Here are the Salem County high school basketball statistical leaders through Jan. 1, disclaimer: stats based on games inputted by schools to state reporting service
Boys
SCORING
PLAYER, SCHOOL
GP
FG
FT
PTS
AVG
Tymear Lecator, Salem
6
38
28
118
19.7
Mason O’Brien, Pennsville
4
14
10
59
14.8
Blake Bialecki, Woodstown
4
17
15
58
14.5
Nylan Sutton, Schalick
4
18
7
53
13.3
Jovanni Rios, Pennsville
4
12
6
44
11.0
Rocco String, Woodstown
4
19
5
43
10.8
Brandin Robbins, Penns Grove
4
15
5
40
10.0
Reggie Allen, Schalick
4
11
4
36
9.0
Antwuan Rogers, Salem
6
23
7
53
8.8
Roman Gipson, Penns Grove
4
13
5
35
8.8
Neziah Spence, Salem
6
20
5
52
8.7
Karon Ceaser, Penns Grove
4
13
3
32
8.0
Sherrod Jones, Schalick
3
10
2
24
8.0
C.J. McDevitt, Pennsville
3
3
5
22
7.3
Joseph Hayes, Salem Tech
5
9
3
26
7.2
Deshaan Williams, Salem
6
14
14
42
7.0
Xavier McGriff, Salem
6
17
3
42
7.0
REBOUNDING
PLAYER, SCHOOL
GP
TOT
AVG
Rocco String, Woodstown
4
61
15.3
Antwuan Rogers, Salem
6
56
9.3
Darrelle Johnson, Salem
5
32
6.4
Deshaan Williams, Salem
6
38
6.3
Haneef Frisbee, Penns Grove
4
25
6.3
Antoine Robinson, Penns Grove
4
20
5.0
Garrett Leyman, Woodstown
4
20
5.0
Jovanni Rios, Pennsville
4
20
5.0
3-POINT GOALS 14: Tymear Lecator, Salem 10: Neziah Spence, Salem 9: Blake Bialecki, Woodstown 8: Joseph Hayes, Salem Tech 6: Brayden Hall, Woodstown 5: Reggie Allen, Schalick; Xavier McGriff, Salem; Brandin Robbins, Penns Grove
BLOCKED SHOTS 25: Rocco String, Woodstown 6: Haneef Frisbee, Penns Grove 5: Deshaan Williams, Salem
ASSISTS 39: Tymear Lecator, Salem 17: Neziah Spencer, Salem 14: Alejandro Vazquez, Woodstown; Brandin Robbins, Penns Grove
STEALS 27: Karon Ceaser, Penns Grove 16: Tymear Lecator, Salem 12: Blake Bialecki, Woodstown; Brandin Robbins, Penns Grove 10: Xavier McGriff, Salem; Darrelle Johnson, Salem; Jovanni Rios, Pennsville; Antoine Robinson, Penns Grove
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the remainder of this week and the first full week of the new year
JAN. 2 BOWLING Salem vs. Lindenwold at 30 Strikes Salem Tech vs. Gloucester City at Wood Lanes
JAN. 3 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Woodstown Pennsville at Overbrook Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter Wildwood at Salem BOYS BASKETBALL Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech Overbrook at Pennsville Salem at Wildwood Schalick at Penns Grove Woodstown at Glassboro WRESTLING Penns Grove in Bohemia Manor (Md.) Tournament Schalick at Egg Harbor Twp. SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Timber Creek at GCIT, 7 p.m. Schalick vs. Glassboro at GCIT, 8:30 p.m.
JAN. 4 GIRLS BASKETBALL Pennsville at Cumberland, 11:30 a.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Cumberland at Pennsville, 11:30 a.m. Eastern at Penns Grove, 1 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville at Hammonton Duals Penns Grove, Paul VI, Willingboro at Audubon Haddon Heights, Mainland, Overbrook at Schalick Salem, Burlington City, St. Joe at Pitman Woodstown in Collingswood Duals INDOOR TRACK Salem, Woodstown at Ott Center, Philadelphia
JAN. 5 WRESTLING Schalick at Williamstown Tournament Pennsville girls at Williamstown Tournament JAN. 6 GIRLS BASKETBALL Penns Grove at Haddon Twp., 7 p.m. Pennsville at Woodstown, 7 p.m. Schalick at Buena BOYS BASKETBALL Buena at Schalick Camden Tech at Salem Tech Pennsville at Woodstown WRESTLING Paul VI at Pennsville SWIMMING Schalick vs. West Deptford at River Winds Woodstown vs. Lower Cape May
JAN. 7 GIRLS BASKETBALL Clayton at Salem Tech Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Salem at Pitman Schalick at Glassboro BOYS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Schalick Penns Grove at Overbrook Pitman at Salem Salem Tech at Clayton BOWLING Salem vs. Kingsway at Wood Lanes Salem Tech vs. Lindenwold MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Camden County at Salem CC, 7 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Camden County at Salem CC, 5 p.m. JAN. 8 WRESTLING Gloucester Catholic at Schalick Pennsville at Penns Grove Salem at Cumberland Woodstown at Deptford SWIMMING Salem at Lower Cape May TRACK Pennsville, Salem, Schalick at Bennett Center, Toms River JAN. 9 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Salem Penns Grove at Pitman, 4 p.m. Schalick at Salem Tech Triton at Pennsville Wildwood at Woodstown BOYS BASKETBALL Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic Pitman at Penns Grove Salem at Glassboro Salem Tech at Schalick Woodstown at Wildwood BOWLING Salem Tech vs. Kingsway at Wood Lanes SWIMMING Schalick at Camden County Tech Salem vs. Gloucester Catholic at GCIT, 8:30 p.m. Woodstown vs. Highland at GCIT TRACK Penns Grove at Cherokee WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Cumberland at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
JAN. 10 BOYS BASKETBALL LEAP at Salem Pennsville at Clayton WRESTLING Collingswood at Schalick
JAN. 11 GIRLS BASKETBALL Delsea at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Woodstown at Camden Catholic, 11:30 a.m. St. Joseph at Penns Grove, 1 p.m. Schalick at Collingswood WRESTLING Pennsville, Oakcrest, Overbrook at Millville Penns Grove at Deptford Salem at Cherokee Schalick, Cumberland, Timber Creek at Buena Woodstown in Cinnaminson Duals MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, noon WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Middlesex, noon
Red Devils don’t mind ‘playing up’ if it helps them get better in the long run
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – Penns Grove coach Damian Ware could have been all sulky and mad after the kind of loss his Red Devils took from St. Augustine Monday night in the Boardwalk Classic, but he wasn’t.
