Woodstown basketball falls to Delsea; Penns Grove wrestling battles in Maryland, Pennsville suffers first duals loss
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown was looking to purge the bad taste left by the upsetting loss to Penns Grove the night before, but instead lost another close game.
The Wolverines held Delsea to its season-low in points and hit seven 3-pointers Friday, but their fourth-quarter rally came up just short and they fell to the Crusaders 40-37.
Blake Bialecki and Alejandro Vazquez combined for five of the Wolverines’ 3-pointers and had nine points apiece. Delsea’s Chase Ambrosius led all scorers with 17 points, going 11-of-13 from the free throw line.
It was Delsea’s sixth win in a row. It’s the Crusaders’ longest winning streak since winning eight in a row in 2018-19.
CHESAPEAKE CITY, Md. – Three Penns Grove wrestlers scored second-round pins Friday to stay alive in the championship bracket of the Red Devils’ annual pilgrimage to the Battle at the Bridge tournament.
Devine Arce (120), Anthony Brown (150) and Isaiah Upshur (190) all reached the quarterfinals. Arce scored his second round pin in 1:50, Brown scored his in 1:07 and Upshur scored his in 3:37.
The Red Devils, who’ve been coming to the tournament regularly since 2012, brought 11 wrestlers to the event and are currently 16th in the team standings. Plymouth Whitemarsh (Pa.) leads the field.
Clinton Bobo (175) has scored 10 points for the Red Devils win pins in the first round and the consolation second round.
BATTLE AT THE BRIDGE TEAM SCORES: Plymouth Whitemarsh 92, Sussex Central 75, Havre de Grace 66, Aberdeen 58, Harford Tech 57, Conrad Science 56, Langley 55, North Caroline 54, Linganore 51, Marple Newtown 51, Penncrest 44.5, Howard 44, Odessa 44, Queen Anne 41, Concord 36, Penns Grove 33, North East 32.5, Middletown 31, Elkton 19, Kent County 15.5, Bohemia Manor 8, St. Charles 8.
Eagles drop first duals
PENNSVILLE – Absegami won six of seven bouts in the middle of the match to hand Pennsville its first dual match defeat of the season 45-26.
Robbie McDade’s pin at 165 got the Eagles (4-1) to within 33-20 with four bouts remaining, but Julian Rivera scored a pin in the next bout to close out the match.
Travis Hagan (138) and Trevor Waddington (285) also scored pins for Pennsville, while Christopher Daniels and Gabriel Supernavage scored major decisions.
The Eagles are currently No. 2 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, 0.33 points behind undefeated Gloucester.
ABSEGAMI 45, PENNSVILLE 26 106: Liam Kisby (A) pinned Lucas Thomas, 2:31 113: Amelia Taylor (A) pinned Vincent Ciccantelli, 3:02 120: Christopher Daniels (P) maj. dec. over Tristan Brown, 14-1 126: Gabriel Supernavage (P) maj. dec. over Michael Famelio, 14-2 132: Nathaniel DeStefano (A) pinned Ayden Perez, 2:43 138: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Brendan Ross, 1:25 144: Johnny Font (A) pinned Joseph Maurer, 5:11 150: Christopher Eaton (A) won by forfeit 157: Ibn Russell (A) dec. Sky Eppes, 4-3 165: Robbie McDade (P) pinned Joshua Herring, 1:00 175: Julian Rivera (A) pinned Justin Oldaker, 0:36 190: Brayden Wright (A) dec. Elias Lussi, 5-0 215: Thomas Appello (A) dec. Daniel Emmons, 3-0 285: Trevor Waddington (P) pinned Brandon Miller, 2:58 Records: Absegami 1-2, Pennsville 4-1
Woodstown passes its first major test of the season, Pennsville overwhelms Schalick in a battle of teams fighting the injury bug, Salem gets second straight win
THURSDAY GIRLS SCORES Woodstown 61, Penns Grove 53 Pennsville 52, Schalick 14 Salem 45, Salem Tech 19
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – As almost everybody’s favorite to win the Tri-County Diamond Division and then some in South Jersey, the Woodstown girls basketball team knows it’s going to get everybody’s best shot every night.
The Wolverines faced their biggest test of the young season Thursday night and answered the bell like the favorites they are.
In a battle between the two best teams in the division, Woodstown grabbed the lead late in the first quarter, endured some anxious moments near the end of the first half and then finally pulled away in the second half for a 61-53 victory over Penns Grove.
“This is probably the biggest challenge we’ll have in all of our division games,” Wolverines coach Kara Straughn said. “They’re athletic, they’re quick, they’re the second-best team in our division, but I’ve got 10 girls who play together. There’s nobody in my opinion in our division who has as much of a team as I do.”
