Wake up call

Top-ranked Mighty Oaks overcome slow start to stay undefeated; women fall under a barrage of 3s

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SEWELL – For the better part of the first half Saturday it looked like this was going to be it, the day somebody finally gets the Salem CC basketball team and hands the Mighty Oaks their first loss of the season.

RCSJ-Gloucester came out hitting shots and the Mighty Oaks came out, well, not. The top-ranked team in the land was down 13 eight minutes into the game and again at the 10-minute mark of the first half.

At that point Salem coach Mike Green had seen enough to know he had seen too much. He called a 30-second timeout to tell his team to get on the stick, and they responded.

They clawed back into it and actually built a six-point lead before going into the break up by one. They never lost the lead in the second half and eventually pulled away from the Roadrunners 96-84 to hold onto all the good things they have built to this point in the season.

“I think this was the first time this year we took somebody a little lightly,” Green said. “I told them their coaches were really good, they’re players we really good. They ain’t got nothing to lose. They’re coming to play against the No. 1 team, so you’ve got to be locked in. I don’t think we were locked in to start the game.

“It gets like that when you’re complacent. You’re 17-0, you’re No. 1 in the country, sometimes you ain’t fired up. But we woke up pretty quick. They got fired up some really quickly after that.”

It was easy to see how that could have happened. The Mighty Oaks (18-0) were coming off a win over No. 7 Union that was the biggest threat to their undefeated record to date, they were winning games by an average of 20 points a game, and they beat Saturday’s hosts by 28 in their first meeting in December.

But the Roadrunners (6-13) had different ideas. They ran out to leads of 22-9 and 28-15 in the first 10 minutes by using tenacious defense that forced Salem at one point into eight straight empty possessions and sharp 3-point shooting.

They were 7-of-8 from beyond the arc in the first half. They hit their first three 3s in a 15-2 run that produced the 22-9 lead. Two more 3s – one by former Salem High standout Jabez DeJesus – pushed it 28-15 with about 10 minutes left in the half. That’s when Green called time to reset the mindset.

“We definitely came out a little slow; we definitely looked over them a little bit,” gunner Zyaire Gibson said. “It’s hard to win, win, win and keep the same mentality all the time, but our coach does a great job of keeping us together and playing hard. After he called the time out, he talked to us and made sure everybody knew what they were supposed to do and we went out and figured it out.”

The Mighty Oaks (18-0) got back in it by doing what the Roadrunners were doing to them early in the game. They came out of the timeout, turned up the defensive intensity and promptly went on a 15-0 run to take the lead.

“Since we beat them by 30 the first time we came here thinking as a team they were going to lay down, but they didn’t,” Jerrell Little said. “It’s probably the first or second time we’ve taken a team lightly; maybe the first game of the season too we took them lightly.

“Our coach always says we’re the No. 1 team in the nation so we’re gonna get everybody’s best game and especially being at home we’re going to get double people’s best game. We came in (complacent) a little bit, but at least we picked it up, got the win. But now we know, like people are hunting. We just have to be the hunters next time.”

Gibson played one of the biggest roles in keeping the Mighty Oaks out front. He hit five of his career-high six 3-pointers in a 21-point second half and finished the game with a career-high 26. He opened the second half with a 3 and a layup to extend the lead, then drained four 3s in a row from both corners in a personal 16-point run over the final five minutes to ice the game.

He was 9-of-18 from the floor overall, 6-of-15 from 3-point range. His previous high for 3s was five against Bergen in the home opener and at Ocean.

“They got a real soft rim; it makes it a little easier to shoot,” he said. “At the home gym we’re shooting every day, it’s kind of routine. Here it took me a little while to get in the groove, but I figured it out.”

ACORNS: Gibson (top photo) was one of four Mighty Oaks scoring in double figures. Saaid Lee had 17 points, nine assists and four steals. Nasseem Wright had 16 points and Little 15 …. Wright and Idris Rines combined for five blocked shots that all seemed to come at crucial points in the game … Ace Lassiter led RCSJ with 24 points, but the Mighty Oaks held him to six in the second half.

SALEM CC 96, RCSJ-GLOUCESTER 84
SALEM CC (18-0): Zyaire Gibson 9-18 2-2 26, Saaid Lee 7-11 2-3 17, Nasseem Wright 6-9 4-6 16, Jarrell Little 6-14 0-0 15, Stefan Phillips 2-3 1-2 5, Idris Rines 2-4 1-1 5, Nayeem Johnson 1-5 2-2 4, Qua Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Jaiayre Wright 2-3 0-2 4, Jahseir Sayles 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 37-71 12-18 96.
RCSJ-GLOUCESTER (6-13): Nasir Williamsbey 5 2-2 13, Ace Lassiter 7 7-9 24, Julian Johnson 2 0-0 6, Amara Secho 1 0-0 2, Hajir Davis 8 6-7 23, Aiden Cramner 3 1-2 7, Jabez DeJesus 3 2-2 9. Totals 29 18-22 84.

Salem CC	44	52–	96
RCSJ-Gloucester	43	41–	84

3-point goals: Salem CC 10-32 (Gibson 6-15, Lee 1-3, N. Wright 0-1, Little 3-10, Rines 0-1, Sayles 0-2); RCSJ 8 (Williamsbey, Lassiter 3, Johnson 2, Davis, DeJesus). Rebounds: Salem CC 36 (Phillips 7, Gibson 6); RCSJ 25 (Lassiter 7, Davis 5). Total fouls: Salem CC 11, RCSJ 12. Officials: Davis, Popper, Quick.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
SALEM CC (1)	12-0	18-0	11-0
Northampton (5)	9-0	14-1
Union (7)	10-2	13-3	10-2
Montgomery (9)	5-1	8-2
Ocean	9-2	10-4	6-3
Brookdale	11-3	11-5	7-3
Camden	6-3	9-6	6-5
RCSJ-Cumberland	6-5	7-8	6-6
Bergen	7-8	8-10	3-7
Atlantic Cape	5-7	6-8	4-7
Thaddeus Stevens	3-5	6-9
RCSJ-Gloucester	4-11	6-13	1-7
Sussex	3-11	5-13	3-9
Delaware County	2-8	3-12
Passaic	3-12	3-13	3-9
Luzerne	1-6	4-11
Harrisburg Area	1-6	2-12
Philadelphia	1-8	6-8

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 96, RCSJ-Gloucester 84
Montgomery 95, Harrisburg Area 86
Ocean 95, Thaddeus Stevens 86
Chesapeake 91, Raritan Valley 67
Delaware County at Luzerne
Union 67, Atlantic Cape 53
Mercer 71, Montgomery (Md.) 69
Bergen 77, RCSJ-Cumberland 68
Northampton 90, Sussex 70
Morris 76, Delaware Tech 72
Essex 72, Camden 63
Middlesex 142, Kingsborough 66

Women’s game

SEWELL – Story posting soon.

SEWELL – Salem CC women’s coach Brian Marsh knew how good a player RCSJ-Gloucester’s Shannon Pierman was from the way he recruited her out of Woodstown High School and one of the focuses for his team Saturday was to limit her effectiveness inside as much as possible.

But the Roadrunners found a way around those plans. They killed it from the outside.

They hit 12 3-pointers and shot down the Mighty Oaks 71-54.

The Roadrunners, No. 15 in JUCO Division III, hit 10 3-pointers in the first half to open a 45-23 lead. Anna DiPiero hit six of her seven 3s in the first half — five in the second quarter. Alaina LaMonica hit three in half and Hadley Rodriguez had the other.

DiPiero and LaMonica both finished with 21 points. Pierman, the team’s overall leading scorer and rebounder, had 13.

“Our goal was to stop Shannon, and then No. 22 (DiPiero) went, what, 7-for-8 from 3-point land in the first half,” Marsh said. “They shot 80 percent as a team from 3-point land in the first half and that’s really hard to come back from. We tried, it’s just I think our defense wasn’t there today.

“I tell the girls Salem basketball is defense and rebounding and we’re going to get our offense out of that. It’s just one of the things we’ve got to keep working.”

The Mighty Oaks (2-10) did get it back to 14 with two and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, but got no closer.

RayNescia King led Salem with 14 points. Tanijya Shaw had 12. King had 10 of her points in the second half and Shaw had eight.

“I thought they played hard, but I just don’t think were consistent enough and I think that’s showing in our record,” Marsh said. “Minute by minute, quarter by quarter, there’s just some inconsistencies.

“I thought we played really well the last four games even though there are a couple losses there. Against Monroe I thought we played really well and just today it kind of seems we regressed a little bit.”

RCSJ-GLOUCESTER 71, SALEM CC 54
SALEM CC (2-10) – RayNescia King 5 1-6 14, Tanijya Shaw 6 0-0 12, Kasey Oliver 2 2-3 6, Paula Wilson 2 0-0 5, Ameriyona Hunter 1 0-0 3, Dani Gustin 1 3-4 6, Justine Cardona 4 0-0 9, Jayda Hunter 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-13 54.
RCSJ-GLOUCESTER (11-3) – Anna DiPiero 7 0-1 21, Alaina LaMonica 7 3-3 21, Emma Buttocovia 3 1-2 7, Vienna Gantz 0 0-0 0, Brenna Ivey 0 0-0 0, Hadley Rodriguez 1 0-0 3, Shannon Pierman 5 3-6 13, Tinu Bamgbose 1 1-2 3, Savannah Shute 1 1-2 3. Totals 25 9-16 71.

Salem CC	7	16	15	16-	54
RCSJ-Gloucester	17	28	10	16-	71

3-point goals: Salem CC 6 (King 3, Wilson, Cardona, J. Hunter); RCSJ 12 (DiPiero 7, LaMonica 4, Rodriguez). Total fouls: Salem CC 16, RCSJ 17. Officials: Beliz, Forlidassi, Kearney.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

DIVISION II	R19	ALL	GSAC
Harcum (5)	6-0	14-1
Union (7)	8-1	14-3	6-0
Mercer (18)	6-2	10-3	3-1
Essex	6-3	10-4	5-2
Delaware Tech	4-4	5-11
Raritan Valley	3-5	6-8	3-3
Lackawanna	2-6	2-9
SALEM CC	1-5	2-10	0-3
Middlesex	1-6	6-13	0-4
Morris	0-5	0-5	0-3

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
RCSJ-Gloucester 71, Salem CC 54
Bergen at RCSJ-Cumberland
Delaware Tech 94, Morris 46
Northampton 72, Sussex 43
Essex 86, Camden 55
Mercer 102, Montgomery (Md.) 44
Cecil 77, Middlesex 55

Friday roundup

Triton buries Pennsville under a barrage of early 3s, Salem gets past LEAP for sixth straight win, Schalick beats Buena to get to .500; on the girls side, Schalick stifles Buena early, Kingsway handles Penns Grove

BOYS BASKETBALL
Triton 65, Pennsville 53
Salem 44, LEAP 41
Schalick 64, Buena 42
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Kingsway 53, Penns Grove 20
Schalick 45, Buena 16

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Long bus rides aren’t necessarily good for a basketball player’s legs, but the Triton Mustangs didn’t seem to have any trouble with it Friday night.