There’s a reason he brings his teams here to play teams the likes of the Hermits and if it takes absorbing a 62-32 or similar loss from time to time in the name of getting better, he’s willing to do that.
The Hermits had their way in so many aspects of the game in the Wildwood Convention Center, especially in the first half, but Ware took it for what it was worth. You can’t get better in the long run if you don’t see better along the way.
“That’s why we want to matchup against teams like this, so we see teams like this,” Ware said. “We won’t see teams like this is the division or in the conference or in Group 1. We always want to take this trip down here because we always match up with a better team at a different level, so it’s good for us to get that experience.
“I feel like we got what we wanted, we just didn’t make shots and when they got their shots they made them. That’s really our biggest thing, putting the ball in the basket, right now. Our defense is good enough. We give up 62 points to a St. Augustine team, that’s not too bad because they can easily drop 80 or 90 on somebody at any time.
“In the grand scheme of things this was a stepping stone and a teaching tool. We’ll take this film, we’ll break it down, we’ll watch it with the kids and we’ll show them where we need to improve and what we need to do to get better and then we’ll move on from there.”
When the Red Devils (1-3) look at the film again they’ll see St. Augustine controlled the game from the start. The Hermits scored the first 11 points of the game – the first eight by Rory Friel – led 23-3 midway through the second quarter and 29-10 at halftime.
Friel, a 6-5 senior, had 10 points and five rebounds in the first quarter and finished with 18 and eight in the game. Olumide Okebiorun, the Hermits’ other 6-5 starter, had eight points and six boards.
The Red Devils scored only six points in the first 14 and a half minutes of the game and they all came from Roman Gipson. The 6-0 junior got his team on the board with a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3:00 left in the first quarter, rolled in a layup with 3:49 left in the first half and added a free throw 30 seconds later.
That was the extent of it until Brandin Robbins hit a layup with 1:28 left in the half and Luis Colon hit two free throws 7.3 seconds before halftime.
“The main thing I’m telling them at halftime is we’re getting what we want, we got the shots we want, but one thing we’ve got to do is a better job of getting organized in our half-court,” Ware said. “That’s where we’re kind of learning and still growing and our youth is still not really there yet.
“In the full court we’re pretty good, but in the half court we’ve got to get better.”
They were much better in the second half. The Red Devils didn’t win the half, but they did score more points and played the Hermits even in the fourth quarter. KaRon Ceaser scored all seven of his points in the second half.
“I was happy with how we started in the third quarter and when we started playing downhill,” Ware said. “That’s what I’m trying to get these guys to do, play downhill, because we play side-to-side too much.
“That’s the main thing, getting these guys to understand how hard you actually have to play to win at a high level.”
NEW EGYPT – A new coach often means big changes to the program he takes over and one of the biggest benefactors of the changes new Woodstown basketball coach Ramon Roots brought into his program has been Blake Bialecki.
Roots recognized Bialecki’s value to the team early in the transition and green-lighted the junior as the prime shooter in his offense.
Bialecki justified the faith his coach placed in him with another big game Saturday, scoring a game-high 17 points and winning MVP honors as the Wolverines beat host New Egypt 65-49 to win the Warriors Holiday Classic for the second year in a row.
“It’s really just my coaches have a ton of confidence in me and they just want me to shoot the ball,” Bialecki said. “Them having that confidence in me just makes me have more confidence in myself. They trust me to hit shots and now I’m starting to trust myself more to hit shots.”
It was the second game in a row Bialecki led the Wolverines (2-2) in scoring, this one coming on top of the 23-point game he enjoyed in the tournament opener against Pinelands. It reminded him of a similar two-game stretch he had last January when he went for 23 and 29 against Pennsville and Salem Tech. But he went scoreless the next game.
He scored just 11 points in this tournament last year, seven in the title game win over New Egypt.
“Last year I had the ball in my hand more, playing the point guard more, having to set up the plays and make plays, get the ball to other people,” he explained. “Now, Alejandro (Vazquez) and M.J. (Hall) are having the ball more and I’m off the ball more, and they’re drawing up more and more plays for me where last year I didn’t have certain plays drawn up just for me to get a shot off.
“It’s definitely more fun to score the ball. I’m definitely hoping to continue this stretch and just be score the whole year. Last year I was very inconsistent, up and down. I’m hoping that this year I’ll be more consistent scoring wise.”
The Wolverines hope so, too. Before breaking out this weekend, Bialecki had scored just 17 points in the Wolverines’ first two games, losses to Salem and Penns Grove. Roots knew he could give them more with the right amount of encouragement.
“After the 0-2 start I basically told Blake for us to get where we want to go you have to shoot the ball 15-plus times,” Roots said. “I want you taking five-plus 3s a game. There were a lot of times he would have a good catch-and-shoot opportunity and he was hesitant to take it.
“I told him I’m living and dying with you shooting the ball. You’re our best shooter. Overall you’re our best scorer,. We need you to shoot the ball. These last two games he has been really aggressive.
“That was one of the reasons why I took this job. I knew his talent, I knew his skills, I knew what type player he could be, so I’m just trying to take his game to the next level. He has responded well.”
The Wolverines used a big second half to win their second game in a row. They trailed by four at halftime, then switched defenses and it led to them outscoring the Warriors 22-9 in the third quarter and 38-17 in the second half.
M.J. Hall had three straight transition layups in the third quarter out of the 2-3 that keyed the comeback. Hall finished with 15 points, 11 in the second half. Rocco String had 13 points, nine in the second half, and threatened a triple-double (17 rebounds, six blocked shots). He’s averaging 15 rebounds a game and has had 22 blocks over his last three games.
“The first half we had mixed in man and then made some adjustments to just go 2-3 and I think that helped us defensively and offensively,” Roots said. “The 2-3 gave them a lot of problems and it benefitted us. We had a lot of ball movement, a lot of points in transition spotting up shooting, and we just played better basketball.
“A lot of people played well today.”
WARRIOR HOLIDAY CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WOODSTOWN (2-2) – Eli Caesar 3 1-1 7, Blake Bialecki 6 3-3 17, Alejandro Vazquez 2 2-2 8, M.J. Hall 5 4-5 15, Garrett Leyman 2 0-0 5, Rocco String 6 1-4 13, Braydon Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-15 65. NEW EGYPT (2-3) – Nolan Arnold 2 10-12 14, Clyde Ferris 5 3-6 15, Evan Goldburg 0 2-2 2, Cameron Cassandra 0 0-0 0, Caleb Kowaleski 0 0-0 0, Dylan Harper 0 0-0 0, Paul Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Ryan Reynolds 4 1-2 12, Tommy Merlucci 2 0-0 4, Lucas Burgos 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 16-22 48.