While Megan Donelson (25 points) and Talia Battavio (20) did most of their scoring as usual, the Wolverines (5-1) got contributions from throughout the lineup. Shannon Pieman grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked three shots. Alyssa Baber had 10 boards.
And they needed every bit of it. They took the lead midway through the first quarter, but Penns Grove never let them get comfortable.
The Red Devils were out of sorts during their two games in Wildwood after Christmas, but they were determined to play their game and not get caught up in the early-season enormity of the game. They pressed from the jump and made the Wolverines work for everything they got.
Donelson and Battavio combined for all of Woodstown’s points in the first quarter and 28 of their 30 in the first half.
Penns Grove is a team that likes to drive and attack the basket. But as the first half worn on, the Wolverines’ defense kept forcing the Red Devils farther out for shots and it produced the predictable results.
Woodstown led by 12 with less than two minutes left in the first half, but Penns Grove rallied and things got real intense in the final minute of the half. With 25.8 seconds to go in an eight-point game, Penns Grove’s RiNiyah Wilson was fouled by Battavio driving to the basket and the reaction led to a technical foul on the Wolverines guard.
Wilson hit three of the four free throws to make it a five-point game and the Red Devils had the ball with a chance to cut it to two or three. But Gianna Maiorini thwarted those plans when she stole the possession and fed Donelson who banked in a short jumper in the lane with six seconds to go. Donelson then stole the next inbounds pass and the Wolverines ran out the clock to take a seven-point halftime lead.
“If they would’ve gotten the lead I think it would’ve been a different game,” Straughn said.
The Red Devils got to within four several times early in the second half, but the Wolverines pushed it back out to 10 . They kept the Red Devils at arm’s length the rest of the game to win their fifth in a row while sending their hosts to their third straight loss.
“I think we could’ve done a little bit better than what we actually did, but we ended up pulling out the win and that’s just all that matters,” Donelson said.
While Donelson and Battavio were the big producers for Woodstown, Wilson did all she could to keep Penns Grove in it. The transfer from Kingsway led all scorers with a career-high 33 points and she grabbed nine rebounds.
“My coach talks about mental toughness, fight through the game, if we’re down pick my teammates up, keep going, keep fighting,” Wilson said. “I like playing in big games. I like competition.”
3-point goals: Woodstown 3 (Battavio 2, Donelson); Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, Dowe). Technical fouls: Battavio. Fouled out: Taylor. Total fouls: Woodstown 16, Penns Grove 19.
Pennsville 52, Schalick 14
PENNSVILLE – The Eagles had the best of it in this battle of teams fighting through injuries. They opened a 24-7 halftime lead, then erupted for 21 points in the third quarter and shut out the Cougars in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were down to four core players because of the injuries and brought up several players from the junior varsity to replenish the ranks. Veterans and newcomers alike got together for a film session before the start of the night’s JV game to hammer out a game plan for the main event.
They got the bulk of their scoring from Marley Wood (20 points) and Nora Ausland (18) while the others help keep it in the road. Wood and Ausland combined for all of Pennsville’s points in the first half.
“The girls who got pulled up stepped up and played the role we needed them to play,” Pennsville coach Sam Trapp said. “Izzie Saulin really stepped up on the defensive end. She had some great blocks and solid rebounding.”
3-point goals: Schalick 1 (Fisler); Pennsville 5 (N. Ausland 2, McGee 2, Wood). Total fouls: Schalick 8, Pennsville 12.
Salem 45, Salem Tech 19
SALEM – The Rams put together another strong defensive effort to grab their second straight win. They collected 30 steals and blocked 20 shots against the Chargers.
Ava Rogers had 10 points, nine rebounds and blocked seven shots. QwenNazha Johnson-Logan had nine points, 12 rebounds, eight blocks and had five steals. Ryann Foote had seven steals.
The Rams have recorded 59 steals and 40 blocked shots in their two-game winning streak. Johnson-Logan has had 23 blocks in the two games and is averaging 7.6 per game this season.
Penns Grove uses 20 seconds of chaos from Giomar Conrad at the end of the first half to take the momentum from Woodstown, Salem uses a big second half to beat Salem Tech, Pennsville’s balanced attack takes down Schalick
THURSDAY BOYS SCORES Penns Grove 64, Woodstown 54 Pennsville 57, Schalick 37 Salem 84, Salem Tech 52
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Think of all the things you can do in 20 seconds. Maybe sprint from the easy chair to the mailbox and back on a cold winter’s day. How about a quick run to the fridge during a TV timeout of the big game.