The Mustangs spent 45 minutes on the bus getting here, then came out and hit nine 3-pointers in the first half like they were layups to open a big lead on Pennsville before bringing home a 65-53 victory.

The Mustangs hit their first five 3s to open a 15-point lead and were 6-of-7 in the first quarter if you discount the heave they launched from midcourt at the buzzer. They hit three more in the second quarter and then added their 10th of the game early in the third.

At that point they were 10-of-13 from beyond the arc.

“I don’t ever expect that, but I know we have the ability to shoot well as a team,” Mustangs coach Andrew Canzanese said. “Early in the season we did and then we’ve been kind of going through a little bit of a rough patch recently.

“The other day, in Wednesday’s practice, we spent a lot of time from the ground up working on our feet. Our feet were all kinds of wrong, so we built it from the ground up and just got those shots back.

“Last night when we played Gloucester Catholic we got it back and we played more the way I knew we could and it carried into tonight, especially in the first half.”

The Mustangs (4-5) hit 10 treys in that game, too, and that energy clearly carried over to this one.

Joel Almarez-Olivares hit three in the first quarter and four in the game to finish with 14 points. Michael Revero hit one in the first quarter and led the Mustangs with 18 points. Noah Karwowski, who had five against Gloucester Catholic, and Chase Potts each had two, and Scott Cave had the other one.

The early barrage caught new Pennsville coach Ray Heine a little off guard.

“There are teams out there (that can shoot it like that), but I didn’t see that coming from them,” Heine said. “I’d seen two games they played and neither one of them I don’t think they broke 50. They certainly didn’t shoot it like that.

“We just don’t have the horses to play man-to-man. We don’t have the knowledge or the horses. We’ve got to play zone.”

Pennsville’s Mason O’Brien led all scorers with 24 points, but came off the floor limping at the end of the game. The junior guard went for 37 in a game earlier this week and is averaging 17.9 a game, but teams are starting to realize he’s the Eagles only game-changer and are starting to play him accordingly.

The 10 3-pointers were the difference in the Mustangs’ big lead. They led 58-30 going into the fourth quarter before the Eagles (1-9) cut it back against the Triton reserves.

“I appreciate the effort in the last four or five minutes when we could have kind of rolled over and just played dead,” Heine said. “We did continue to play.”

TRITON (4-5): Michael Revero 7 3-3 18, Noah Karwowski 2 0-0 6, Chase Potts 3 0-0 8, Scott Cave 2 3-3 8, Laron Sims 1 1-4 3, Myles Searles 1 0-0 2, Gio Salguero 0 0-0 0, Aiden Rivera 0 0-0 0, Metzgerdy Lamy 3 0-0 6, Rudra Vaghela 0 0-0 0, Joel Almarez-Olivares 5 0-0 14, Ibn Wynn 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 7-10 65.
PENNSVILLE (1-9): Danny Knight 1 4-4 7, Mason O’Brien 9 3-6 24, Jake Layfield 1 1-1 3, Trey Clevenger 0 0-0 0, Shamir Watkins 1 0-0 2, Jake Farina 2 1-1 5, Gavin Spears 1 0-0 2, Aidan Clark 3 0-0 6, Colt Willis 1 0-0 2, Chanler Lindenmuth 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 9-12 53.

Triton	27	17	14	7-	65
Pennsville	11	7	12	23-	53

3-point goals: Triton 10 (Revero, Karwowski 2, Potts 2, Cave, Almarez-Olivares 4); Pennsville 4 (Knight, O’Brien 3). Total fouls: Triton 14, Pennsville 9.

SALEM 44, LEAP 41: Big players make big plays in big games and that certainly applied to Tymear Lecator. The Salem junior guard scored 18 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished four assists as the Rams won the battle of top four teams in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

The Rams (8-1) trailed by one at halftime, but took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Marshall Stephens had eight points and his third straight 10-rebound game. Deshaan Williams had nine points and seven rebounds. Fatah Paige had seven points and eight boards.

It was LEAP’s second game since the NJSIAA ruled Wednesday to ban the Lancers from the state playoffs as the result of a benches-clearing brawl involving players, coaches and spectators in the second quarter of their game with St. Joseph (Hammonton) Tuesday. St. Joe also was banned from the playoffs.

1000-Point Watch

PLAYER	TODAY	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	DNP	858
Tymear Lecator, Salem	18 vs. LEAP	755

SCHALICK 64, BUENA 42: Freshman Julian Dickerson had the second-best game of his career, scoring 19 points to lead three Schalick scorers in double figures. He has gone for 16, 18 and 19 in his last three games and is now averaging 15.0 for the season.

Kade Macom hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points and Dylan Sheehan had 10.

BUENA (1-7): Elwood Taylor 4 3-4 12, Richie Wilson 4 0-3 8, Ricky Bessix 6 0-0 12, Zack Mick 3 0-0 6, Nathan Nieves-Medina 1 0-0 2, Max Kline 1 0-1 2. Totals 19 3-9 42.
SCHALICK (4-4): Orion Baldwin 3 0-3 7, Julian Dickerson 8 1-4 19, Kade Macom 4 2-2 13, Sherrod Jones 4 1-2 9, Dylan Sheehan 4 2-2 10, Cooper Willoughby 3 0-0 6. Totals 26 6-13 64.

Buena	10	12	9	11-	42
Schalick	23	19	16	6-	64

3-point goals: Buena 1 (Taylor); Schalick 6 (Baldwin, Dickerson 2, Macom 3).

Girls games

SCHALICK 45, BUENA 16: The Cougars put together another big defensive first half to take control. They held their hosts to three points in the first half while building a 26-3 lead. In their five wins this season, the Cougars have held their opponents to 10 points in the first quarter and 29 in the first half.

Schalick’s Neveah Robinson led all scorers with 17 points. Willow Davis scored all nine of her points in the first half.

SCHALICK (5-1): Ava Scurry 4 0-0 8, Cali Fisler 1 0-2 2, Neveah Robinson 8 1-1 17, Willow Davis 4 0-3 9, Olivia Vanacker 1 0-2 2, Jaelynn Jarman 0 1-2 1, Vicky Basich 2 0-0 4, Emmalynn Weir 0 2-2 2, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Bailey Wentz 0 0-0 0, Paige Sparks 0 0-0 0, Eve Berger 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-12 45.
BUENA (2-5): Athena Bradley 0 1-3 1, Isabella Adkins 0 0-0 0, Kayla Lafferty 1 0-0 2, Ava Cornew 0 0-0 0, Sykes-Hicks 1 0-0 2, Anaiyah Torres-Boyce 3 0-2 6, Julia Futty 0 0-0 0, Isabella Acevedo 0 0-0 0, Leylani Muniz 1 2-2 5, Malia Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 3-7 16.

Schalick	14	12	14	5-	45
Buena	2	1	5	8-	16

3-point goals: Schalick 1 (Davis); Buena 1 (Muniz). Total fouls: Schalick 12, Buena 6.

KINGSWAY 53, PENNS GROVE 20: Annika Dohlen came out with the hot hand, scoring 10 of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter to help the Dragons take control. Penns Grove’s Janiyah Cummings hit three 3-pointers and led Penns Grove with 11 points.

PENNS GROVE (1-8): Janiyah Cummings 4 0-0 11, Mikayla Washington 2 1-4 5, Nyasia Numan 0 0-0 0, Keziah Patterson 2 0-0 4, Jamira Lewis 0 0-0 0, Yeichelyn Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Armani Blackstone 0 0-0 0, Domari Torress 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 1-4 20.
KINGSWAY (6-4): Alessia Lenten 1 4-4 6, Bella Archer 1 0-0 2, Annika Dohlen 6 1-2 14, Liv Myers 1 0-0 3, Ojonile Gabriel 1 2-4 4, Chloe McNeill 3 2-2 8, Gia Baus 3 0-0 6, Gab Scaffidi 0 0-0 0, Ellie Farro 0 0-0 0, Lila Storms 3 2-2 8, Jayah Love 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 11-14 53.

Penns Grove	6	3	3	8-	20
Kingsway	17	15	17	4-	53

3-point goals: Penns Grove (Cummings 3); Kingsway 2 (Dohlen, Myers). Total fouls: Penns Grove 10, Kingsway 9.

‘Bop’ breaks out

Salem’s Stephens back with his buddies, has big game in Rams’ fifth straight win; includes boys and girls basketball, wrestling, swimming, track and bowling results

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – Marshall Stephens is back playing with his basketing buddies again and he couldn’t be happier.

Stephens enjoyed his best game on the court since returning to Salem Thursday night, and it helped the Rams win their fifth in a row, 61-46 over Glassboro. He scored a career-high 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots.

The 6-6 senior post, who took the nickname “Bop” from a character on Barney & Friends and has carried it since his freshman year, scored in 11 games for the Rams’ varsity as a sophomore, but moved to New York the next year and didn’t play basketball because it just didn’t feel right with all his basketball buddies back in Salem.

The coaches at Evander High School in the Bronx were after him every day to play for them. He missed it not playing and thought about it every day, but he stuck to his guns.

“Everything there was just out of place; it just didn’t feel like home,” he said. “It just didn’t feel right playing with these guys. I can play practice with y’all, I can play with you trying to get better, but as far as being on the team (he wasn’t feeling it).

“And I knew I was coming back. I’ll just wait until I come back. I was like if I come back to Salem I want to be the best I can for that program. That’s where I see myself playing and I can see myself graduating from.”

Rams coach Anthony Farmer, needing post following Antwuan Rogers’ early departure to play Division I football at Temple, welcomed Stephens back to the court when he returned and the player has been steadily getting comfortable with the game again. He had 10 points and eight rebounds in his first game back against Woodstown, which happened to be coach Anthony Farmer’s 100th career coaching win.

The game Thursday was his first since the opener scoring in double figures and his second in a row with 10 or more rebounds.

“I can say I have gotten comfortable to the point where a game could be starting and I won’t even be nervous; I’ll be excited,” he said. “I’m definitely getting there. The excitement is definitely coming back. I’m just hoping I can keep that momentum going.”

If he does, people will need to start getting his name right. In other media he’s called “Marshall Stevenson.” His name has neither a “son” nor a “v” in it. It’s S-T-E-P-H-E-N-S. You’re welcome.

He looked comfortable enough against the Bulldogs, scoring 10 points in the first quarter as the Rams opened an 18-8 lead.

“I just wanted to make my coaches proud because they told me be strong off the jump,” Stephens said. “Before the game they said we can get our seventh win and go on a championship run. I’ve got to be more physical on the back end. I’ve got guys looking at me and looking up to me, so I’ve gotta step up.”