Woodstown
10
17
22
16-
65
New Egypt
13
18
9
8-
48
3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki 2, Vazquez 2, Leyman, M. Hall); New Egypt 6 (Ferris 3, Reynolds 3). Rebounds: Woodstown 42 (String 17, Caesar 7). Fouled out: M. Hall, Merlucci. Total fouls: Woodstown 20, New Egypt 14.
ACIT CONSOLATION GAME GCIT 59, SALEM TECH 13: Ian Malgapo filled the box score as GCIT snapped a two-game losing streak to get back over .500 for the season. He had 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Milan Suarez (11) and Patrick Monaghan (10) also scored in double figures for GCIT.
Salem Tech (0-6)
3
2
6
2-
13
GCIT (3-2)
30
13
10
6-
59
SATURDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Audubon Tournament Consolation: Deptford 47, Cedar Creek 21 Championship: Audubon 43, Penns Grove 39
ACIT Holiday Tournament Consolation: Atlantic Tech 55, Salem Tech 15 Championship: Camden Tech vs. GCIT
AUDUBON CHAMPIONSHIP AUDUBON 43, PENNS GROVE 39: The Green Wave jumped out quickly and held off Penns Grove to win their holiday tournament and remain undefeated. Peyton Marrone scored 15 points and the Green Wave went 12-of-21 from the free throw line. Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson led all scorers with 17 points.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 4 (Wilson, Patterson, B. Robbins 2); Audubon 1 (Speyerer).
ACIT CONSOLATION GAME ATLANTIC TECH 55, SALEM TECH 15: ACIT closed out a dominating defensive performance by shutting out the Chargers in the fourth quarter. Shelby Drummond was Salem Tech’s leading scorer with eight points.
SALEM TECH (1-3) – Shelby Drummond 4 0-0 8, Shelby Liber 2 1-2 5, Lavae Scott 0 0-2 0, Payton Fitzpatrick 1 0-0 2. Totals 7 1-4 15. ATLANTIC TECH (3-3) – Brianna Casiano 2 0-0 4, Zion Stewart 3 1-2 7, Alani White 5 1-4 11, Trinitee McKellar 3 0-1 6, Jadyn Clinkscale 1 0-0 2, Imani Muhammad 4 0-0 8, Lydia Long 2 0-0 4, Joslyen Gomez 4 0-0 8, Kim Pierre 1 1-1 3, Hannah Schmidt 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 3-8 55.
Warrior Holiday Classic At New Egypt Woodstown 51, Pinelands 46 (OT) New Egypt 48, Steinert 46
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BUENA – There was so much to dissect from the game, Pennsville basketball coach Joe Mecholsky is going to need a day or two and a long session in the film room to get back to you on just what the heck happened.
The Eagles lost to Buena 72-70 in three overtimes Friday in a game that had as many moving parts as Mecholsky has ever been around. And he’s been in a triple overtime game before.
They were down 14 early in the fourth quarter and forced overtime. They were up five in each of the first two overtimes, but couldn’t close it out. They were down in the third overtime and got close before time ran out on them.
“I feel like we blew the game instead of we lost it,” Mecholsky said. “I think I stopped coaching offense at one point. We tried to take the air out of the ball and I think that really killed our offensive momentum, so I’ll go back and watch the game over again and see how I can get better.
“I’m not going to say my young players did or didn’t do anything. They’re a very young team and they did everything they were told today and I’ll just have to look at the film and see how I can get better in nailing down that win when we were up five in the second overtime.”
The Eagles were down 14 (38-24) with 6:30 left in regulation and put on a charge to force overtime. Mason O’Brien’s 3-point play with 34 seconds left tied it at 41. The Eagles had the final shot in regulation. Shiloh Jefferson’s initial shot hit off the rim and Jovanni Rios couldn’t get the tap to fall.
They had five-point leads in each of the first two overtimes, but never had the lead in the third.
They were up five with 2:35 left in the first overtime, but Buena’s Troy Gregory buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 49. It was the first trey Troy had made all season.
They were up five twice in the second overtime, with 2:43 and 2:20 left, but Buena got back-to-back left corner 3s from Nate Nieves and Carlo Spreng to take the lead, 57-56. Nieves finished with 12 points and Spreng had 10. Teammate Josue Cuadrado led all scorers with 23 points.
A free throw by David Knight with seven seconds left tied it at 59. Knight went to the line for two shots and the lead, but only hit one and it stayed that way despite the teams having three combined chances to get the game-winner. Knight came in off the bench as a substitute shooter after Logan Hitt was fouled hard after stealing the inbounds pass and had to leave the floor.
The Eagles got a chance to win it at the end when the Chiefs stepped on the line trying to put the ball in play. The Chiefs got the ball back when Pennsville turned it over and this time Knight stole the inbounds pass to end the session.
“I’ve been in some crazy basketball environments,” Pennsville sophomore guard C.J. McDevitt said, “but triple overtime? I’ve never been in a triple OT game, I’ll tell you that.”
“It was pretty crazy,” Chiefs coach James Bell said. “I just kept telling my kids to keep their minds straight and focus on what we need to do, play solid defense and hit the open shots when we have them. It was a crazy second half and three overtimes.”
Buena looked like it was finally going to put it away, leading by seven with 52 seconds left in the third overtime, pulling away with a 3-pointer by Nieves and three free throws by Cuadrado, but Pennsville battled back again. O’Brien hit a 3 to make it 70-66 with 28 seconds left and Knight and Jefferson wrapped putbacks around a pair of Buena free throws to make it 72-70 with eight seconds to go.
On the last play of the game the Eagles got the ball to O’Brien, who pushed a shot towards the basket at the buzzer that hit off the far iron. The Eagles were looking for a foul as O’Brien hit the deck, but there was no call and the game was over.
“I told my boys the outcome is the result of a thousand little things that happened in that game and that’s just the way it goes; we’ll learn from it,” Mecholsky said. “I’m disappointed we lost the game, but my boys didn’t disappointment me.”
O’Brien apologized to his coach for his play in the first three quarters, but he was a gamer in the fourth quarter and overtimes. He scored all 19 of his points after the third quarter, hitting three 3s and a three-point play in the fourth quarter comeback and seven points in the overtimes.
“The first three quarters were awful,” he said. “I didn’t know where I was. I was trying to find my game and they kept talking to me so I had to do something about it. I came out and matched their energy in the fourth quarter and overtimes.”
Rios added 14 points on his 17th birthday for Pennsville and McDevitt had 11. Both are career highs.