Some teams take longer than that to attack the basket, a situation that could be remedied with the introduction of a shot clock, but that’s a discussion for another time.
Penns Grove boys basketball coach Damian Ware isn’t sure he can do anything in 20 seconds, but he’s glad his team can.
That’s all the time Giomar Conrad and the Red Devils needed to flip the script on Woodstown Thursday night and turn a double-digit deficit into a halftime lead and an eventual 64-54 win to spoil the previously unbeaten Wolverines’ long awaited home opener.
Woodstown (4-1) led by double digits most of the first half, but Conrad scored eight straight points over the final 20 seconds to give his team a 32-30 halftime lead they never lost.
“That was crazy,” Conrad said, “but at the same time it felt good. I’d never done anything like that before.”
It started with a 3-pointer from the right side to cut the deficit to 30-27. Then in rapid-fire succession, Mekhi Ballard got a steal and fed him for a layup to make it 30-29, he put back a missed shot after another steal to put the Red Devils ahead, and then Willie Slocum picked off another rushed pass in the backcourt and fed Conrad for one final strike.
With time running out, Conrad drove wildly and appeared to lose his footing. His throw at the basket didn’t go in, but he was fouled right before the horn sounded. With no one else on the floor, he made the first of his two free throws and Penns Grove led by two at the break. If you want to extend the run even farther back, he hit two free throws inside 40 seconds that made it 30-24.
“I’m thinking, ‘finally,’” Ware said. “That’s what we did, honestly, in our heyday. Back when we won the South Jersey championship in 2020, that’s what we did all game long. We were known for that type of play, just tempo, tempo, turning teams up. And we didn’t have to come back, we just blew teams out.
“We’re trying to get this team to that same level to where they understand how they have to play, how hard we have to play and the energy we have to play with. We’re starting to get there. I’ve seen it in spurts for the last three games. Today I think was the culmination of everything and we kind of made a great run.”
The Red Devils (3-5) carried the momentum of those 20 seconds of chaos into the second half. Slocum scored the first three buckets of the third quarter to fuel a 14-3 run that gave them a 13-point lead with just over three minutes to go in the quarter.
The Wolverines tried to come back, but never got closer than six the rest of the game. They were 8-of-27 from the field with nine turnovers in the second half.
Understandably, Woodstown coach Phil Campbell was in no mood to talk about it and declined a post-game interview request.
Conrad finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points. Slocum had 11 and Ballard added 10. Rocco String led Woodstown with 17 points.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 6 (Conrad 4, Ceaser, Ballard); Woodstown 6 (Ortega 2, Bialecki, Hall, Bokolas, Webb). Total fouls: Penns Grove 13, Woodstown 14. Officials: Lawler, Montacalva.
Pennsville 57, Schalick 37
PITTSGROVE – Luke Wood led three Pennsville scorers in double figures with 16 points as the Eagles started the new year with a win for the second year in a row. Cohen Petrutz and Jayden Thomas both hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points apiece.
The Eagles trailed after the first quarter, then took the lead for good in the second quarter and steadily pulled away.
Wood is now 66 points away from 1,000 for his career. He has scored in double figures in his last 14 straight games.
3-point goals: Pennsville 6 (Petrutz 3, Thomas 3); Schalick 6 (Allen, Johnson 2, Lis 2, Volovar). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Schalick 14.
Salem 84, Salem Tech 52
WOODSTOWN – The homestanding Chargers gave the Rams all they could handle for a half, but they changed defenses at halftime and Salem erupted for 58 points in the second half to win going away.
“Momentum killed us,” Tech coach Bryan Riley said. “(Antoine) Robinson got his third foul as soon as the third quarter started and we switched from man to zone (defense) at half.”
Jabez DeJesus and Anthony Farmer took advantage of the switch. DeJesus scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half while Farmer had 10 of his 12.
Salem, meanwhile, held Tech’s two main scorers, Robinson and Haneef Frisby, to eight points apiece, but the Chargers got 13 from Tyler Zampino and 12 from Chase Wills.
Zampino had eight in the first quarter. Robinson scored six of his points in the second quarter as the Chargers took a 31-26 halftime lead, but he picking up his third foul early in the second half limited his effectiveness the rest of the game.
Penns Grove skips halftime meeting to regain its stroke; it worked in second half, but Red Devils come up short
BOARDWALK CLASSIC Saturday’s Boys Games Tatnall 63, Pleasantville 50 Triton 54, Paulsboro 50 Brandywine (Del.) 66, St. Paul’s (Md.) 52 Ocean City 54, Shawnee 41 Kingsway 55, Glassboro 47 Lower Cape May 51, Penns Grove 38 Middle Twp. 63, Rancocas Valley 42
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – Damian Ware would have liked to have thought that fourth quarter slump his Penns Grove basketball team went through in its last game against Vineland was just an anomaly, a one-time thing that would disappear the next time the Red Devils took the floor.