Deshaan Williams had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (7-1). Tymear Lecator had 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Fatah Paige, a transfer from McKean (Del.), had nine points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists in his Salem debut.

GLASSBORO (2-6): Alex Adeleye 3 6-6 12, Will Goggans 2 0-0 4, Xavier Sabb 4 7-10 17, Maurice Davis 1 3-10 5, Cam Parker-Akins 1 0-0 2, Derreck Robinson 1 0-0 2, Jack O’Connell 0 0-0 0, Lorenz Jones 0 0-0 0, Others 2 0-2 4. Totals 14 16-28 46.
SALEM (7-1): Xavier McGriff 1 0-0 3, Neziah Spence 1 0-0 3, Tymear Lecator 7 0-0 17, Deshaan Williams 3 4-8 10, BJ Robbins 0 2-2 2, Harlem Parsons 1 0-1 2, Marshall Stephens 6 1-1 13, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0, Kaden Robinson 0 0-2 2, Barnes 1 0-0 2, Santiago 0 0-0 0, Jovanni Rios 9 0-0 0, Fatah Paige 4 1-2. Totals 24 8-16 61.

Glassboro	9	12	12	13-	46
Salem	18	12	12	19-	61

3-point goals: Glassboro 2 (Sabb); Salem 5 (McGriff, Spence, Lecator 3). Rebounds: Salem 41 (Stephens 10, Williams 8, Paige 8). Technical fouls: Santiago 2. Fouled out: Stephens, Santiago. Total fouls: Glassboro 17, Salem 19..

Photo credit: Amo Alleyne

WOODSTOWN 56, WILDWOOD 40: Blake Bialecki and Eli Caesar each hit three 3-pointers and combined for 30 points as the Wolverines won for the seventh time in their last eight games. Bialecki scored 17 points to move within 142 of 1,000 for his career.

WILDWOOD (2-4): Nolan Mawhinney 5 0-0 13, Owen Bannon 1 0-0 3, Gianni Troiano 1 1-2 3, Jordan Dozier 4 0-0 8, Eric Jordan 2 1-2 5, Vinny Sweeney 1 0-0 2, Michael Sciarra 2 0-0 6. Totals 16 2-4 40.
WOODSTOWN (7-3): Eli Caesar 5 0-2 13, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Alejandro Vazquez 2 1-2 6, Andrew White 3 2-4 6, Blake Bialecki 6 2-2 17, Frank Hoerst 1 0-0 2, Josh King 3 2-4 8. Totals 21 7-14 56.

Wildwood	4	10	14	12-	40
Woodstown	5	14	19	18-	56

3-point goals: Wildwood 6 (Mawhinney 3, Bannon, Sciarra 2); Woodstown 7 (Bialecki 3, Caesar 3, Vazquez).

PITMAN 51, PENNS GROVE 43: Roman Gipson hit four 3-pointers and led Penns Grove with 18 points. Joey Zubert led a balanced Pitman scoring attack with 10 points. Lucas Razze had nine points, seven assists and five steals.

PENNS GROVE (5-4): Roman Gipson 7 0-0 18, Haneef Frisby 3 1-2 7, Will Roy 4 0-0 8, Geonni Conrad 1 1-2 4, Luis Colon 0 2-4 2, Zane Thomas 1 2-4 4. Totals 16 6-12 43.
PITMAN (4-6): Lucas Razze 2 4-6 8, Parker DeChristipher 3 1-2 9, Joey Zubert 2 4-4 10, Jay Craig 3 2-4 8, Jake Bowen-Ashwin 1 3-4 6, Micah Frost 3 1-2 9. Totals 14 15-22 51.

Penns Grove (5-4)	14	8	7	14-	43
Pitman (4-6)	10	13	12	16-	51

3-point goals: Penns Grove 5 (Gipson 4, Conrad); Pittman 8 (Razze, DeChristopher 2, Zubert 2, Bowen-Ashwin, Frost 2).

SCHALICK 60, SALEM TECH 43: Schalick 3-4, Salem Tech 1-6

1000-Point Watch

PLAYER	TODAY	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	17 vs. Wildwood	858
Tymear Lecator, Salem	17 vs. Glassboro	737

GIRLS BASKETBALL
SCHALICK 48, SALEM TECH 27: Nevaeh Robinson scored 19 points and Willow Davis had 14 as the Cougars got back on the winning track after having its three-game season-opening winning streak snapped last time out. Robinson scored 12 points in the second half. Davis hit three 3-pointers

SALEM TECH (2-5): Rachel Reed 1 0-0 2, Shelby Liber 2 0-0 5, Shelby Drummond 5 0-2 11, Amora Delaine 4 0-0 8, Rylee Doerr 0 1-1 1, Tiara Bazemore 0 0-0 0, Evening Amedee 0 0-0 0, Lydon 0 0-0 0. Totals. 12 1-3 27.
SCHALICK (4-1): Ava Scurry 3 0-0 6 Cali Fisler 2 1-3 5, Nevaeh Robinson 9 1-2 19, Willow Davis 5 1-4 14, Olivia Vanacker 0 0-0 0, Jaclynn Jarmon 2 0-0 4, Vicky Basich 0 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Bailey Wentz 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 3-9 48.

Salem Tech	5	5	9	8-	27
Schalick	15	9	13	11-	48

3-point goals: Salem Tech 2 (Liber, Drummond); Schalick 3 (Davis 3). Total fouls: Salem Tech 7, Schalick 9.

WILDWOOD 63, WOODSTOWN 37: Addison Troiano went 11-of-15 from the foul line on the way to 21 points and Rebecca Benichou hit three 3-pointers on the way to 18 for the Warriors. Lauren Hengel led Woodstown with 11.

WOODSTOWN (4-6): Lauren Hengel 4 1-1 11, Kyia Leyman 2 0-2 6, Emma Perry 3 0-0 6, Kendall Young 3 0-3 5, Mia Waterman 2 0-0 6, Jaelyn McDonald 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 1-5 37.
WILDWOOD (6-4): Angela Wilber 1 0-0 3, Rebecca Benichou 6 3-6 18, Kiana D’Antuono 1 0-0 3, Addison Troiano 5 11-15 21, Joelle Murphy 5 1-2 12, Cydnee Kilian 0 0-0 0, Sarah Djellal 0 0-0 0, Lily Atkinson 0 0-0 0, Laila Fathi 0 0-0 0, Aubrey Bradway 0 0-0 0, Julia Ennis 0 0-0 0, Emma Contreras 0 0-0 0, Ellasyn Morey 0 0-0 0, Sabrin Fathi 1 0-0 3, Cara Millard 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 15-23 63.

Woodstown	4	14	10	9-	37
Wildwood	20	15	12	16-	63

3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Hengel 2, Leyman 2, Waterman 2); Wildwood 6 (Benichou 3, D’Antiuomo, Murphy, S. Fathi). Rebounds: Wildwood 22 (Murphy 8).

WRESTLING
PAULSBORO 42, PENNSVILLE 32
106: Brett Land (PV) tech fall over Ethan Nguyen, 16-0 (2:33)
113: Ben Pacheco (PB) tech fall over Erick Davalos, 26-11 (5:15)
120: Will Cruz (PB) pinned John Sassi, 0:35
126: Antonio Chila (PB) tech fall over Mehki Dicks, 17-2 (5:07)
132: Maximos Efelis (PV) tech fall over Patrick Zold, 21=5 (5:22)
138: Chris Baker (PV) pinned Logan Shipman, 1:30
144: Ben Price (PB) maj. dec. Nathaniel Mason, 16-4
150: Julian Sosa (PB) pinned Travis Hagan, 4:38
157: Gabe Supernavage (PV) tech fall over Grayson Lane, 21-3 (3:10)
165: Robbie McDade (PV) tech fall over Anthony Muniz, 17-1 (5:29)
175: Josias Torres (PB) pinned Juan Velasquez Hernandez, 2:58
190: Frank Damminger (PB) pinned Cristian Blyler, 1:11
215: Jason Yandach (PB) maj. dec. Hunter Coulbourn, 12-1
285: Trevor Waddington (PV) won by forfeit

SWIMMING
Woodstown 120, Highland 41
Cumberland 105, Schalick 65

INDOOR TRACK
(At The Bubble, Toms River)
(Salem County Top 6 finishes)
BOYS
Pole vault: 3. Salvatore Longo, Schalick 11-6
GIRLS
High jump: 2. Kallie Morrison, Pennsville 4-10

BOWLING
LINDENWOLD 4, SALEM TECH 0: Jean Pierre Pozo rolled Salem Tech’s high game (214) and series (563). Lindenwold’s Connor Piotrowski bowled the high game of the match (233).

Threat averted

Salem CC returns to the court; No. 1 men put away No. 7 Union in biggest challenge to their top billing to date; cold fourth-quarter shooting ruins women’s upset bid of No. 5 Monroe-Bronx

MENS BASKETBALL
Salem CC 74, Union 68
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Monroe-Bronx 51, Salem 46

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – It’s been 18 days since the Salem CC men’s basketball team last played a game and when the Mighty Oaks returned to the floor Tuesday it had to come against the biggest threat to their undefeated record and No. 1 ranking this season.

It’s a new calendar year and the schedule will get infinitely harder from here on out, but the Mighty Oaks got through the first one all right, putting down No. 7 Union College of New Jersey, 74-68.

It’s been so long since this team of mostly first-year college players have played it literally felt like the first time. They had to get used to being back on the floor together and the flow and rhythm of the game again, but they eventually did — just like they’ve always done this season.

“We just had to adjust to the game,” guard Saaid Lee said. “Throughout the game I was just thinking back to our first game of the season. This is exactly like that. You just had to adjust and just get the jitters out. First game of the semester.

“It took a while (to get adjusted), I’m not gonna lie. But once it clicked, it clicked. We were cool.”

Just like in the opener at Atlantic Cape the Mighty Oaks (17-0) fell behind at the outset, and just like in the opener they came to life in the second half to win.

They trailed the team they beat in the third round of last year’s national tournament by 13 in the first half and battled back to within four at halftime. They fell back by nine at the start of the second half, then found their game and did what they’ve always done this season to get a lead.

The game turned for them during a crazy 22-second stretch midway through the half. It started with Zyaire Gibson blocking a shot and Nasseem Wright converting it into a three-point play at the other end to give them the lead for the first time since 5-1 with 8:52 to play. They never lost it.

The next trip Lee picked Kanye Brown’s pocket at midcourt and was fouled driving to the basket. He hit both free throws to make it 52-48.

The Mighty Oaks nearly forced a turnover on the next possession. On the ensuing inbounds play, Idris Rines knocked a ball that appeared to be kicked free and was fouled in the scramble. It was Union guard Tareak Williams’ fifth foul, which set off Owls coach Devon Stansbury and earned him a technical.

