruales 5-12, May 3-8, Patrick 1-1); Salem CC 1-20 (King 0-6, Shaw 1-3, Wilson 0-8, Hunter 0-3). Rebounds: Raritan Valley 44 (May 11, Palms 11); Salem CC 43 (Gustin 12, Shaw 9, Oliver 9). Fouled out: Gustin. Total fouls: Raritan Valley 12, Salem CC 10.
Region XIX Women’s Standings
| DIVISION II | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| Harcum (3) | 11-0 | 20-1 | |
| Union (13) | 9-2 | 18-3 | 6-0 |
| Mercer (14) | 8-2 | 16-3 | 4-1 |
| Essex | 6-4 | 14-5 | 4-3 |
| Delaware Tech | 3-7 | 7-14 | |
| Raritan Valley | 3-7 | 7-14 | 3-4 |
| Middlesex | 3-7 | 9-14 | 0-4 |
| SALEM CC | 2-8 | 3-14 | 0-4 |
| Lackawanna | 1-9 | 4-13 | |
| Morris | 0-0 | 0-7 | 0-0 |
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Raritan Valley 72, Salem CC 35
Passaic 69, Northampton 59
Camden 73, Bergen 49
Harcum 99, Delaware Tech 30
Mercer 82, Essex 64
Philadelphia 103, RCSJ-Cumberland 35
Atlantic Cape 89, RCSJ-Gloucester 69
Middlesex 82, Lackawanna 47
Ocean 58, Brookdale 53
Rams bop Burl Twp
Friday’s sports report: Salem edges Falcons in showcase on Stephens’ buzzer-beating layup, Schalick girls find a way to rally past Penns Grove, Pennsville’s Wood takes unique place in family history, and more
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Schalick 48, Penns Grove 42
Pennsville 54, Overbrook 18
Collingswood 49, Salem 32
Glassboro 53, Woodstown 36
BOYS BASKETBALL
Salem 47, Burlington Twp. 46
Penns Grove 38, Schalick 38
Lindenwold 43, Salem Tech 30
Overbrook 80, Pennsville 25
WRESTLING
Collingswood 57, Schalick 18
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
DELRAN – Marshall Stephens isn’t the kind of player who gets all caught up in his points. The Salem senior is all about rebounding and blocking shots and he figures if he gets a bunch of those he’s had a pretty good game.
Now don’t think he’ll turn down a bucket when he gets the chance to score the ball, and the Rams certainly were glad to see him score Friday night.
Stephens hit a layup right before the horn sounded to lift the Rams over Burlington Twp. 47-46 in the Holy Cross Prep Showcase.
He raced down the floor in anticipation of Tymear Lecator being double-teamed on the inbounds after the Falcons (7-8) took a 46-45 lead on the second of two free throws with 5.8 seconds left.
Lecator got the ball with about three seconds left and then got it to Stephens for the easy winning layup. Stephens put it up with 1.9 on the clock and before he knew it the horn went off and his teammates erupted off the bench to mob him under the basket.
“The relief I felt was like nothing I felt before,” Stephens said. “He passed the ball to me and my instinct was like lay the ball up. Something told me lay the ball up. Coach’s words were just playing in my head, ‘take the ball up, go up strong, backboard, backboard’ and I did that and ended up scoring.
“It was one of those I kept saying I just can’t miss it, I just can’t miss it. I didn’t think in my whole 17 years of living I would ever get a game-winner.”
Stephens finished with six points, but he also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots. Lecator had a team-high 14 points, four rebounds and six assists one day after impressing against Rutgers Prep in the Metro Classic. Deshaan Williams had 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
“This win was all because of Tymear,” Stephens said. “It’s not because of me, it was all because of him. If it wasn’t for that pass right there we would have never won.
“It takes certain amount of guards and certain people with certain IQ to just pass the ball. He saw what was going on and passed the ball to me. I jumped the highest I could to get it. I didn’t know how much time there was, I just put it up and scored the bucket and the game was over.”