3-point goals: Pennsville 5 (Knight, O’Brien 4); Buena 9 (Cuadrado, Spreng 2, Nieves 3, Gregory, Alexander 2). Technical fouls: S. Rivera. Fouled out: S. Rivera, Alexander, Rios, McDevitt). Total fouls: Pennsville 22, Buena 25.
Pennsville’s Shiloh Jefferson (5) goes in for a potential game-winning layup at the end of regulation against Buena Friday. The bounced off the rim and the teams wound up playing three overtimes before Buena won 72-70.
DELSEA 53, PENNS GROVE 51: By Penns Grove coach Damian Ware’s best measure, his team had three chances to win the Marty Derer Showcase opener, but host Delsea kept coming up with clutch shots and eventually broke the Red Devils’ heart.
The Crusaders hit 3-pointers at the end of regulation and the first overtime to extend the game, then hit two free throws in the closing seconds of the second overtime to seal the victory. Jimmy Reardon hit the 3 at the end of regulation to force overtime, then Jelani Poles beat the buzzer with one at the end of the first extra period to keep it going and he hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left to win it.
Poles finished with 12 points. Reardon had nine. Luke VanAuken had a huge game for Delsea with 19 points and 20 rebounds. Brandin Robbins and Roman Gipson had 15 points apiece for Penns Grove.
The Red Devils had a chance to take the lead in the second overtime, but missed two free throws. Moments later they fouled Poles and he hit his two free throws. The Red Devils rallied from eight down in regulation to take a three-point lead into the closing seconds before Reardon hit his 3.
“We had a chance, we had three chances to win it – regulation, overtime and the second overtime,” Ware said. “That’s part of our growing pains. We’re young and we’re inexperienced so this is going to be a growing lesson for us. We’re going to be fine but this is just a lesson we had to learn of how to finish games.
“We did everything we were supposed to do, we made the plays, but down the stretch we just didn’t make the defensive plays and that’s kind of what we pride ourselves on. We’ve got to be better on defense at the end of the game and regulation and challenge shots better.”
PENNS GROVE (1-2) – Brandin Robbins 5 4-4 15, Roman Gipson 6 0-0 15, Karon Ceaser 2 1-2 6, Antoine Robinson 3 0-2 7, Haneef Frisbee 2 0-0 4, Jameel Horace 0 2-2 2, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, William Roy 0 0-0 0, Geonni Conrad 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-10 51. DELSEA (2-2) – Luke VanAuken 8 3-8 19, Jimmy Reardon 4 0-0 9, Jelani Poles 4 2-2 12, Blake Bottino 2 2-2 6, Jeadyn Greene 1 0-0 2, Dahmir Hart 1 0-0 2, Exodus DeJesus 1 0-0 3, Ryan Casiano 0 0-0 0, Mike Cunningham 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-12 53.
WOODSTOWN 51, PINELANDS 46: Blake Bialecki hit a season-high five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as the Wolverines held off Pinelands in the Warrior Holiday Classic in overtime to give new coach Ramon Roots his first victory as a varsity head coach.
“It’s exciting for me to get the first win in the standings, but I’m just really happy for the kids,” Roots said. “I’ve been waiting to get the win and knew it was going to come sooner or later. We definitely had a lot of chances in the Penns Grove game. It was good to see them believing that they actually can win and what it takes to win.”
The Wolverines (1-2) outscored Pinelands 9-4 in the extra session to win it. Garrett Leyman hit two free throws to put them up three and then Rocco String closed it out with a layup. String scored eight points and dominated the paint with 12 rebounds and nine blocked shots.
Woodstown led by eight in the second half, but Pinelands got back in it through a series of backdoor buckets. The Wildcats went up by three with two minutes to play, but Bialecki hit a 3 to retie the game.
Pinelands had a chance to retake the lead with 12 seconds left but missed two free throws. Bialecki had a shot to win it in regulation but his mid-range jumper went in and out.
“We were able to get a little breathing room, but it was close to the very end,” Roots said. “We just kept fighting. As you’ve seen the team never gives up. They’re always fighting through it.”
Bialecki’s 23 points matches the second-best game of his career. In addition to his outside shot, the junior also also got to the basket and went 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
The Wolverines will play host New Egypt for the championship 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Woodstown (1-2)
15
7
12
8
9-
51
Pinelands (2-2)
17
6
6
13
4-
46
WESTHAMPTON TECH 50, SALEM 45: West Tech used a big third quarter to take the lead and kept the Rams at arms length in the fourth quarter. Alexander Jeanty hit five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Panthers. Xavier McGriff led Salem with 14 points. Tymear Lecator filled the boxscore with 11 points, six assists and two steals.
3-point goals: West Tech 6 (Jeanty 5, Dickerson); Salem 6 (Lecator 2, McGriff 3, Tunis).
CAMDEN TECH 60, SALEM TECH 14: Salvatore Algeri scored 13 points and Shareef Cox had 10 to lead the Warriors in the ACIT Holiday Showcase. Salem Tech will play GCIT in the consolation game Saturday.
Haddon Twp. Tournament Cherry Hill East 57, Woodstown 45 Haddon Twp. 46, Pennsauken 39
Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Bridgeton 54, Salem 24
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BUENA – The Pennsville girls basketball team didn’t want to go to Buena Friday morning any more than the man in the moon. Bad things happen when the Eagles go there. Last year, they got three players hurt in the game.
Their angst was almost to the point where they wanted to play the game in their own gym if they could. But when this one was over they were glad they made the trip and made it out alive.
It was all good. The Eagles ran out to a 23-0 lead in the first quarter and hit a season-high 11 3-pointers in the game to bury the curse and the Chiefs, 69-20.
“I was a little nervous because every time we come to Buena something bad happens,” junior guard Marley Wood said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries here, but I think we broke our curse today.”
In the team’s trip to the Battle at Buena last year, Wood broke her foot, Annika Macalino tore her knee and Taylor Bass broke her finger and the Eagles spent the next couple weeks bringing up JV players to have enough players to remain competitive.
But their misfortunes extended beyond the basketball court. Bass broke her collarbone in a soccer game here. And Wood has a vague recollection of something else happening to her as a freshman.
The Eagles didn’t get out of this one completely unscathed. Tatianna DePina banged her hand in the game, but at least everyone walked out under their own power this time.
“They warned me about that,” Eagles coach Steve Merritt said. “They didn’t want to come here. They were trying to talk me out of coming here. They were telling me to reschedule the game, make it a home game. Now, they’re saying we broke the curse.” If the y play like they did Friday, they may think about scheduling games here every week.
It was 23-0 before Buena got to the board with a 3-pointer by Athena Bradley with 21 seconds left in the quarter. The Eagles hit 8 of 15 shots in the run while denying the Chiefs on 16 straight possessions with seven steals among their 12 turnovers.