Lee made one of the two tech shots and Rines hit both of his free throws. The Mighty Oaks who had trailed by one with nine minutes left were now up seven with 8:30 left.

“I just remember before it I huddled my team and told them we get three stops in a row and the game was ours,” Lee said. “And that’s exactly what we did.”

“We knew we were going to go on a run soon,” Wright said. “Going into the half their two best players didn’t come out of the game so we knew they were tired. Once we put a little more pressure on their guards and made them get out and made the other people score I felt like that’s when the dominoes would start falling.”

They still had some work to do, however. The Owls made it 59-57 with 5:26 to play, then Jarrell Little and Rines wrapped 3-pointers around a UCNJ free throw and the Mighty Oaks were back up seven with 3:27 to go.

“It’s been that way all year for us,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “A couple games we were down and had to fight back. This wasn’t any different. This is one of the better teams. We knew it was going to be a war coming in.

“That’s what we do. If we’re behind ,we do what we do, we get back to where we need to be and we’re really good with the lead, really good with the lead. But we showed them this year we can play from behind and grind the game out.”

One of the things the Mighty Oaks did do to maintain the lead was make their free throws. In the six minutes after Wright’s go-ahead three-point play, they were 12-of-13 from the line. They were 19-of-21 in the half and 21-of-29 in the game.

“That’s one thing we’re keying on, even in practice we shoot a lot of free throws,” Wright said. “And at game speed as well. We’ll be running up and down at practice and then we’ll shoot free throws and if we miss we’ve got to run again. So we condition for those late-game moments. Two, three minutes left in the game, we need the free throws, we’re all tired, but we’re able to go to the line and knock them down.”

The Mighty Oaks placed five scorers in double figures. Wright bounced back from a tough first half to score a team-high 16 points. Rines had 13 (11 in the second half), Little 12, and Lee and Gibson 11 apiece. Union’s Jake Zawacki led all scorers with 24 points.

Just like his team, it took Wright a little while to get back in the swing of things. He had four points and four turnovers in the first half, but after the break he hit 3-of-4 shots, got to the foul line more, scored 12 points and had only one turnover.

“Once I realized how physical it was, going into the second half I knew what I had to do coming out,” Wright said. “Going into the half my coaches were telling me not to bail them out, not to get caught up in all that other stuff, just play my own game and coming out the second half that’s what I did.”

SALEM CC 74, UNION 68
SALEM CC (17-0): Jarrell Little 3-6 5-9 12, Saaid Lee 3-7 5-6 11, Zyaire Gibson 4-10 0-0 11, Nasseem Wright 5-11 6-9 16, Stefan Phillips 1-2 1-1 3, Jahseir Sayles 0-1 0-0 0, Qua Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Nayeem Johnson 3-10 0-0 6, Idris Rines 4-10 4-4 13. Totals 24-59 21-29 74.
UNION (11-3): Tareak Williams 1-6 1-2 3, Craig West 1-3 0-0 2, Nicolas Acosta 8-22 3-5 19, Kanye Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Jeremiah Saint Jean 2-10 1-2 5, Anthony Hicks 1-7 2-5 4, Aljanai Best 2-4 0-0 4, Nasir Calloway 3-6 0-0 7, Jake Zawacki 9-18 2-2 24. Totals 27-77 9-16 68.

Salem CC	29	45–	74
Union	33	35–	68

3-point goals: Salem CC 5-18 (Little 1-2, Lee 0-1, Gibson 3-7, Wright 0-2, Johnson 0-1, Rines 1-5); UCNJ 5-15 (Williams 0-1, West 0-1, Hicks 0-2, Best 0-1, Calloway 1-1, Zawacki 4-9). Rebounds: Salem CC 40 (Lee 7, Little 6, Wright 6); UCNJ 45 (Acosta 14, Saint Jean 12). Technical fouls: Saint Jean, Union coach Stansbury, Rines, Salem CC coach Green. Fouled out: Williams, Saint Jean. Total fouls: Salem CC 24, UCNJ 17.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
SALEM CC (1)	11-0	17-0	11-0
Northampton (5)	8-0	13-1
Union (7)	8-2	11-3	8-2
Ocean	8-2	8-4	5-3
Montgomery (9)	4-1	7-2
Brookdale	11-3	11-5	7-3
Camden	6-3	9-5	6-4
RCSJ-Cumberland	6-4	6-7	5-5
Thaddeus Stevens	3-4	6-7
Bergen	6-8	7-9	2-6
Atlantic Cape	4-6	5-7	3-6
RCSJ-Gloucester	4-10	5-11	1-6
Sussex	3-9	5-11	3-8
Passaic	3-11	3-12	3-8
Delaware County	2-8	3-12
Harrisburg Area	1-5	2-10
Luzerne	1-6	4-11
Philadelphia	1-8	6-8

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 74, Union 68
Miseracordia JV 83, Luzerne 76
Raritan Valley 74, Manhattan CC 69
Orange CC at Middlesex
Howard CC 82, Delaware Tech 59
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Harrisburg Area at Chesapeake
THURSDAY’S GAME
Union at Sussex
Harcum at CCBC Dundalk
Thaddeus Stevens at Miseracordia JV
Bergen at Ocean
Passaic at Atlantic Cape
FRIDAY’S GAME
Penn State DuBois at Lackawanna
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester
Harrisburg Area at Montgomery
Ocean at Thaddeus Stevens
Raritan Valley at Chesapeake
Delaware at Luzerne
Union at Atlantic Cape
Montgomery (Md.) at Mercer
Bergen at RCSJ-Cumberland
Northampton at Sussex
Morris at Delaware Tech
Camden at Essex
Kingsborough at Middlesex

Women ‘played well, but …’

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC women gave the fifth-ranked team in Division III all it could handle, but they went cold from the floor in the fourth quarter and fell to Monroe-Bronx 51-46.

The Mighty Oaks (2-9) made just one of 19 shots in the fourth quarter. They led 46-45 with 6:45 to play, then didn’t score again. The Express (14-1) didn’t shoot it great either in the fourth quarter, but found the bucket enough to earn their seventh straight victory.

“I thought we did what we were supposed to do on defense, but when we needed a basket we just didn’t get it,” Salem coach Brian Marsh said. “The players played hard.”

The cold fourth quarter dropped the Mighty Oaks to 32 percent shooting for the game (19-for-60). They also were just 5-of-15 from the free throw line. The Express shot an even worse percentage (18-for-66), but made six 3-pointers and nine free throws.

Monroe led early on by 10, but the game was close throughout. There were six lead changes and nine ties.

The teams fought to a 13-13 tie in the first quarter with Salem’s Justine Cardona beating the buzzer with a layup to get it even. It was a two-point game at halftime and a one-point game going into the fourth quarter.

It was Cardona’s two free throws that gave the Mighty Oaks the lead in the fourth quarter.

Cardona led the Mighty Oaks with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Tanijya Shaw had 10 points and Dani Gustin had eight points and eight rebounds.

“I told the players I’m getting tired of ‘we played well but…’ games,” Marsh said. “We’ve got to finish games and we’ve got to win games. We’ve shown people, especially our last four games, what we’re doing. I think this is the team that we are and they’re starting to come together.”

MONROE-BRONX 51, SALEM CC 46
MONROE-BRONX (14-1) – Jaeda Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, Beverly Williams 4-20 3-8 13, Aniyah McLamb 6-12 2-4 14, Salimah Williams 5-19 2-4 15, D Stephenson 0-2 0-0 0, Jhency Pabon 0-0 0-0 0, Lea Tavarez 1-7 0-0 3, Tyra Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Jazmyne Rios 2-5 2-4 6, Aviah Richards 0-0 0-0 0, Sade Gibbs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-66 9-20 51.
SALEM CC (2-9) – RayNescia King 1-9 0-2 2, Tanijya Shaw 5-17 0-0 10, Dani Gustin 4-6 0-4 8, Paula Wilson 2-4 0-0 6, Jayda Hunter 0-6 1-2 1, Justine Cardona 6-15 4-7 17, Kasey Oliver 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 19-60 5-15 46.

Monroe-Bronx	13	20	10	8-	51
Salem CC	13	18	11	4-	46

3-point goals: Monroe 6-36 (B. Williams 2-11, S. Williams 3-14, Tavarez 1-7, T. Williams 0-1, Rios 0-3); Salem CC 3-12 (King 0-3, Shaw 0-1, Wilson 2-4, Hunter 0-1, Cardona 1-3). Rebounds: Monroe 42 (T. Williams 8, Rios 8); Salem CC 43 (Cardona 10, King 9, Gustin 8). Technical fouls: Monroe coach Ling, Salem CC bench. Total fouls: Monroe 15, Salem CC 18.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

DIVISION II	R19	ALL	GSAC
Harcum (5)	6-0	14-1
Union (7)	8-1	14-1	6-0
Mercer (18)	6-2	10-3	3-1
Essex	6-3	9-4	4-2
Delaware Tech	3-4	4-11
Raritan Valley	3-5	6-8	3-3
Lackawanna	2-6	2-9
SALEM CC	1-5	2-9	0-3
Middlesex	1-6	6-12	0-4
Morris	0-4	0-4	0-3

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Monroe-Bronx 51, Salem CC 46
Howard CC 72, Delaware Tech 67
Sussex 77, RCSJ-Cumberland 50
Montgomery at Bergen
Middlesex 92, Orange CC 43
Union at Monroe
THURSDAY’S GAMES
RCSJ-Cumberland at RCSJ-Gloucester
Passaic at Atlantic Cape
Bergen at Ocean
Sussex at Delaware County
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem at RCSJ-Gloucester
Bergen at RCSJ-Cumberland
Morris at Delaware Tech
Northampton at Sussex
Camden at Essex
Montgomery (Md.) at Mercer
Cecil at Middlesex

Mission statement

Pennsville holds off Woodstown, ending Wolverines’ long-standing hold on Salem County girls basketball; Salem’s girls use big fourth quarter to down Pitman; Penns Grove gets first win; Salem boys pick up big South Jersey Group I win over Pitman, and more

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove 44, Overbrook 39
Glassboro 33, Schalick 15
Pennsville 47, Woodstown 46
Salem 59, Pitman 52
Clayton 62, Salem Tech 24
BOYS BASKETBALL
Clayton 90, Salem Tech 42
Glassboro 63, Schalick 60
Overbrook 62, Penns Grove 45
Woodstown 56, Pennsville 24
Salem 55, Pitman 44
BOWLING
Salem Tech vs. Gloucester Catholic
Lindenwold girls 4, Salem 0
INDOOR TRACK
Penns Grove, Schalick at Cherokee Throwdown

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The balance of power in Salem County girls basketball shifted seismically Tuesday night.

Over the last five-plus years no one in Salem County has beaten the Woodstown girls, but that run came to an end when Pennsville jumped way out early and then held off a hard change in the fourth quarter to beat the Wolverines 47-46.