The Rams (13-3) are now within one win of matching last year’s official wins total. They are currently No. 2 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings and have the best winning percentage in the section.
PENNS GROVE 65, SCHALICK 38: Roman Gipson led three players in double figures and 10 players scored in total as the Red Devils won their fifth in a row. It’s also another win in the second game on consecutive nights.
Gipson had 13 points, Carson Pearsall 12 and Geonni Conrad 10. Three other players scored at least six points. Sherrod Jones led Schalick with 14 points.
SCHALICK (6-8): Sherrod Jones 6-1-14, Jase Volovar 1-0-3, Dylan Sheehan 4-3-11, Kade Macom 1-0-2, Julian Dickerson 1-2-4, Orion Baldwin 2-0-4. Totals 15-6-38.
PENNS GROVE (12-6): Roman Gipson 6-1-13, Carson Pearsall 5-1-12, Haneef Frisby 0-0-0, Will Roy 3-0-7, Mishawn Brantley 2-2-6, Geonni Conrad 5-0-10, Luis Colon 3-0-7, Jameel Horace 1-0-2, Jeremy Costacamps 2-0-4, Ahkeen Edwards 1-0-2, Messiah Allah 1-0-2, James Minor 0-0-0. Totals 29-4-65.
| Schalick | 4 | 8 | 13 | 13- | 38 |
| Penns Grove | 16 | 17 | 21 | 11- | 65 |
Girls games
SCHALICK 49, PENNS GROVE 42; The Cougars just continue to find ways to win.
They trailed one-win Penns Grove by 12 in the third quarter, cut the deficit in half by the end of the quarter and won the game with a big fourth quarter.
It was their sixth win in a row, their longest winning streak since 2019 and one that matched their entire win total of a year ago.
“The six-game winning streak is great for the program, especially after only having six total wins last season,” Cougars coach John Whelan said. “It’s a testament to how much work these girls have put in throughout the offseason and season.”
They won this one in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Red Devils 17-5. Olivia Vanacker scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, including three key free throws down the stretch, and Nevaeh Robinson (14) and Willow Davis (9) each hit a 3-pointer.
But this comeback was fueled by the defense the Cougars have been hanging their hat on all season. The Cougars recorded 17 steals in the game, with Cali Fisler and Davis each snaring four, and Ava Scurry had five blocked shots to go with 13 rebounds.
Penns Grove’s Janiyah Cummings led all scorers with 22 points, but she had only two in the fourth quarter. Whelan said Jaelynn Jarmon was a “big piece” that sparked the defense.
“We ran our press well and with aggression throughout the entire fourth quarter, creating and capitalizing on turnovers,” Whelan explained. “Penns Grove is tough and they played a great game. But for the third straight game we were able to grind it out and find a way to win.”
SCHALICK (11-3): Cali Fisler 3 0-2 6, Ava Scurry 2 0-2 4, Nevaeh Robinson 6 1-4 14, Willow Davis 3 2-5 8, Olivia Vanacker 3 5-16 11, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Jaelynn Jarmon 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 8-29 48.
PENNS GROVE (1-14): Keziah Patterson 4 4-6 14, Mikayla Washington 1 2-6 4, Janiyah Cummings 9 4-8 22, Yeichelynn Rodriguez 1 0-0 2, Domari Torres 0 0-0 0, Arrmahni Blackston 0 0-0 0, Jamila Colon 0 0-0 0, Yasmin Cruz 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 10-20 42.
| Schalick | 15 | 7 | 9 | 17- | 48 |
| Penns Grove | 12 | 14 | 11 | 5- | 42 |
PENNSVILLE 54, OVERBROOK 18: Marley Wood came within an assist of a triple-double and jumped over her sister Ryane into 19th place on the Salem County girls 1,000-point list and fourth on the Eagles’ all-time girls list.
Wood scored her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds and is now the highest scoring sibling in her family (1231 points). Ryane finished her Pennsville career with 1224 and brother Luke had 1198.
Teammate Taylor Bass led all scorers with 14 points. She also had four rebounds and three assists.