“We were looking the way I want them to look all the time,” Merritt said. “I asked them what’s the definition of a perfect quarter defensively and they said zero. I said, well, you’ve got two quarters, see if you can’t do that. When they scored I saw a couple of them slump down like we didn’t get it. But they stepped up.”
After the Chiefs scored their first points, Wood answered with 3 right before the buzzer. Wood hit six 3s in the game – two in each of the first three quarters when the regulars played – and finished with 22 points. Nora Ausland hit four 3s, scored 12 points in the Eagles’ opening salvo, and led all scorers with 24 points.
The six were the most she had hit in a game since nailing seven against Woodstown in January. She had only two this season before Friday.
“This was the first game my shot has actually been good, so hopefully it carries on into the rest of the season,” she said. “I was a little bit worried, but I think I’m going to keep shooting more and working and getting better.”
The Eagles hit only one 3 in their last game against Washington Twp. The 11 they hit Friday were the most in a game since hitting 11 against Overbrook in the second game of the year last season. They hit 10 in their season opener against Wildwood this year.
Three of their first five buckets Friday were from behind the arc. In addition to the 11, they had at least seven other baskets that from far away looked like a 3 but were either on or just inside the line.
“We shot the ball pretty well at Glassboro (eight 3s),” Merritt said. “You go out and shoot well, look what happens, you win. And we’ve been working on it. Yesterday we worked on it extensively, not necessarily the 3s, but just shooting the ball under pressure of a clock.
“That was really nice to see. So much better than Washington Twp. where they were hitting the rim and going God knows where. Today they were falling in.”
3-point goals: Pennsville 11 (Wood 6, N. Ausland 4, Johnston); Buena 2 (Bradley, Nicole). Rebounds: Pennsville 39 (Burns 8, N. Ausland 7, Wood 6). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Buena 9.
CHERRY HILL EAST 57, WOODSTOWN 45: Some days you play good and other days you learn good. The Wolverines are hoping to learn a lot from their first loss of the season.
After playing Cherry Hill East tough in the first quarter and grabbing the lead, they ran into a buzzsaw in the second quarter that changed the game. The Cougars nearly posted a shutout in the quarter, outscoring Woodstown 21-2 to open a 17-point halftime lead.
The Wolverines (4-1) made what coach Matt Smart called some “great” defensive adjustments at halftime and outscored the Cougars 28-23 in the second half, 22-14 in the third quarter.
“I was very proud of the way we battled until the very end,” Smart said. “Cherry Hill East was very well coached and very tough. They have a very talented group who can knock down shots. Unfortunately, they got the best of us today.
“It was a great test for us. Basketball is a long season and the girls are excited to work tomorrow to try and get better. After every game this year the girls haven’t been satisfied with our performance. We aren’t going to let this game define our season, but we are going to look at some things and figure out way we can improve.”
The Cougars held Woodstown’s two 1,200-point scorers, Megan Donelson and Talia Battavio, to 20 points combined. They held Donelson to nine, her first game in single digits since Jan. 24, 2023 (46 games).
Lauren Hengel was Woodstown’s leading scorer with a career-high 12 points. Kyia Leyman had eight points and eight rebounds.
3-point goals: Cherry Hill East 5 (Atlas, Le, Kratchman, Chhabria 2); Woodstown 4 (Donelson, Battavio 2, Hengel). Rebounds: Woodstown 45 (Leyman 8). Fouled out: Donelson, Maiorini. Total fouls: Cherry Hill East 13, Woodstown 18.
BRIDGETON 54, SALEM 24: The Rams played Bridgeton tough for a quarter in the Wildwood Convention Center and actually held the lead, but the Bulldogs came to life in the second quarter and pulled away. Carlysia Pierce led Salem with 12 points. Bridgeton’s Sharena Parker led all scorers with 14. BRIDGETON (4-1) – Amani Santiago 3 1-2 8, Ciani Money 1 2-6 4, Tyjhore Jamison 1 1-2 3, DeNia Dairsow 2 3-4 7, Ayianna Ridgeway 0 0-2 2, Anyse Maddrey 1 0-0 2Adelina Wilks 3 2-2 9, Sharena Parker 6 2-2 14, Kahmya Johnson 2 1-3 5, Alannie Ramos 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 12-23 54. SALEM (0-4) – Shyla Parsons 0 0-2 0, Zaniyah Frieson 1 0-0 2, Nevaeh Hickman 2 0-0 5, Carlysia Pierce 4 4-8 12, Dakirah Gray 1 0-0 2, Raniyah Parsons-Smith 0 0-2 0, Madison Dixon 0 0-0 0, Amariah Frye 1 0-0 3, Jania Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-12 24.
Bridgeton
11
14
20
9–
54
Salem
12
3
6
3–
24
3-point goals: Bridgeton 2 (Santiago, Wilks); Salem 2 (Hickman, Frye).
CAMDEN TECH 40, SALEM TECH 16: Camden Tech couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in the ACIT Holiday Tournament. The Warriors held Salem Tech scoreless in the first quarter and rolled into the championship game. Camden’s Ryan Jones scored 19 points. All four Salem Tech scorers had four points apiece.
Rebuilding Pennsville takes a step forward near end of third quarter, pulls away from Salem Tech in Monday matinee; Battavio now third on Woodstown girls’ all-time scoring list as Wolverines rally to beat Holy Spirit
MONDAY BASKETBALL BOYS GAME Pennsville 54, Salem Tech 35 GIRLS GAMES Washington Twp. 41, Pennsville 30 Boardwalk Classic, Wildwood Woodstown 46, Holy Spirit 37
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Having a team that suddenly finds itself trying to find its way instead of having the road mapped out for it, Pennsville basketball coach Joe Mecholsky takes small pockets of growth where he can find them.
The Eagles aren’t quite the team Mecholsky expected to have when school started, so they’re going to be a work in progress for a while. That means there are some ups and there are going to be some downs.
They played arguably their best three minutes of the young season late in the third quarter Monday and the stretch helped them put away Salem Tech 54-35 for their first win of the season.
“Apple trees don’t give you oranges,” Mecholsky said. “We are who we are. Success isn’t on the scoreboard. Success is how we approach each game, how we rebound, how we pass, how we pick each other when we’re down, how we communicate, how we handle adversity.
“We’ve got to build something now again. We’re back to rebuilding, so that’s fine, but it’s important that we learn the lessons this year and carry them back to next year. Rebuilding means to keep building up to something. As a coach I’ve left the gym the last three nights feeling that we got the most we could out of them. Couldn’t get any more juice out of the orange. We squeezed it every night.”