Well, it didn’t disappear. It actually carried into the first half of their Boardwalk Classic game Saturday against Lower Cape May.
It took nearly 10 minutes of game clock for the Red Devils to hit their first field goal of the game and they had only three in the first half. The did find the range in the second half after a unique bit of strategy and got as close as three, but they couldn’t come back completely and eventually lost 51-38.
The shooting woes were such a concern that when the horn sounded to end the first half and the Caper Tigers (4-1) sprinted to their locker room, Ware – for the first time in his career – kept his team in the bench area and then rolled out the basketballs to get in some halftime shooting practice. Given the Red Devils would’ve had to walk halfway to the Crest to get to their dressing area, that might not have been such a bad an idea.
“That wasn’t it at all,” Ware said. “I just wanted to get some shots up because we couldn’t score the ball at all and that’s been part of our problem. I wanted them to shoot some extra shots to see the ball go through the net, especially in this gym. It’s a different feel, it’s a different acoustic in here, so I wanted them to get a better rhythm for the shots.
“I’m no genius. I figure you get more shots and get more repetitions, you get better looks at the basket. I didn’t feel we played bad in the first half. We got what we wanted. We just missed the shots and we missed free throws. That’s part of our problem all season. We get what we want on offense, it comes down to executing and finishing and making the shot.”
The slump actually started in the fourth quarter against Vineland at Delsea. The Red Devils rallied to take a lead in the third quarter of that game, then in the fourth quarter they went 1-for-10 from the floor, committed seven turnovers and were outscored 19-2.
They scored only four points in the first quarter against Lower Cape May and they all came from the free throw line, and even that could have been better. Lower’s deliberate style didn’t give the Red Devils many shots to begin with, but the ones they were getting they weren’t making. They were just 0-for-4 in the first quarter and 3-of-15 in the first half. On top of that, they were 4-for-10 from the foul line in the first quarter.
Mr Peterson finally broke the ice with a short jumper in the lane with 6:09 left in the second quarter. Giomar Conrad hit a 3-pointer a minute later and Carmen Thompson scored with 35 seconds left in the half.
While the Red Devils were missing, Lower Cape May sophomore Josh Gretta was torching them from outside. Penns Grove had 11 points at halftime, Gretta had four 3s and 14 points for Lower Cape May.
“It was frustrating a little bit, but I always had in the back of my mind we could always come back,” Peterson said.
The shots were falling in the halftime shooting session and it continued in the second half. The Red Devils hit six of their first seven from the floor and had the deficit down to three with four minutes to go in the third quarter. KaRon Ceaser hit the first two buckets, Mekhi Ballard hit a pair of 3s and Conrad had a three-point play and a layup.
“I’m glad he did it,” Ballard said. “I was happy when he said that because in the first half we weren’t making any of our shots. I was kind of annoyed (with the first half), but I knew I had to keep shooting if we wanted to get back into the game.”
The Caper Tigers stretched the lead back out to a safe distance and with time now the enemy it forced the Red Devils to rush some shots in hopes of making one last push. They missed the four shots they got in the final 2:15 to finish 10-of-20 from the field in the half and 13-of-35 for the game.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Conrad, Ballard 2); Lower Cape May 6 (T. Bonner 2, Gretta 4). Total fouls: Penns Grove 14, Lower Cape May 17.
Cover photo: The Penns Grove basketball team spent its halftime Saturday getting in some extra shooting practice to break out of a slump that started in the fourth quarter of its previous game.
Denby questions team’s mental toughness and heart after Penns Grove girls drop their second straight at the Shore
BOARDWALK CLASSIC Saturday’s Girls Games Egg Harbor Two. 57, Newark Academy 28 Absegami 50, Timber Creek 28 Cumberland 34, Oakcrest 13 Ocean City 66, Penns Grove 34 Holy Spirit 47, Cheltenham (Pa.) 30 OLMA 45, Wildwood 43 Wildwood Catholic 60, Bishop Eustace 32
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – The theme of this year’s Penns Grove girls basketball team is playing with mental toughness. It certainly faces its biggest challenge after this week’s trip to the Boardwalk Classic.
The Red Devils went into the Christmas break undefeated for the second year in a row and ranked No. 25 in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament poll, but find themselves spiraling into the New Year 4-2 after losing their second straight game in the Wildwood Convention Center 66-34 to Ocean City Saturday.