The Eagles held their hosts scoreless in the first quarter and soared to a 41-5 halftime lead.
PENNSVILLE (10-6): Taylor Bass 7 0-0 14, Marley Wood 5 1-1 13, Addie Johnston 3 0-0 7, Jaida Burns 2 0-0 4, Kylie 1 0-0 2, Reagan Sipps 0 1-2 1, Makayla Griffith 1 2-2 4, Addison Hitt 1 0-0 2, Polina Wright 0 0-0 0, Angelina Wagner 0 0-0 0, Tatianna DePina 1 0-0 2, Kylie Wiest 0 0-0 0, Jaiden Wilson 2 0-0 5. Totals 23 4-5 54.
OVERBROOK (3-13): Leslies Rosario 0 0-0 0, Gianna Simon 4 1-3 10, Heaven Williams 0 0-0 0, Jamiyah Nolton 0 0-0 0, Leigha Muff 2 0-0 6, Kiya Townsend 0 0-0 0, Alexis Washington 0 0-0 0, Annalise Bosco 0 0-0 0, Talia Wiggins 0 2-2 2, Lailoni Hamilton 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 3-5 18.
| Pennsville | 19 | 22 | 8 | 5- | 54 |
| Overbrook | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8- | 18 |
COLLINGSWOOD 49, SALEM 32: Junior Tatum Hinson scored 28 points and went the 1,000-point plateau in the process to lead the Panthers. She reached the milestone on a put-back with 7:18 left in the third second quarter that gave the Panthers an 18-12 lead. She now has 1,015 career points.
The Rams didn’t have a scorer in double figures, but Carlysia Pierce and Timmiyah Simmons each had seven points.
SALEM (6-8): Maddie Dixon 1 0-6 2, Carlysia Pierce 2 3-6 7, Timmiyah Simmons 2 1-2 7, Samiyah Moore 1 0-0 3, Jaryn Weathers 1 2-4 4, Dyaira Anderson 3 0-0 6, Kaliyah Taylor 1 1-4 3. Totals 11 7-22 32.
COLLINGSWOOD (13-6): Sophia Angelucci 2 0-0 4, Tatum Hinson 10 5-6 28, Norah Roseboro 3 4-8 11, Grace Eife 2 1-2 6, Autuym Diaz 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 10-16 49.
| Salem | 10 | 8 | 3 | 12- | 32 |
| Collingswood | 14 | 13 | 17 | 5- | 49 |
GLASSBORO 53, WOODSTOWN 36: Kezia Brackett hit six 3-pointers and scored 31 points to keep the Bulldogs tied with Pennsville atop the TCC Diamond Division and put some separation between them and the Wolverines. The co-leaders now hold a two-game lead over the rest of the division with three division games to play.
| Glassboro (12-5) | 14 | 11 | 16 | 12- | 53 |
| Woodstown (8-10) | 10 | 4 | 8 | 14- | 36 |
Wrestling
COLLINGSWOOD 57, SCHALICK 18
106: Robbie Penman (CO) pinned Victor Fenske, 0:47
113: James Jiles (CO) pinned Nicholas Latona, 0:55
120: Jake Eife (CO) pinned E’Shion Underwood, 0:45
126: Chase Wright (CO) pinned Caleb Jenkins, 1:11
132: Jacob Potts (S) dec. Sean Byrd, 10-7
138: Mason Musciano (CO) maj. dec. Colin Bittle, 11-2
144: Lino Bataloni (CO) pinned Michael Baisch, 0:51
150: Avante Santos (CO) tech fall over Mason Hollywood, 17-2 (3:30)
157: Ayden Jenkins (S) dec. Zachary Akers, 10-4
165: Caden Luby (CO) pinned Anthony Deaver, 4:40
175: Julian Jones (CO) pinned Ricky Watt, 1:24
190: Gerardo Felipe (S) pinned Josiah Evans, 3:43
215: James Cook (S) pinned Rocco Angelucci, 1:16
285: Tim Rambo (CO) pinned Jeff Edmonds, 2:23
Future looks bright
Salem, Schalick girls battle in preview of county’s rising stars, Lecator shows out in Metro Classic, Salem Tech bowlers win school’s first-ever girls division title, and more
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pennsville 64, Salem Tech 20
Schalick 37, Salem 33
Woodstown 65, Clayton 52
BOYS BASKETBALL
Rutgers Prep 67, Salem 55
Woodstown 86, Clayton 63
Pennsville 43, Salem Tech 40
Penns Grove 57, Wildwood 47
BOWLING
Boys: Lindenwold 4, Salem Tech 0
Girls: Salem Tech 4, Lindenwold 0
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM – In a battle of the two up-and-coming girls basketball teams in Salem County, the one with the most experience prevailed.