The Eagles were expected to have a veteran team coming back to challenge for a winning record and an elusive playoff win. But when the senior baseball players who made up a prime part of the lineup decided not to play to focus on their spring sport, it left the cagers with a roster of sophomores and juniors that’s learning as it goes.
They opened the season with a home loss to Wildwood and did some things better in a loss to Glassboro. They go on the road for the first time Dec. 27 at Buena.
“We’re really young,” said sophomore guard Mason O’Brien, their most experienced player with 29 varsity games under his belt. “It’s not about winning right now. It’s a lot about building up and if we win games, we win games. No one expects us to win games right now, but hopefully in the next two years they do expect us to win.”
The light bulb moment Monday came when they were already winning by 14. From there they slid into a 1-3-1, three-quarters court trap and put the game away. It created a number of steals, which they turned into transition layups and by the end of the quarter the lead had grown to 47-24.
The trap created six turnovers in seven possessions, off which the Eagles scored 11 points. The emotional spark may have been the charge Cole Johnston drew, but the run started with Logan Hitt’s steal and three-point play. O’Brien scored three buckets, two off steals, and Shiloh Jefferson finished it off with a steal and scooping layup right before the buzzer.
The Eagles scored 20 points off the Chargers’ turnovers.
“We just wanted to put pressure on them,” Mecholsky said. “On tape it didn’t look like they could handle the ball under pressure. We were trying to find the right mix. We went man first and we dropped back, then we found the three-quarter court gave them some confusion and it let me use the one thing we do have and that’s athleticism in bunches.
“We’re the same team players 1 to 8. You can interchange anybody out, it’s just the name on the back of jersey (that’s different). We’re all 6-foot guards. When our big guy, Perry Meranti, goes 6-1 ¾, it’s about getting to the spot. We’ve got to hit on all cylinders to win. If we don’t hit on a cylinder one night then we don’t give ourselves the best chance to win.”
O’Brien led all scorers with 20 points, 10 in the third quarter and 12 in the second half. Jovanni Rios helped get them off to a good start with eight of his nine points in the first quarter.
“We’re not a finished product on Dec. 23,” Mecholsky said. “We going to look to be peaking end of January, beginning of February, hope to stay in the playoff mix. Every game is going to be competitive where we’ve got to find ourselves. We’ve got to show up and play. We’re a bunch of sophomores and juniors finding our way.”
Salem Tech is a team finding its way, too. The Chargers (0-4) lost two of their top returning players to the transfer portal and Penns Grove. Daviontae Russell and J.R. Reed had eight points apiece Monday.
PENNSVILLE 54, SALEM TECH 35 SALEM TECH (0-4) – Daviontae Russell 4 0-0 8, Alex Thomas 2 0-0 4, Joseph Hayes 2 0-0 5, Connor Dougan 0 0-0 0, Keidyn Robinson 0 0-0 0, Larry Pompper 2 0-0 4, Aiden Bobo 0 1-2 1, Raphael Busch 2 1-2 5, Charlie Brown 0 0-0 0, J.R. Reed 3 2-3 8. Totals 15 4-4-7 35. PENNSVILLE (1-2) – C.J. McDevitt 2-4 2-3 6, Jovanni Rios 4-11 1-2 9, Cole Johnston 1-5 0-2 2, Mason O’Brien 9-16 2-2 20, Shiloh Jefferson 4-12 1-2 9, Danny Knight 0-4 0-0 0, Perry Meranti 1-1 0-0 2, Logan Hitt 1-4 1-1 3, Noah Owen 1-2 1-1 3, Jacob Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Griffin Hern 0-0 0-2 0, Gavin Spears 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Farina 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Regner 0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 8-15 54.
Salem Tech
8
7
9
11-
35
Pennsville
15
11
21
7-
54
3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Hayes). Rebounds: Salem Tech 31 (Russell 7); Pennsville 28 (Rios 7). Total fouls: Salem Tech 20, Pennsville 17.
Woodstown girls overcome adversity to remain unbeaten
WILDWOOD – Talia Battavio scored 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and helped Woodstown put together a strong second-half defensive effort that helped them turn back Holy Spirit 46-37 in a Boardwalk Classic showcase game in the Convention Center.
It’s the first time since 2021 the Wolverines (4-0) go into the Christmas break undefeated. They were 1-0 that season before the holiday. They were 2-0 before Christmas in 2015.
“It’s definitely a good feeling,” Wolverines coach Matt Smart said. “It was a tough Holy Spirit team today – they were physical, well coached, very skilled and talented – and it was nice to come out on top. It was nice to see the girls battle adversity for the first time all year really being down in the game.”
The Wolverines led by nine in the first quarter, but they didn’t value the ball in the second quarter and trailed by one at halftime. They were down by nine in the third quarter.
But they rallied to retake the lead by the end of the quarter and then outscored the Spartans 14-4 in the fourth to secure the victory. They held the Spartans to one field goal in the fourth.
“Our fourth quarter was very good defensively,” Smart said. “It starts with those two girls up top, Megan (Donelson) and Talia; they do a great job pressuring the ball, making the point guard make difficult passes. And then our wings tonight – Lauren Hengel, Emma Perry, Gianna Maiorini – they were awesome in communication. They knew where everybody was and closed out.
“And we had a force in the middle in that fourth quarter, Kyia Leyman. She stood tall. She stepped out of the paint to attack drivers, make them take difficult shots without fouling and then was a terrific rebounder.
“They battled back and never got too down on themselves. It was great to see them battle through adversity. We knew it was a tough matchup, we knew things weren’t going to go like they had the last three games for us, but we stayed positive, stayed as a team.”
Donelson added 13 points for Woodstown, 11 in the second half. Sabrina Little led Holy Spirit (2-2) with 16 points. Lauren Cella had 11, including 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
Battavio is now seventh on the Salem County girls’ all-time scoring list (1285 points) and third in Woodstown girls’ history. Donelson is now fifth on Woodstown’s all-time list.
“That’s awesome,” Smart said. “My favorite part about those stats is those girls don’t care about those stats at all. I mentioned to them about the scoring record and they both said they don’t care about the scoring record, they’d rather win every game and not score a point. It’s very special to watch both of them play.”
Penns Grove turns back several Woodstown rallies, wins a thriller; Salem remains unbeaten, Pennsville, Schalick fall
FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES Penns Grove 63, Woodstown 55 Salem 67, Salem Tech 27 Glassboro 65, Pennsville 51 Overbrook 75, Schalick 41
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Without an experienced senior who plays appreciative minutes, several new players to incorporate into its style of play and an otherwise athletic but young roster, the Penns Grove basketball team is “learning on the fly” this early portion of the season.