Woodstown had won 39 straight (and 46 of 47) against in-county competition before the Eagles knocked them off. Pennsville was the last county team to beat the Wolverines – way back on Feb. 22, 2020.

The win also gave the Eagles (5-2) the early upper hand in the Tri-County Diamond Division and dropped Woodstown below .500 (4-5) for the first time since dropping their 2023-24 season opener.

“I gave the girls T-shirts that were screened, ‘On a Mission,'” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “We want to update our championship banner so beating Diamond Division opponents is critical. They thrashed us twice last season and if we hadn’t become so careless with the ball late a greater margin would have been salve on that wound.”

It started out to be a tight game. The teams battled to a 12-12 tie through a barrage of 3-pointers the first quarter, but the Eagles pulled away in the second quarter and extended their halftime lead to 12 entering the fourth quarter. Pennsville hit all nine of its 3-pointers in the first three quarters.

The Wolverines turned up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and used it to fuel their comeback. They hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to make it a one-point final.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our kids and the way they competed,” Woodstown coach Matt Smart said. “To be down 15 and continue to believe, continue to defend and continue to play for one another says a lot about the culture we’re trying to build here.

“We didn’t hang our heads, we didn’t splinter, and we gave ourselves a chance late, which is all you can ask for in a game like that.”

Marley Wood led the Eagles with 23 points, five 3-pointers, 10 rebounds and five assists. Taylor Bass, who joined Wood in Pennsville’s 1000-Point Club on Monday, had eight points and six steals.

In seven career games against Woodstown, Wood is averaging 16.0 ppg. She had her career high (27) against the Wolverines as a sophomore.

Lauren Hengel led Woodstown with 14 points. Kyia Leyman and Mia Waterman had 12 points apiece. All of Waterman’s points came on 3s.

Smart said he wasn’t aware of the length of Woodstown’s in-county winning streak, but he wasn’t losing sleep over its ending.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but there’s value in games like this when you’re building something,” he said. “Our kids are learning how to respond to adversity, how to handle pressure, and how to fight until the final horn. The resiliency is something we can build on moving forward.

“For us, this is another step in the process. We said from the beginning of the year that this year was going to be different but different can be good. We are still trying to figure some things out offensively and defensively, but we are progressing. Our standard is high and nights like this where you’re tested are part of laying the foundation for sustained success.”

PENNSVILLE 47, WOODSTOWN 46
PENNSVILLE (5-2): Taylor Bass 3 2-2 8, Marley Wood 6 6-10 23, Addi Johnston 3 0-0 7, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0, Jaida Burns 1 0-0 2, Jaiden Wilson 2 0-0 6. Totals 15 8-12 47.
WOODSTOWN (4-5): Lauren Hengel 5 1-2 14, Kyia Leyman 4 4-6 12, Emma Perry 1 0-0 2, Kendall Young 1 2-2 4, Mia Waterman 4 0-0 12, Talia Guardascione 1 0-0 2, Gina Murray 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-10 46.

Pennsville	12	17	10	8-	47
Woodstown	12	7	8	19-	46

3-point goals: Pennsville 9 (Wood 5, Johnston 2, Wilson 2); Woodstown 7 (Hengel 3, Waterman 4).
Rebounds: Pennsville 27 (Wood 10), Total fouls: Pennsville 9, Woodstown 13.

SALEM 59, PITMAN 52: Freshman Dyaira Anderson scored 15 of her career-high 26 points in 21-point fourth quarter that lifted the Rams (4-2) to a victory that surpassed their win total of a year ago. She also pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds to complete her first career double-double.

Madison Dixon had 13 points. Carlysia Pierce had eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.

The Rams fell behind 17-4 then went to work.

“I’m proud of the way they won tonight,” Carr said.

PENNS GROVE 44, OVERBROOK 39: The Red Devils (1-5) jumped out to a 25-13 halftime lead on the way to giving coach Daja Cook her first win with the program.

GLASSBORO 43, SCHALICK 15: Too much Kezia Brackett and too many self-inflicted turnovers conspired to send Schalick (3-1) to its first loss of the season. Brackett had 17 points and seven rebounds for Glassboro (6-3).

Glassboro	14	9	13	7-	43
Schalick	2	1	7	5-	15

Boys games

SALEM 55, PITMAN 44: Cole Sayers came off the bench and gave the Rams nine points and seven rebounds as they continue their march towards a No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group I.

Deshaan Williams was their leading scorer with 15 points. Marshall Stephens grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Xavier McGriff had 10 points and Tymear Lecator dished eight assists.

GLASSBORO 63, SCHALICK 60: Xavier Sabb scored 34 points, but the Bulldogs barely got by the Cougars. Dylan Sheehan led Schalick with 20 points. Julian Dickerson had 14 and Kenny Bartee had 12.

OVERBROOK 62, PENNS GROVE 35: Overbrook’s Lamar Little led all scorers with 17 points. Haneef Frisby led Penns Grove with 11.

CLAYTON 89, SALEM TECH 42: The Clippers put four scorers in double figures, led by James Fritz’ 17. Keidyn Robinson led Salem Tech with 10. Larry Pompper had eight.

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 5-10, highlighted by Penns Grove’s basketball doubleheader at Wells Fargo Center and Pennsville’s Taylor Bass’ bid for 1000 (both Monday), and No. 1 Salem CC’s return vs. No. 7 Union

MONDAY, JAN. 5
BOYS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove vs. Salem Tech at Wells Fargo Center, 2:30 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 5:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove vs. Salem at Wells Fargo Center, 1 p.m.
Hammonton at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
Clayton at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
BOWLING
Salem vs. Overbrook at Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
SWIMMING
Schalick vs. West Deptford at River Winds, 3:45 p.m.

TUESDAY, JAN. 6
BOYS BASKETBALL
Clayton at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
Overbrook at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at Pitman, 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Clayton, 5:30 p.m.
BOWLING
Salem Tech vs. Gloucester Catholic at Westbrook Lanes, 3:45 p.m.
Salem vs. Lindenwold at Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK
Penns Grove, Schalick at Cherokee Throwdown
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Union at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Monroe-Bronx at Salem CC, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 7
WRESTLING
Deptford at Woodstown, 5 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 5 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 6 p.m.

THURSDAY, JAN. 8
BOYS BASKETBALL
Glassboro at Salem, 5:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pitman, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Wildwood at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pitman at Penns Grove
Salem at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 6:30 p.m.
SWIMMING
Woodstown vs. Highland at GCIT, 7 p.m.
Schalick vs. Cumberland at GCIT, 8:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK
Pennsville, Schalick at Bennett Complex, 5 p.m.
BOWLING
Salem Tech vs. Lindenwold at Wood Lanes, 3:45 p.m.

FRIDAY, JAN. 9
BOYS BASKETBALL
Buena at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at LEAP, 5:30 p.m.
Triton at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove at Kingsway, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Buena, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING
Pennsville, Salem at TCC Girls Jamboree, Kingsway, 5 p.m.

SATURDAY, JAN. 10
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Delsea at Pennsville, 11:30 a.m.
Woodstown at Haddonfield, 1 p.m.
WRESTLING
Deptford at Penns Grove, 9 a.m.
Woodstown at Cinnaminson, 9:30 a.m.
Salem, Gloucester at Washington Twp., 10 a.m.
Schalick, Cumberland, Timber Creek at Buena, 10 a.m.
Pennsville, Millville, Oakcrest at Overbrook, 10 a.m.
INDOOR TRACK
Woodstown at Bennett Center, Toms River
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 2 p.m.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Salem CC at RCSJ-Gloucester, 5 p.m.

Back to his old self

Saturday basketball roundup: Lecator getting back into form, just in time for Salem to make a run; Cherokee bombards Woodstown with 3s, and more

BOYS GAMES
Salem 51, St. Joseph 45
Cherokee 65, Woodstown 50
West Deptford 50, Salem Tech 27
Maple Shade 47, Pennsville 36 (OT)
GIRLS GAME
Cinnaminson 56, Woodstown 34

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – When Tymear Lecator is at the top of his game Salem basketball coach Anthony Farmer is convinced he’s one of the better guards in South Jersey.

The junior hasn’t been quite up to his form of last season – and there are reasons for that – but Saturday he looked like the Lecator of old. Even he said it was the first time this year he felt like his old self.

Lecator exerted himself early, beating his season high in points by halftime. But he didn’t stop there. Even with foul trouble that kept him out most of the third quarter, he still had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Rams past St. Joe’s of Hammonton 51-45.

“I definitely wanted to get back to what I was last year and I knew I was being short of myself and I was hurting the team so I tried to come back,” he said. “I’ve been in the gym consistently getting shots up so that definitely played a big part (in Saturday’s success). I was just ready to go today. I was amped up.”

He didn’t waste any time showing it. He scored the first basket of the game and had nine of the Rams’ 11 first-quarter points. Then he scored six in the 14-0 second-quarter run that gave the Rams an eight-point halftime lead.

That’s 15 points in the half. His best game this year before Saturday was 13 in the season opener against Woodstown.

It was only his third game this season scoring in double figures; he did it 19 times last year, including a triple-double against Clayton. But he also has been dealing with some things he didn’t face last year, either. He underwent off-season wrist surgery and missed most of the Pleasantville game after rolling his ankle.

“I was down on myself for a little bit but I knew I was going to bounce back,” he said. “I wasn’t too hard on myself because I knew what I’m capable of. I just knew I had to let the pieces come together and now I’m back.”

Farmer is glad to see him starting to come around.

“Hopefully this gets him going, he finds his groove,” Farmer said. “We need him to be at full tilt because if we’re going to be the team we need to be down the stretch to try to lock up the 1 seed in Group 1 we need him to be playing at his best.”

Lecator isn’t the only Rams player making his way back. Senior Marshall Stephens is back on the floor after not playing basketball last year in New York.

Providing the Rams the post presence they need with Antwuan Rogers graduating early to join Temple football in the spring, Stephens went for eight points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots against the Wildcats. In six games this year he’s averaging five points, 6.5 rebounds and has 14 blocks. He’s had 26 rebounds and 10 blocks in his last three games.

“I’m still getting back to myself,” he said, “but I feel like when it’s the middle of the season, when stuff really starts to go down, I’ll be back in my element.”

SALEM 51, ST. JOSEPH (H) 45
ST. JOSEPH (4-3): Caden Banks 3 2-2 8, Zehkiy DeJesus 4 0-0 9, Ayden Santiago 0 0-0 0, Chris Hill 2 1-1 6, CJ Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Eddie Drummond 8 2-4 22. Totals 17 5-7 45.
SALEM (5-1): Marshall Stephens 4 0-0 8, Xavier McGriff 0 2-2 2, Neziah Spence 3 4-4 10, Tymear Lecator 8 2-3 19, BJ Robbins 3 0-0 6, Deshaan Williams 2 2-6 6, Kyvion Parsons 0 0-0 0, Harlem Parsons 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 10-15 51.