With the number of quality young players in prominent roles for both teams, Salem and Schalick appear to be the next big thing on the county girls basketball scene.
Schalick has more veterans sharing the floor with its rising stars and the Cougars used that mix to their advantage Thursday in turning back the Rams for their fifth straight win, 37-33.
“In tight games like this it comes down to experience,” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “Experience and confidence. That’s the two main thing we relied on tonight.
“We have our five starters who were all here last year. Our bench consists of very young players new to the program so they’re getting their experience at both the JV and varsity level. (Against) Paulsboro, we were forced to call on some them and they came up big. In this moment today, we just relied on our starters, so it kind of flip flops back and forth based on the game and how the game’s going.”
Usually, the Cougars (10-3) are driven by the play of sophomores Nevaeh Robinson and Willow Davis, but Salem did a good job of bottling them up, so they turned to senior starters Ava Scurry and Cali Fisler to see them through.
The Rams (6-7) held Robinson and Davis to a combined 15 points. Scurry scored only six points, but she was a force inside, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking six shots. Fisler scored 10 points, her season high.
“Ava all season has been our anchor defensively, for sure,” Whelan said. “Offensively, she helped us out today early. We kind of spread the love around with the points today, as good basketball teams can.”
The Rams’ fortunes, meanwhile, run through Dyaira Anderson and juniors Maddie Dixon and Carlysia Pierce. Dixon scored only three points, but she does so much more. Anderson had 10 points, eight in the fourth quarter. Pierce was their leading scorer with 11 points.
While some on their roster have varsity experience, they’re all learning to play a different way under coach Kemp Carr.
“We played so hard, I’m proud to be these girls’ coach,” Carr said. “I’m just super proud of the identity (they’re forming) and how we are getting better. You can see it in spurts, we just need to put a 32-minute game together that we haven’t done yet.“But where they are from the beginning of the year to now … those things are happening, so eventually your experience will start catching up with those things . I think the future’s very bright for this program.”
“The future for both these programs is bright,” Whelan concurred.
Salem broke out a new defense for the first time – a 1-3-1 zone – in hope of handling Robinson and Davis and Carr thought it was “pretty efficient.”
They first rolled it out right after scoring their first points of the game midway through the first quarter. Scurry got behind it to score right away, but after that the Rams held to Cougars to one point and forced seven turnovers the rest of the quarter to grab a 9-7 lead.
Robinson finally got loose in the second half. She scored eight of her 10 points after halftime, with six of those coming on two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that kept giving the Cougars separation.
“You have to hand it to Salem,” Whelan said. “They fought to the very end. They never gave in. They gave us a really good basketball game. Our girls, they withstood all the pressure. Salem was relentless. We handled that pretty well.”
SCHALICK 37, SALEM 33
SCHALICK (10-3): Nevaeh Robinson 4 0-4 10, Willow Davis 1 2-2 5, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Ava Scurry 3 0-0 6, Cali Fisler 4 2-3 10, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Olivia Vanacker 1 4-8 6. Totals 13 8-17 37.