Last year with a senior-laden team it took a while to find the right combination and coach Damian Ware’s lineups changed virtually every game. What the Red Devils learned Friday night was how to handle business down the stretch in a close game of a high-intensity rivalry.
Penns Grove withstood several charges from Woodstown, including a stretch in which the Wolverines took a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to two with a little more than two minutes to play, before finally putting them away 63-55 for its first win of the season.
“That’s just the maturation process of a team that’s learning how to play varsity basketball on the fly,” Ware said. “Only two of my guys have played varsity minutes so we’re learning on the fly.
“We grew up a little bit tonight. What I learned (about his team) tonight is we can make some clutch plays down the stretch.”
The Red Devils (1-1) built leads in every quarter with fast starts on the restarts, but each time the Wolverines (0-2) came back.
Penns Grove scored the first seven points of the game, but it was tied 13-all at quarter’s end and was only 26-25 at halftime. The Red Devils opened the second half with a 13-2 run, but by the end of the third quarter led only 45-44.
They had a 10-point lead after Robbins’ flying follow with 6:02 to play, but Woodstown chipped away again and got it back to 56-54 with two minutes left when Blake Bialecki hit two technical free throws after Ware was teed up for being out on the floor all because the officials couldn’t/didn’t hear his frantic pleas for a time out.
The tech got Woodstown with a bucket and it had a shot on the ensuing possession, but it also fired up the Red Devils. They outscored the Wolverines 7-1 the rest of the way.
“When our coach got the tech, that’s when everything started getting fired up,” Ceaser said. “We started getting our coach’s back because we’re a family, a brotherhood. It put more fire in the team to get the win. As a team we back each other’s play.”
“I’m not going to make that a habit,” Ware said of his T as a tool of motivation.
Brandin Robbins led Penns Grove with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Roman Gipson had 12, including a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left that put the Red Devils up six. KaRon Ceaser had nine points and led the Red Devils’ defensive effort down the stretch.
In every case the Red Devils used the press, a smothering trap and quick hands to create turnovers that they turned into baskets.
“My defense was great,” Ware said. “I don’t know what the numbers were, but I know we didn’t give up many shots. We let (Rocco) String get some putbacks, but he’s 6-7, he’s a big, strong kid, so he’s going to get that. What I told my guys was we wanted to limit that as much as possible.”
String did everything he could to bring the Wolverines back when they fell behind. He finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots. He blocked back-to-back shots, grabbed a rebound off a missed Penns Grove free throw and had a putback basket all in the space of about 30 seconds late in the third quarter rally.
Braydon Hall had 16 points and hit four big 3-pointers during the Wolverines’ various rallies.
“We played hard, we just didn’t make enough plays in the end,” said Woodstown coach Ramon Roots, still looking for his first win as a head coach. “If we made just a few more plays we would have won the game today, but we played tough. We played very tough today.”
PENNS GROVE (1-1) – Brandin Robbins 6 0-0 15, Roman Gipson 4 3-4 12, KaRon Ceaser 4 1-2 9, Will Roy 1 0-0 2, Jameel Horace 3 2-6 9, Geonni Conrad 1 0-0 3, Antoine Robinson 1 0-2 2, Haneef Frisbee 5 1-2 11. Totals 25 7-14 63. WOODSTOWN (0-2) – Garrett Leyman 0 2-2 2, Eli Caesar 4 0-1 8, Rocco String 9 0-0 18, Blake Bialecki 3 2-2 9, Braydon Hall 6 0-0 16, M.J. Hall 0 0-0 0, Alejandro Vazquez 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-12 55.
Penns Grove
13
13
19
18-
63
Woodstown
13
12
18
11-
55
3-point goals: Penns Grove 6 (Robbins 3, Gipson, Conrad, Horace); Woodstown 5 (Bialecki, B. Hall 4). Rebounds: Woodstown 55 (String 15). Technical fouls: Horace, B. Hall, PG coach Ware. Fouled out: Frisbee, B. Hall. Total fouls: Penns Grove 18, Woodstown 21.
SALEM 67, SALEM TECH 27: Tymere Lecator and Neziah Spence each scored 15 points and dished seven assists as the Rams won their third straight game. Deshaan Williams added 10 points and Antwuan Rogers grabbed 10 rebounds.
3-point goals: Salem Tech (Dougan); Salem 3 (Lecator, Spence 2). Rebounds: Salem 34 (Rogers 10). Total fouls: Salem Tech 10, Salem 12.
GLASSBORO 65, PENNSVILLE 51: Xavier Sabb scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter, highlighted by three spectacular dunks, to stake the Bulldogs to a lead they maintained the rest of the game. Glassboro’s Maurice Davis led all scorers with 20 points. After trailing by 10 at halftime, the Eagles cut their deficit to seven with four minutes to play. Giovanni Rios led Pennsville with 13 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
GLASSBORO (1-2) – Hakim Theresa 1 0-0 2, Xavier Sabb 8 2-4 18, Aiden Harris 4 3-4 11, Maurice Davis 10 0-2 20, Davon Barr 2 4-6 8, Alex Adeleye 2 0-0 4, Marley Crowl 1 2-2 4. Totals 28 11-18 65. PENNSVILLE (0-2) – Giovanni Rios 6 1-2 13, Perry Meranti 3 1-2 7, Cole Johnston 3 1-3 8, Logan Hitt 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 2 2-3 7, Daniel Knight 2 0-0 5, Shiloh Jefferson 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 5-10 51.
OVERBROOK 75, SCHALICK 41: Lamar Little led three Overbrook scorers in double figures with 15 points as the Rams picked up their first win of the season. Zair Green added 14 and Xavier Wright 12. Sherrod Jones led Schalick with 14 points.
Woodstown power pair, Battavio and Donelson, have another big game; Pennsville, Schalick, Salem Tech score first wins of the year
FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Woodstown 70, Penns Grove 38 Pennsville 52, Glassboro 44 Schalick 51, Overbrook 29 Salem Tech 36, Salem 22
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE — When he watched them from a distance for scouting purposes last year Matt Smart thought then Woodstown’s dynamic duo of Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson were “phenomenal” players. Now that he sees them up close every day as their coach his appreciation for them is even greater.
Battavio and Donelson are never far apart on or off the basketball floor. On the court Friday night, Donelson scored 28 points with five 3-pointers and Battavio scored 26 with three as the Wolverines took down shorthanded Penns Grove 70-38.
Than, when they discovered one had left behind her water bottle as the team was leaving the gym, both tore out of the team bus and raced across the lawn to go back inside to retrieve it.