St. Joseph	13	4	19	9-	45
Salem	11	14	10	16-	51

3-point goals: St. Joseph 6 (DeJesus, Hill, Drummond 4); Salem 1-16 (Lecator). Rebounds: Salem 27 (Williams 9). Fouled out: Stephens. Total fouls: St. Joseph 12, Salem 15.

**Salem’s Marshall Stephens (30) stands his ground in the post, challenging anyone to come into his lane. Top photo, Tymear Lecator (3) doesn’t give St. Joe’s CJ Mitchell much room to work.**

It’s raining 3s

WOODSTOWN — Cherokee’s Johnny Comito set up in the left corner for the first shot of the second half. He let it fly and it found the bottom of the net for yet another 3.

Woodstown coach Ramon Roots just turned away and dropped his head. He’d seen this movie throughout the first half and it was starting all over again.

The Chiefs ended Woodstown’s five-game winning streak Saturday 65-50 under the weight of a season-high 11 3-pointers.

At halftime the Chiefs (6-1) had more points on 3s than the Wolverines (5-3) had points, a trend that carried until midway through the third quarter.

Cherokee’s previous season-high from behind the arc was seven, in the season opener against Cherry Hill West, but they hit six twice thereafter.

Louis Galasso had the hottest hand, hitting six 3s, tying his season high, on the way to 26 points. Tony Fuscia hit three.

“I knew they could get hot,” Roots said. “Everything was going in tonight for them. They shot the ball very well.”

The Chiefs led wire-to-wire. They hit the first two buckets of the game and never trailed. Every time Woodstown got close, they’d hit another 3.

“They shot very well,” Wolverines senior guard Eli Caesar said. “We could’ve contested their shots better, but they were hitting them. It’s kind of hard to defend it when they’re just hitting them. Even when you’re closing out they’re still making them.”

The Wolverines got into the act in the second half. They hit four 3s in the third quarter to keep up – but just to keep up. It helped them score 19 points in the quarter to stay within the seven they trailed by at halftime.

Caesar had three in the quarter and had a career-high six in the game to finish with a game- and career-high 28 points.

“I feel like we’re a good 3-point shooting team, we’re pretty confident shooters,” Caesar said. “I felt like I had to get us back in the game. They went on an 8-0 run to start the third quarter, so I knew we had to flip the switch.”

The Wolverines got within four on a 3-pointer by Alejandro Vazquez with 4:35 to play, but then Galasso hit another 3 and the Chiefs closed it out from the free throw line. In that final stretch Galasso hit two 3s and the Chiefs went 10-for-12 from the foul line.

“I know we have the ability to do that,” Roots said. “We’ve seen it, both of our losses, Woodbury and Salem, coming back in the game, but it’s all about putting ourselves in the hole. We’ve got to stop putting ourselves in the hole. If we weren’t in that hole, we wouldn’t have to come back.”

CHEROKEE 65, WOODSTOWN 50
CHEROKEE (6-1): Louis Galasso 9 2-2 26, John Comito 3 3-4 10, Tony Fuscia 3 3-4 12, Tom Cieslik 4 2-2 11, Chris Walters 2 0-0 4, Jeremiah Shields 1 0-0 2, Josh Shields 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-12 65.
WOODSTOWN (5-3): Eli Caesar 9 4-5 28, Blake Bialecki 3 3-3 10, Alejandro Vazquez 3 0-0 8, Josh King 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 2 0-1 4, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Connor Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-9 50.

Cherokee	13	11	19	22-	65
Woodstown	12	5	19	14-	50

3-point goals: Cherokee 11 (Galasso 6, Comito, Fuscia 3, Cieslik); Woodstown 9 (Caesar 6, Bialecki, Vazquez 2). Rebounds: Cherokee 24 (Je. Shields 6, Walters 6, Fuscia 5); Woodstown 15 (Caesar 6). Technical fouls: Walters. Fouled out: Caesar. Total fouls: Cherokee 8, Woodstown 12.

WEST DEPTFORD 50, SALEM TECH 27
SALEM TECH (1-3): Chase Pompper 1 2-2 4, Brody Kroll 2 0-2 4, Aiden Bobo 2 1-3 5, Keidyn Robinson 1 1-3 3, Larry Pompper 3 0-0 9, Sterling Lewis 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 4-10 27.
WEST DEPTFORD (2-5): Curtis Pearson 2 1-2 5, Kyle Eason 3 4-6 10, Aaron Benson 1 0-0 2, Carter Watson 5 0-0 11, Anthony Martello 2 2-2 7, Michael Garcia 1 2-3 4, Cameron Hoang 0 0-0 0, Michael Joseph 1 1-4 3, Zamir Davis 0 0-0 0, Talib Bogar 1 0-2 2, Cole Stanish 3 0-1 6. Totals 19 10-20 50.

Salem Tech	5	6	10	6-	27
West Deptford	11	7	14	18-	50

3-point goals: Salem Tech 3 (L. Pompper 3); West Deptford 2 (Watson, Martello). Rebounds: West Deptford 36 (Joseph 7). Notes: Eason had four steals and three assists. The Eagles ended a four-game losing streak, while extending the Chargers’ slide to three.

MAPLE SHADE 47, PENNSVILLE 38

Maple Shade (2-8)	11	8	15	3	10-	47
Pennsville (1-6)	9	8	4	16	1-	38

NOTES: Maple Shade’s Jayden Robinson had 15 points and 18 rebounds.

Girls game
A tough lesson

WOODSTOWN – The scoreboard showed a 22-point loss to an undefeated opponent every bit as good as their record indicated. But Woodstown girls coach Matt Smart believes in the long run the Wolverines will have done far better for themselves playing this game than beating an easier opponent by the same margin or more.

The Wolverines took one on the chin Saturday, losing to undefeated Cinnaminson 56-34, but in the immediate analysis of a game otherwise better left alone, Smart did find some positives for his team to take away that will serve them well down the road.

“That’s kind of been our theory all year,” Smart said. “We’ll play whoever, wherever, whenever. We always want to challenge the girls and we always want to try to continue to get better and better and better.

“Each game I’ve had to say let’s focus on us, let’s focus on us getting better. I don’t care what the scoreboard says, if we’re up by 30, if we’re down by 30, whatever, we just want to continue to focus on us getting better as a team and as a unit. The scoreboard doesn’t reflect a win today, but I think we truly got a lot better today.”

Smart said there were “a lot of things” the Wolverines did well. Among them were being more patient with the ball than they’ve been in past games, making smart decisions with the ball, looking for open players, spreading out the floor and keeping up their defensive intensity.

The Wolverines (4-3) actually came out of the first quarter with a lead. It was a one-point game early in the second quarter before the Pirates (7-0) started pulling away. The visitors used a 7-0 run to establish control, then ended the half with another seven-point run to take a 14-point halftime lead.

Gabby Harvey had eight of her 16 points in the second quarter and Shiloh Moore had seven of her game-high 17 there. Harvey hit her four 3-pointers across the second and third quarters.

The Wolverines focused on getting the ball inside and didn’t have a 3-pointer in the game. Kyia Leyman was their leading scorer with 14 points.

CINNAMINSON 56, WOODSTOWN 34
CINNAMINSON (7-0): Shiloh Moore 7 3-5 17, Norah Quinn 2 0-4 4, Mia Pacetti 2 0-0 5, Gabby Harvey 6 0-0 16, Mia Szlenderowicz 2 1-2 5, Stevie Ormsby 1 0-0 2, Emily Reynolds 1 2-2 4, Chloe Fudala 1 1-2 3, Julia Latevnas 0 0-0 0, Jaci Cichonoski 0 0-0 0, Ella Repsher 0 0-0 0, Tyler Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 7-15 56.
WOODSTOWN (4-3): Kyia Leyman 7 0-0 14, Kendall Young 4 0-2 8, Emma Perry 2 0-0 4, Talia Guardascione 1 2-2 4, Lauren Hengel 2 0-0 4, Mia Waterman 0 0-0 0, Ava White 0 0-0 0, Kaylin Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Gina Murray 0 0-0 0, Jaelyn McDonald 0 0-0 0, Autumn Paleschic 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 2-4 34.

Cinnaminson	10	24	14	8-	56
Woodstown	12	8	8	6-	34

3-point goals: Cinnaminson 5 (Harvey 4, Pacetti). Rebounds: Cinnaminson 20
Woodstown 26 (Hengel 6, Waterman 6, Leyman 7). Total fouls: Cinnaminson 6, Woodstown 10.

1000-Point Watch

PLAYER	TODAY	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	10 vs. Cherokee	824
Tymear Lecator, Salem	19 vs. St. Joseph	732
Taylor Bass, Pennsville	DNP	992

Confident Cougars

Schalick girls off to one of their best starts ever, shutting out another opponent in the first quarter on the way to a third straight win; Salem girls fall in New Egypt finals

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Schalick 48, Maple Shade 13
New Egypt Holiday Tournament
Consolation: New Egypt 30, Clayton 26
Championship: Steinert 59, Salem 14

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – There have been some lean times in the Schalick girls basketball program the last couple years but times, as they say, are a-changin’.

The Cougars are in the early stages of what could develop into a special season. They won their third straight game to open the season for the first time in John Whelan’s nine-year tenure as head coach Tuesday when they locked down winless Maple Shade 48-13.

This is a program that hasn’t won more than eight games in any of the last three seasons and hadn’t had a winning season in the last seven (they did come close in 2021-22). They won just six games last year and they’re already halfway there. They didn’t get their third win last year until the 10th game. And now they’re talking comfortably about winning their first division title since 2019.

“It’s the confidence,” Whelan said of the difference. “It’s another year for everybody. Our sophomores got the experience last year and they have stepped up in big ways, and our seniors are playing under control.

“It stems back to one thing I preached at the end of last season – the summer correlates with the season. The last few years we haven’t had great attendance in summer. This year the girls showed up. We had double digit girls at every practice this summer and I truly believe that is the reason why they are so much more confident and ready to go this year.”

While the competition to open the season hasn’t exactly been a Murderer’s Row, they still had to win the games. You have to go past 2010, the last year of available records, to find the last time the Cougars started the season 3-0. Heck, they hadn’t had a three-game winning streak at any point since late January 2023.

“Our confidence level is high,” sophomore leading scorer and rebounder Naveah Robinson said. “We played together last year, we’re working together and now we’re good. I think we’re going to be good this season. I felt it building towards the end of the season. Once I knew everybody was coming back I knew we were on a good roll.”

Having not played a game in 12 days and had only two hour practices in between Whalen was a little worried about rust, but the Cougars dominated this one from the start.

Coming out in a relentless press and trap, they forced the Wildcats into 16 empty possessions in the first quarter, creating 13 turnovers, and held them scoreless until Sharena Parker banked in a 3-pointer 50 seconds into the second quarter. If the offense had been a little sharper early, the Cougars probably could’ve doubled their 12-point lead, but again they hadn’t played since Dec. 18.