SALEM (6-7): Carlysia Pierce 4 3-4 11, Timmiyah Simmons 0 0-0 0, Samiyah Moore 0 0-0 0, Kaliyah Taylor 2 0-0 4, Triscia Wilson 0 0-0 0, Jaryn Weathers 2 1-2 5, Dyaira Anderson 5 0-2 10, Maddie Dixon 1 0-2 3. Totals 14 4-10 33.
| Schalick | 7 | 8 | 6 | 16- | 37 |
| Salem | 9 | 2 | 9 | 13- | 33 |
PENNSVILLE 64, SALEM TECH 20: Sophomore Addie Johnston led all scorers with 16 points and Marley Wood filled the box score with six points, six rebounds and 10 assists as the Eagles completed a sweep of their first wave through the other five Salem County teams. Taylor Bass contributed 12 points and eight assists to the win. Izzy Saulin had 10 points and seven boards. Shelby Drummond led the Chargers with 13 points.
PENNSVILLE (9-6): Taylor Bass 5 1-1 12, Marley Wood 2 1-2 6, Jaiden Wilson 3 0-0 8, Addie Johnston 7 0-0 16, Izzy Saulin 4 2-4 10, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Jada Burns 4 0-0 8, Reagan Sipps 0 0-0 0, Makayla Griffith 0 0-0 0, Addison Hill 2 0-0 4, Polina Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 4-7 64.
SALEM TECH (2-10): Shelby Liber 1 0-0 3, Amora Delaine 2 0-2 4, Shelby Drummond 5 0-0 13, Rachel Reed 0 0-0 0, Tiara Bazemore 0 0-0 0, Evening Amedee 0 0-0 0, Olivia Lydon 0 0-0 0, Carmen Mott 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 0-2 20.
| Pennsville | 24 | 13 | 19 | 8- | 64 |
| Salem Tech | 5 | 3 | 4 | 8- | 20 |
WOODSTOWN 65, CLAYTON 52: The Wolverines jumped out to a big lead, let the Clippers back into it at halftime, then steadily pulled away in the second half. Kendall Young and Emma Perry led four Woodstown scorers in double figures with career-highs 19 and 18, respectively. Lauren Hengel and Kyia Leyman added 12 points apiece.
Young also had six rebounds, four assists and six steals. Hengel had nine rebounds and three steals. Leyman blocked six shots. Talia Guardascione had six rebounds, five assists and five steals.
CLAYTON (5-9): Deondria Simon 4 3-4 11, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, India Bryant 4 5-7 13, India Williams 2 0-0 5, Isabella Wiseburn 0 0-0 0, Alivia Howey 0 0-0 0, Gabrielle Searle 2 2-2 7, LaNaya Carr-Archie 3 2-2 10, Kennedy Eaddy 1 2-2 4. Totals 17 14-17 52.
WOODSTOWN (8-9): Lauren Hengel 5 2-4 12, Kyia Leyman 6 0-2 12, Emma Perry 7 4-6 18, Kendall Young 19, Talia Guardascione 0 2-4 2, Kailyn Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Gina Murray 0 0-0 0, Autumn Paleschic 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 8-18 65.
| Clayton | 9 | 19 | 13 | 11- | 52 |
| Woodstown | 23 | 5 | 17 | 20- | 65 |
Boys games
| 1000-POINT WATCH | TODAY | TOTAL |
| Blake Bialecki, Woodstown | 25 vs. Clayton | 964 |
| Tymear Lecator, Salem | 31 vs. Rutgers Prep | 863 |
PENNSVILLE 43, SALEM TECH 40: The Eagles have their first winning streak of the season as they won their second straight behind 16 points from Mason O’Brien and a team 14-of-16 from the free throw line. Danny Knight and Jake Layfield added 10 points apiece. It’s the first time Pennsville has won back to back games since Jan. 29-30, 2024.
Salem Tech’s Luke Kroll led all scorers with 18 points and Raphael Busch had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds). Aiden Bobo had eight points and eight boards.