“We’ve had two tough tests this year so far and Megan and Talia have been great in both of them,” Smart said. “You see their court vision. They have a way of finding each other in situations that I might not even see. They are just so unselfish right now and they want each other to succeed. It’s not a race to see who can score how many points.
“I scouted them for one game that didn’t end up happening (last year), they were phenomenal. It was how do we stop them offensively and how do we attack them defensively. They are just as advertised, if not better.”
It was the 11th time in their career they both scored 20 in the same game and eighth in the last 30 games. Only 18 points separate them on the career scoring list – Battavio now has 1,240 points, Donelson 1,222.
With the two of them combining for 20 points, the Wolverines (2-0) opened a 24-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, although the Red Devils (1-1), playing with only six players, scored the first nine points of second quarter and played them even to halftime.
They weren’t the first points the Wolverines scored in the game. Those belonged to Gianna Maiorini, who hit their first two baskets before the other two got going.
“Today I was most proud of Gianna,” Smart said. “It was a slow kind of start and she comes up and hits two big shots for us. She’s been that way all year. She’s kind of the quiet leader who kind of knows where everybody is.”
Donelson, a Millersville signee, also had seven rebounds and six more steals. Battavio, a Goldey Beacom signee, had six rebounds and seven assists, several of the whip-around variety that usually found Donelson in the corner for a 3.
Donelson was 5-for-8 from behind the arc in the game.
“Working in the summer just really improved my shooting,” she said.
In perhaps the definition of their collaboration, there was a play early in the fourth quarter when Donelson made a steal that sent them off on a 2-on-1 break. She passed it to Battavio and just as they got to the foul line Battavio returned it past the unfortunate Penns Grove defender caught in the flow and Donelson soared in for an easy layup.
The play came right after Battavio hit a 3
“Me and Talia work really well together,” Donelson said. “We both know we play and we just work off that and it’s really good.”
3-point goals: Woodstown 11 (Battavio 3, Donelson 5, Perry, Thomas, Young); Penns Grove 4 (Numan, Wilson 3). Fouled out: Robbins, Washington. Total fouls: Woodstown 19, Penns Grove 23.
PENNSVILLE 52, GLASSBORO 44: Marley Wood helped the Eagles hold it together after two of their top players fouled out in the fourth quarter and Glassboro was rallying to help coach Steve Merritt get his first win with the program.
Wood scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists. It was her third career double-double. She was particularly instrumental after Taylor Bass (11 points, seven rebounds) and Nora Ausland (12 points, six rebounds) fouled out in the fourth quarter while Glassboro cut a 15-point deficit to six.
Although she didn’t do much scoring in the quarter, she was the rudder that steered the ship. Freshman Addison Johnston also played a big role, scoring four points in the fourth, including her first career 3-pointer.
“One-and-one feels a lot better than 0-2,” Merritt said. “I was almost giddy with joy postgame. I was so proud of how they did what I have been drilling into them.”
Glassboro’s Kezia Brackett led all scorers with 18 points. She had 13 in the second half.
SCHALICK 51, OVERBROOK 29: Freshmen Naveah Robinson and Willow Davis knocked down seven of Schalick’s nine 3-pointers and the long-range bombing led the Cougars to their first win of the season.
Robinson hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points. Davis hit three in her first career start and had 14 points. The Cougars (1-2) have hit 12 3s in their first three games. They had 41 in 22 games last season.
The Cougars hit six from behind the arc in the first half while opening a 33-10 halftime lead. Robinson and Davis had five of them.
“The 3-ball is definitely something Nevaeh and Willow bring to this team,” Cougars coach John Whalen said. “It allows us to do much more on offense and really helps us spread the floor.
“I think both (Robinson and Davis) are starting to more comfortable, more confident, and will be a major part of this team’s success.”
SALEM TECH 36, SALEM 22: Shelby Liber hit two 3-pointers among her team-high nine points and the Chargers dominated the boards to win their season opener for the first time in program history. Demajae White had a game-high 12 rebounds. Rylee Doerr didn’t scored, but she grabbed 11 boards.
Kaylin Beardsley and Shelby Drummond both had full boxscores. Beardlsey had four points, five rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Drummond had three points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
The Chargers won only one game all last season. They had never beaten Salem before (0-4).
Here is the schedule for Salem County sports teams for the week of Dec. 16-21; games 4 p.m. unless noted; x-scrimmage
MONDAY, DEC. 16 GIRLS BASKETBALL x-Pennsville at Palmyra x-Woodstown at Kingsway BOYS BASKETBALL x-Clearview at Woodstown x-Palmyra at Pennsville Buena at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. SWIMMING Woodstown vs. West Deptford at Riverwinds, 3:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, DEC. 17 GIRLS BASKETBALL Schalick at Cape May Tech, 5:30 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Cape May Tech at Schalick SWIMMING Schalick vs. Camden Academy Charter at Vineland YMCA, 3:15 p.m. INDOOR TRACK Salem, Penns Grove at Bennett Center, Toms River, 5 p.m. WRESTLING Salem, Palmyra at Pennsville, 5 p.m. BOWLING Salem Tech vs. ACIT WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Mercer County CC at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18 GIRLS BASKETBALL Wildwood at Pennsville Salem at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Wildwood at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Clayton at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Salem, 5:30 p.m. BOWLING Salem in Holiday Showcase at Laurel Lanes, Maple Shade, 3:30 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Gloucester Catholic at Wood Lanes
THURSDAY, DEC. 19 SWIMMING Schalick vs. Gloucester Catholic at GCIT, 4:45 p.m. Woodstown vs. Deptford at GCIT, 7 p.m. WRESTLING Penns Grove at Schalick Timber Creek at Woodstown, 6 p.m. Pennsville girls at Beast of the East Tournament (U of Del.) TRACK Pennsville Polar Bear Meet, 3 p.m. MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Cumberland at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 20 GIRLS BASKETBALL Overbrook at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Salem Tech Woodstown at Penns Grove BOYS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Pennsville, 3 p.m. Penns Grove at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Salem, 3 p.m. Schalick at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville at William Penn (Del.) Invitational Pennsville girls at Beast of the East Tournament (U of Del.) SATURDAY, DEC. 21 GIRLS BASKETBALL Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 1:30 p.m. Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. Timber Creek, 2:15 p.m. SJIBT Tournament Highland at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m. WRESTLING Salem girls at Jackson Liberty Tournament, 9 a.m. Pennsville at William Penn (Del.) Invitational, 10 a.m. Woodstown in Beast of the East Tournament (U of Del.) TRACK Pennsville, Salem, Woodstown at Ott Center, Philadelphia
Riverview Sports News 