The Wildcats (0-4) were the second straight opponent the Cougars held scoreless in the first quarter, having held Overbrook scoreless for an entire half the last time out. They have allowed only three points in the first quarter in three games this season.

“It shows how we work as a team, like our communication, like how we come together to play defense all together,” Scurry said.

They went back to the press and trap after a slow start to the second half to start learning how to put teams away and held the Wildcats without a field goal in the last 14:30 of the game and to one point in the fourth quarter.

“We talked in our preseason meeting that we’re going to be built on defense,” Whelan said. “We’re going to be built on energy and we’re going to be aggressive this year.

“It’s something we haven’t done a whole lot of iin the past, but we believe we have the athletes to do it and, obviously, they’ve done a great job. The numbers speak for themselves at this point, but Coach (Les) Berry and I hold them to a very high standard. We will not be complacent and we’ll continue to get better as the season goes.”

Offensively they could have been a little sharper to start the morning game, but they still had plenty to take control. Robinson didn’t start (coach’s decision), but she had seven points and seven rebounds in the second quarter and finished with 18 and 11 for the game.

Scully had 14 points and eight rebounds. Liv Vanacker scored only four points, but she had six assists and eight steals.

They talked at the beginning of the year about the potential to have a special season and so far it’s moving in that direction.

“Whelan sat us down at the beginning of the year and was like this is the year,” said Scurry, who endured seasons of 6, 6 and 8 wins in her previous three years. “We’re taking it a lot more serious., this is the year, we have a lot of potential for doing good this year. I was like OK we’ll see, then every day at practice we’re getting better and then the first scrimmage I was like this was actually happening. It’s empowering we’re doing this and we’re 3-0 right now.”

SCHALICK 48, MAPLE SHADE 13
MAPLE SHADE (0-4): Mia Leone 0 1-2 1, Ciani Floyd 0 0-0 0, Kayla Smith 0 0-0 0, Ava Capone 2 0-0 4, Anisa Telesford 0 0-0 0, Ravin Shaw 0 0-0 0, Gabriella Doohaluk 0 0-0 0, Sharena Parker 2 2-2 8. Totals 4 3-4 13.
SCHALICK (3-0): Navaeh Robinson 7-10 2-4 18, Willow Davis 2-10 0-0 14, Jaelynn Jarmon 1-4 0-0 2, Ava Scurry 7-11 0-0 14, Cali Fisler 0-3 0-0 0, Emmalyn Weir 0-2 0-0 0, Olivia Vanacker 2-8 0-0 4, Emma O’Neill 1-1 0-0 2, Bailey Wentz 1-1 0-0 2, Vic Basich 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 22-55 2-4 48.

Maple Shade	0	6	6	1-	13
Schalick	12	11	14	11-	48

3-point goals: Maple Shade 2 (Parker 2); Schalick 2 (Robinson 2). Rebounds: Maple Shade 18 (Leone 4, Floyd 4); Schalick 33 (Robinson 11, Scurry 8). Total fouls: Maple Shade 6, Schalick 4.

NEW EGYPT HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
STEINERT 59, SALEM 14
SALEM (2-2): Carlysia Pierce 1 0-2 2, Madison Dixon 2 0-2 5, Kaliyah Taylor 1 0-0 2, Dyaira Anderson 1 0-2 2, Timmiyah Simmons 1 0-2 3. Totals 6 0-8 14.
STEINERT (3-3): Allie McCarthy 3 0-0 8, Maddy Larry 1 0-0 2, Lindsey Siwczak 1 0-0 2, Bella Rosa 6 0-0 15, Madison Milton 2 0-0 4, Ally Constance 2 0-0 5, Sage Zimmerman 1 0-0 3, Brooke Wright 0 0-0 0, Katie Corby 5 4-7 15, Caitlin Medino 0 0-0 0, Sammie O’Donnell 0 0-0 0, Emily Chirichella 0 1-2 1, Naomi Gray 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 5-9 59.

Salem	5	5	2	2-	14
Steinert	21	16	11	11-	59

3-point goals: Salem 2 (Dixon, Simmons); Steinert 8 (McCarthy 2, Rosa 3, Constance, Zimmerman, Corby). Rebounds: Steinert 31 (Rosa 6, Corby 6).

Roll with it

Schalick’s Jones rolls in a couple big baskets in second half, while defense denies West Deptford; Salem, Woodstown win showcase games

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Schalick 56, West Deptford 47
Gateway 55, Pennsville 40
Brook Ball Winter Classic
Woodstown 52, Collingswood 45
Marty Derer Classic
Salem 71, Rancocas Valley 45
Westhampton Tech 59, Penns Grove 41

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Schalick basketball coach James Turner used to give the ol’ eye roll when he watched Sherrod Jones get to the basket and try to finish it off with a finger roll at the rim. He just wasn’t sure if the shot was going to have enough steam to get in the hole.

It’s not like that anymore.

Jones has gotten quite proficient at getting the shot to drop this season and it played a pivotal role in the Cougars’ 56-47 win over West Deptford Tuesday afternoon.

The senior used the move he learned from his father on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter to convert turnovers into layups to give the Cougars their first lead since early in the game. He made a outback about 30 seconds later that with the defense they would play gave them the lead for good.

“Comparing this year from last year he’s much better at finishing at the rim,” Turner said. “In years past he’d get there and get a clean shot off but you just didn’t know if they’re gonna go in. This year, just today alone, he finished very, very well.

“This year he just made it look so smooth, so effortless, and that’s a big improvement for him from last year. He’s always been able to get to the rim and now he’s able to finish.”

As much as Jones likes to dunk, the finger roll is typically his first option.

“I just feel like the finger roll is the easiest shot for me to get to,” he said. “I feel like anytime I get to the paint and there’s somebody right there I just wrap around and get that finger roll up.”

**Schalick’s Sherrod Jones (3) flashes to the basket during Tuesday’s game with West Deptford. Top photo, Jones goes in for a layup.**

Jones was really big in the second half. He scored 11 of his 13 points in the half and had four rebounds and two blocked shots. He had nine points in the third quarter.

“I told myself coming into the second half I was going to get a bucket,” he said. “My whole goal coming into the game was just bringing intensity to the team, hype everybody up. I started off by playing defense, getting blocks, and then the finger roll came into play.”

The Cougars (2-3) took a big step in their development in the second half and particularly the third quarter. They learned a lot about playing together.

They went into halftime trailing by one. They took the lead in the third quarter and stayed out front by holding the Eagles (1-5) without a field goal over the final 11 minutes of the game.

“That showed me how much they wanted it,” Jones said. “The first half we would play defense like we did today and it’d be great, (but) the second half people would get tired and it’d fall off. This time we played defense all the way through and we just kept going.”

The last bucket West Deptford scored came on a putback with three minutes left in the quarter. From there to the final horn the Eagles went 0-for-11 from the field with 13 turnovers. The Cougars, meanwhile, outscored them 20-8.

Freshman Orion Baldwin scored six of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and Justin Iacona had five.

“The one thing we do have is we have really good young players who really love the game and play the game well, and those guys allow the other guys to play together,” Turner said. “When you have young kids on the team that are energetic, that play the game very well, other teammates around them will also kind of (elevate their game).

“We haven’t all played together long enough to learn from each other, so the growth that happened today was those guys learning how to play together.”

SCHALICK 56, WEST DEPTFORD 47
WEST DEPTFORD (1-5): Zamir Davis 1 2-4 4, Dylan Gloeckner 0 0-0 0, Michael Joseph 0 1-2 1, Cole Stanish 3 0-0 6, Talib Bogar 2 2-3 6, Kyle Eason 6 0-5 12, Anthony Martello 4 2-2 10, Curtis Pearson 1 2-2 5, Yassien Abdel-Hamid 1 1-1 3. Totals 18 10-19 47.
SCHALICK (2-3): Sherrod Jones 6 0-0 13, Dylan Sheehan 5 2-2 12, Justin Iacona 1 2-4 5, Orion Baldwin 5 4-6 16, Kenny Bartee 0 1-4 1, Kade Macom 1 0-0 2, Julian Dickerson 3 0-2 7. Totals 21 9-18 56.

West Deptford	11	16	14	6-	47
Schalick	8	18	16	14-	56

3-point goals: West Deptford 1 (Pearson); Schalick 5 (Jones, Iacona, Baldwin 2, Dickerson). Rebounds: West Deptford 31 (Martello 6, Bogar 8, Stanish 7); Schalick 25 (Jones 5, Sheehan 6, Dickerson 7). Fouled out: Joseph, Sheehan. Total fouls: West Deptford 21, Schalick 21.

**Schalick’s Kade Macom (24) forces West Deptford’s Cole Stanish into a five-second violation in the first half.**

GATEWAY 55, PENNSVILLE 40
PENNSVILLE (1-5): Daniel Knight 5 0-0 13, Mason O’Brien 4 4-4 12, Jake Layfield 4 2-2 12, Jacob Farina 1 0-0 3, Gavin Spears 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-6 40.
GATEWAY (3-2): Eddie Coryell 5 1-2 15, Ben Runner 6 2-4 14, Evan Haase 4 0-0 11, Ben Cook 3 1-4 7, Matt Cawley 1 0-0 2, Devin Forman 1 0-0 2, Darnell Pretlow 1 0-0 3, Jake Finger 0 1-2 1, DJ Bink 0 0-0 0, Max Hohl 0 0-0 0, Pierce Kaeferie 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-12 55.

Pennsville	12	6	14	8-	40
Gateway	10	14	22	7-	55

3-point goals: Pennsville 6 (Knight 3, Layfield 2, Farina); Gateway 8 (Coryell 4, Haase 3, Pretlow). Rebounds: Pennsville 12 (O’Brien 3, Spears 3); Gateway 38 (Runner 10, Cook 10).

BROOK BALL WINTER CLASSIC
WOODSTOWN 52, COLLINGSWOOD 45
WOODSTOWN (5-2): Eli Caesar 2 1-1 5, Blake Bialecki 3 1-2 9, Alejandro Vazquez 6 1-1 16, Josh King 3 0-0 6, Andrew White 2 1-2 5, Frank Hoerst 4 3-6 11, Lucas Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Brayden Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-12 52.
COLLINGSWOOD (0-6): Courtney Bunch 4 0-2 8, Croix Kelly 1 0-0 3, Mekhi Tingle 0 0-0 0, Zack Washington 1 0-0 3, Aaron Young 5 0-0 14, Amandi Ekezie 1 0-1 2, Gavin Wife 0 0-0 0, Jayden Diaz 4 0-0 10, Isiaha Clement 2 1-2 5. Totals 18 1-5 45.