SALEM TECH (2-11): Chase Pompper 1 1-2 3, Brody Kroll 0 0-0 0, Ayden Myers 0 0-0 0, Aiden Bobo 3 1-3 8, Luke Kroll 6 2-5 18, Raphael Busch 5 0-2 10, Sterling Lewis 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 5-14 40
PENNSVILLE (3-13): jake Layfield 2 5-5 10, Jacob Farina 1 2-2 4, Gavin Spears 0 0-0 0, Danny Knight 3 1-2 10, Aidan Clark 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 4 6-7 16. Totals 11 14-16 43.
| Salem Tech | 16 | 6 | 11 | 7- | 40 |
| Pennsville | 9 | 11 | 10 | 13- | 43 |
PENNS GROVE 57, WILDWOOD 47: Penns Grove’s defense ruled the floor in the first half, then the offense took over in the second half.
The Red Devils held Wildwood to 10 points in a low-scoring first half, then their offense erupted for 22 points in each of the final two quarters to secure their fourth straight win.
Roman Gipson was the catalyst in the second half. In the third quarter, Geonni Conrad hit his two 3-pointers and Mishawn Brantley had two three-point plays.
Roman Gipson scored a team-high 12 points, Brantley had 11 and four other Red Devils scored at least seven points. Wildwood’s Nolan Mawhinney led all scorers with 24 points.
WILDWOOD (7-9): Owen Bannon 1-0-3, Gianni Troiano 1-1-3, Trevor Troiano 2-2-8, Nolan Mawhinney 10-4-24, Jeff Knight 2-2-6, Vinny Sweeney 0-3-3. Totals 16-12-47.
PENNS GROVE (11-6): Roman Gipson 4-3-12, Carson Pearsall 3-0-8, Haneef Frisby 2-3-7, Will Roy 4-1-9, Geonni Conrad 2-2-8, Luis Colon 0-0-0, Messiah Allah 0-0-0, Jameel Horace 1-0-2. Totals 20-12-57.
| Wildwood | 4 | 6 | 18 | 19- | 47 |
| Penns Grove | 5 | 8 | 22 | 22- | 57 |
RUTGERS PREP 67, SALEM 55: The Rams came out of the gate slow in the Metro Classic, but they came to life in the second half to make a game of it.
They got into the event at the last minute and trailed 36-14 at halftime. They made an impression in the second half, though, outscoring the Argonauts 41-33.
Tymear Lecator found the rims at Stockton University friendly. He hit six 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 31 points to lead all scorers. He also had five rebounds and five assists. Deshaan Williams had 11 points and five rebounds. Marshall Stephens grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots.
SALEM (12-3): Deshaan Williams 11, Marshall Stephens 4, BJ Robbins 4, Neziah Spence 3, Tymear Lecator 31, Darelle Johnson 2. Totals 23-2-55.
RUTGERS PREP (13-6): Logan Franz 3 2-2 9, Nicolas Nsenkyire 3 0-0 6, Rocco Loomis 6 4-4 18, Bryce Williams 3 0-0 8, William Brunson 7 2-4 18, Julian Ceberio 1 0-0 3, Morgan Duncan 1 0-0 2, Oliver Cohen 1 0-0 3. Totals 25 8-10 67.
| Salem | 8 | 6 | 20 | 21- | 55 |
| Rutgers Prep | 16 | 20 | 16 | 17- | 67 |
WOODSTOWN 86, CLAYTON 63: Blake Bialecki has been on a tear. On this night the Wolverines senior tied his career-high with seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points. Over his last four games he has scored 85 points and hit 17 3-pointers. He is now 36 points away from 1,000 and 10 away from setting the Wolverines’ all-time records for 3s.
Andrew White had a career-high 19 points for the Wolverines. Twelve players scored for the Wolverines in all.
Bowling: First-time champs
SALEM TECH GIRLS 4, LINDENWOLD 0: Naomi Hess rolled the Chargers’ high game (146) and high series (446) as the Chargers clinched the TCC Classic Division title, the first girls team in Salem Tech history to win a division crown. Casey Zaluske rolled a 146 in Game 2 and Candyce Cooper rolled three consecutive 143s. The boys lost 4-0. Rosario Torres rolled their high game (190) and series (521).