Woodstown	16	14	12	10-	52
Collingswood	12	11	14	8-	45

3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Bialecki 2, Vazquez 3); Collingswood 8 (Kelly, Washington, Young 4, Diaz 2). Notes: The win was Woodstown’s fifth straight. Vazquez has hit 10 3-pointers during the winning streak. Hoerst’s 11 points were a career high. He also had five rebounds and three steals.

MARTY DERER CLASSIC
SALEM 71, RANCOCAS VALLEY 45
RANCOCAS VALLEY (4-2): Griffin Fair 2 0-0 4, Christian Phinisee 4 4-5 13, Jaylen Washington 2 3-4 8, Colin Seal 1 2-2 5, Chris Lee 3 1-2 7, Andre Birdsong 2 0-2 6, Amare Shelton 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 10-15 45.
SALEM (4-1): Tymear Lecator 4-0-9, Deshaan Williams 8-3-19, Marshall Stevens 2-0-4, Neziah Spence 3-4-12, Xavier McGriff 6-0-13, BJ Robbins 4-1-10, Cole Sayers 1-2-4, Kyvion Parsons 1-0-2. Totals 29-10-73

Rancocas Valley	14	10	13	6-	45
Salem	18	14	22	17-	71

3-point goals: RV 5 (Phinisee, Washington, Seal, Byrdsong 2); Salem 5 (Lecator, Spence 2, McGriff, Robbins). Rebounds: Salem 35 (Williams 12, Stevens 8). Notes: The double-double was Williams’ third of the season.

WESTHAMPTON TECH 59, PENNS GROVE 41
WESTHAMPTON TECH (5-2): Tristen Dickerson 1 0-0 3, Damien Moragne 1 0-0 3, Henry Njoga 5 0-0 10, Alexander Jeanty 7 2-2 17, Jason Livingstone 4 1-2 9, Dewill Andre 2 2-2 6, Javon Ford 3 0-0 7, Christian Price 0 0-0 0, Todd Young 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 5-6 59.
PENNS GROVE (4-2): Roman Gipson 2 0-0 4, Haneef Frisby 1 0-0 2, Will Roy 2 0-0 4, Mishawn Brantley 5 0-0 12, Luis Colon 2 2-2 6, Geonni Conrad 3 0-0 7, Eli Pearsall 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Costacamps 1 0-0 2, Ahkeen Edwards 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 2-2 41.

Westhampton Tech	18	14	20	7-	59
Penns Grove	8	10	11	12-	41

3-point goals: West Tech 4 (Dickerson, Moragne, Jeanty, Ford); Penns Grove 3 (Brantley 2, Conrad). Rebounds: West Tech 35 (Njoga 7, Andre 6). Notes: Dickerson had nine assists and Jeanty had six steals. It was West Tech’s third win in a row and snapped Penns Grove’s two-game winning streak.

1000-POINT WATCH

PLAYER	TODAY	TOTAL
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown	9 vs. Collingswood	812
Tymear Lecator, Salem	9 vs. Rancocas Valley	694

Matinee magic

Salem County basketball teams go 3-for-3 in Monday holiday tournament matinees; Woodstown boys win their own tournament

BOYS BASKETBALL
Woodstown Holiday Tournament
Camden Tech 67, Camden Prep 53
Woodstown 52, Haddon Heights 38
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Haddons Invitational Round Robin
Woodstown 46, Moorestown Friends 31
New Egypt Holiday Tournament
Salem 36, New Egypt 24
Steinert 54, Clayton 42

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – All the Woodstown basketball team needed was to see a couple shots go down to change its whole outlook on things. Or maybe it was the adjustments that led to making more shots.

The Wolverines weren’t really playing poorly early against Haddon Heights, but they trailed at halftime of their holiday tournament championship game Monday.

They made some adjustments and finally got some shots to fall sparking a second-half surge that carried them to their fourth straight win, 52-38.

“We played very good, we did a lot of great things throughout the game,” Wolverines coach Ramon Roots said. “The first half we were playing great defense, the shots just weren’t falling. I think they were doing a good job keeping us off the glass. We made some adjustments and we started making shots.”

Eli Caesar and Andrew White both missed the tournament opener Saturday, but were back in action Monday and played key roles in the turnaround. White scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half and Caesar scored six of his 11 in the fourth quarter.

Alejandro Vazquez also came up big, scoring eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. Tournament MVP Blake Bialecki scored only six points, but made “a lot” of what Roots called “winning plays” to build momentum. Josh King joined Bialecki on the all-tournament team.

“People are taking advantage of their opportunity,” Roots said. “I feel we have a good group; it can be anybody’s night. I have confidence in all of them.”

Camden Tech handled winless Camden Prep in the consolation game, 67-53. Amari Richardson led Tech (2-2) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Keysean Spencer scored a team-high 16 points.

Woodstown Holiday Tournament
Championship Game
WOODSTOWN 52, HADDON HEIGHTS 38
HADDON HEIGHTS (4-2): Max Silvestri 4 2-3 12, TJ Murphy 1 2-2 5, John Bordi 6 1-2 14, Charlie Merz 0 0-0 0, James Gray 1 0-0 2, Kieran Knecht 0 0-0 0, Nysir Morris 0 0-0 0, Troy Eiter 2 1-3 5. Totals 14 6-10 38.
WOODSTOWN (4-2): Blake Bialecki 2 1-1 6, Alejandro Vazquez 4 1-1 11, Josh King 2 5-6 9, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Trey Markward 0 0-0 0, Elijah Caesar 4 2-3 11, Frank Hoerst 0 0-0 0, White 4 3-6 12. Totals 17 12-17 52.

Haddon Heights	9	12	5	12-	38
Woodstown	11	8	13	20-	52

3-point goals: Haddon Heights 4 (Silvestri 2, Murphy, Bordi); Woodstown 6 (Bialecki, Vazquez 2, Fulmer, Caesar, White). Fouled out: King. Total fouls: Haddon Heights 15, Woodstown 12.

Girls games
Big second quarter lifts Woodstown

HADDONFIELD – Maybe it took a little while to shake off the early start, but the Woodstown girls came to life in the second quarter and carried it to a 48-31 victory over Moorestown Friends in the Haddons Invitational Round-Robin.

Getting to school at 8 a.m. for the 10 a.m. game at coach Matt Smart’s old stomping grounds, the Wolverines fell behind 8-4 in the opening eight minutes before stifling the Foxes 17-2 in the second quarter to take control of the game.

“Our defensive intensity definitely changed in the second quarter,” Wolverines coach Matt Smart said. “We played better on-the-ball defense as well as help defense, then we were more patient with the basketball. We let the game come to us and would run our sets and play. We wouldn’t settle for a good shot, but a great shot.”

Mia Waterman hit two of her three 3-pointers and Kendall Young scored five of her team-high 15 points in the second quarter. Waterman finished with nine points in the game. Kyia Leyman had 12 and five other Wolverines hit the scoring column.

“You can see in the second quarter we didn’t rely on one girl to score all of the points,” Smart said. “The points were spread out that quarter, which is what we want. When we’re sharing the load offensively we become a much tougher team to guard.”

Haddons Invitational
Second round
WOODSTOWN 48, MOORESTOWN FRIENDS 31
WOODSTOWN (4-2): Lauren Hengel 2 0-4 5, Kyia Leyman 5 2-3 12, Emma Perry 1 0-0 2, Kendall Young 6 2-3 15, Mia Waterman 3 0-0 9, Kailyn Kennedy 0 1-2 1, Talia Guardascione 0 2-2 2, Maddie Roback 0 0-0 0, Ava White 0 0-0 0, Jaelyn McDonald 0 0-0 0, Gina Murray 1 0-0 2, Gabriella Maldonado 0 0-0 0, Kamiya Brunson 0 0-0 0, Cecelia Nachbar 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-14 48.
MOORESTOWN FRIENDS (4-3): Khadijah Banks 0 0-0 0, Ida Ramos 3 0-0 6, Mariana Wilson 3 4-9 10, Jenaya Santiago 0 0-0 0, Wynne Ay 1 0-3 2, Maymouma Banks 3 0-3 6, Payton Zauber 1 0-0 2, Resse Glickson 2 0-0 5. Totals 13 4-15 31.

Woodstown (4-2)	4	17	11	16-	48
Moorestown Friends (4-3)	8	2	9	12-	31

3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Hengel, Young, Waterman 3); Friends 1 (Glickson). Rebounds: Friends 36 (Ramos 11, Wilson 10). Total fouls: Woodstown 14, Friends 10.

Things changing at Salem

NEW EGYPT – After seemingly taking control of the game with a big first quarter, the Salem girls fell back to earth and found themselves in a real dogfight by the time the fourth quarter came around.

Unfazed, they collected themselves and outscored their hosts 12-4 in the final eight minutes to beat New Egypt 36-24 in the opening round of the New Egypt Holiday Tournament.

Freshman Jaryn Weathers scored five of her nine points in the fourth quarter. Nevaeh Hickman had four of her five in the quarter and Maddie Dixon had three of her team-high 12 there. Dixon also had six rebounds and four assists in the game, while Weathers also had eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.

“I don’t think we ever cracked when they got it to two,” Rams coach Kemp Carr said. “I think we actually turned up. We didn’t play a few of our starters today, so to see us do this without our guns being completely loaded was admiration for the younger players.”

The win keeps the Rams’ early-season turnaround going. They have won won two in a row for the first time since last February, it’s the earliest they’ve won two games in a season since 2021-22 when they started 3-0, and it’s the first time they’ve been above .500 since being 4-3 in January 2023.

They won three games all of last season.

“Absolutely it’s mentality,” Carr said. “They know they have to work hard. I think in the past they’ve been able to get away with certain things. We want everybody when they come out of their house in the morning to be confident. That means when you go on the floor you have to be confident.

“I ask them you put clothes on every day? Yes. You eat every day? Yes. I said I need something to go with that every day and that’s confidence. I don’t care what it is, if it’s today’s task, if you’re going to take a test, if you’re going to play a basketball game, you have to bring a level of confidence.”

The Rams now play Steinert in Tuesday’s championship game. The Spartans (2-3) beat Clayton 54-42 behind Katie Corby’s 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. Bella Rosa had 18 points (four 3-pointers), 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals.

New Egypt Holiday Tournament
First round
SALEM 36, NEW EGYPT 24

Salem	16	1	6	12-	36
New Egypt	4	10	7	3-	24

3-point goals: Salem 4 (Dixon 3, Hickman); New Egypt 3 (Stillwell 3). Rebounds: Salem 29 (Weathers 8, Pierce 7, Dixon 6).

Region XIX Standings

Women’s game

Region XIX Women’s Standings

1000-Point Watch

Girls games

1000-Point Watch

Region XIX Standings

Women ‘played well, but …’

Region XIX Women’s Standings

Boys games

It’s raining 3s

Girls gameA tough lesson

1000-Point Watch

Girls gamesBig second quarter lifts Woodstown

Things changing at Salem

Girls game
A tough lesson

Girls games
Big second quarter lifts Woodstown