Their resolve was going to be tested Saturday as it was after the way their loss to St. Dominic went down Thursday night. It was strained even further after a listless showing against the Red Raiders (2-4).
“As a coach, you’ve got to have players who have heart – we ain’t got no heart, we ain’t going to win nothing,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “We can’t just have one girl play the whole game. We need everybody on the bench.
“We’re lacking heart right now, to be honest. We need everybody to carry the heart. We can’t just rely on one person.”
Brianna Robbins was the only Penns Grove player to score in double figures and led all scorers in the game with 17 points. Most of those (13) came in the second half when the Red Devils’ two other main scorers all but disappeared. The junior made the biggest plays in the second-half comeback against St. Dominic that was thwarted by a no-call on a drive in the closing seconds of a two-point game.
The Red Devils’ two other big scorers – RiNiyah Wilson and Meely Horace – had seven and five points, respectively, Saturday. Wilson, who averaged 17.6 ppg entering the game, had two points in the second half – on a pair of third-quarter free throws. Horace, who averaged 18.5 before Christmas and is on track to reach the 1,000-point plateau later this season, didn’t score in the second half.
“For you to be ranked and not put any points up and take your own self out of the game because mentally (you weren’t in it in, is not a good look),” Denby said. “Mentally is emotions. If you can’t control your emotions because your shot’s not falling, you get mad, you get upset, and instead of turning that negative energy to positive, you wind up on the bench because it’s too late. As coaches, we’re going to go to our freshmen and put them in the game.”
This one was easy to dissect and it goes directly to heart. The Red Devils committed too many turnovers and were outplayed on the boards. They didn’t get their first offensive rebound until RiNiyah Wilson banged a ball off an Ocean City defender under the basket; the Red Devils promptly turned over the inbounds play. The Red Raiders, meanwhile had 21 offensive boards off which they scored 26 points.
Penns Grove didn’t get its first putback basket until about two minutes left in the third quarter when Robbins followed her missed and-one free throw
The Red Devils have no time for a pity party. Their first game after the new year is an early Diamond Division showdown with Woodstown Jan. 4.
“Hopefully it will put some fire up their (rear ends),” Denby said. “Moving forward, these last two losses, when they get in practice they’re going to feel it. They’re going to feel it. And hopefully mentally they’ll get back by themselves.”
“It’s going to make us play harder,” Robbins promised.
Pennsville’s Lussi win his first career tournament title at Overbrook; Schalick/Cumberland wins Clipper Classic, Penns Grove’s Brown voted Most Oustanding Wrestler
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PINE HILL – Elias Lussi’s rise from a tagalong who knew next to nothing about the sport when he first walked into the wrestling room to becoming the face of a program moved to another level Thursday when he won his weight division in an in-season tournament for the first time.
The Pennsville senior added “tournament champion” next to his name when he took a 7-2 decision from Timber Creek’s Amir Reason-Dallas, an aggressive returning regional qualifier, to win at 190 in the Overbrook Holiday Tournament.
He’s the first Pennsville wrestler to win an in-season tournament title since Mikey Lapalomento took the 138 title in last year’s Gateway holiday tournament. He also had a bye and two pins on the road to his crown.
“I’m proud; I’m pumped, man,” Lussi said. “This is something I was looking forward to, especially after the Howdy Duncan tournament (in Delaware) where I got sixth. I wanted to bounce back after some tough losses. This was my opportunity to make some noise and prove myself.”
Lussi arrived in the Pennsville wrestling room three years ago at the urging of one of his friends knowing absolutely nothing about the sport and has evolved into a leader in that room and captain of the team.
“It’s all a testament to the time he put in during the season, in the offseason, after practice,” Pennsville coach John Starcevich said. “There have been times he’s stayed after practice and asked me to drill extra. That’s like music to any coach’s ear. I’ll leave the light on for anyone who wants to work.”
Lussi was one of four Eagles to place in the tournament. Travis Hagan finished third at 138. Lucas Thomas (106) and Robbie McDade (157) finished fourth in their weight classes. The Eagles finished seventh as a team. Timber Creek won it.
“Actually, it was a pretty tough day,” Starcevich said. “There were a lot of Region 8 teams there we’ll see come the post-season.
“We’re in the grind of the season here. We are entering January. We have been tested in some sense and we have guys who are really figuring out what it means to be competitive. We need to continue to work hard in the room and get after it.”
OVERBROOK HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT TEAM SCORES: Timber Creek 169, Hammonton 146, Burlington Twp. 133, Barnegat 119, Mainland 83, Deptford 77, Pennsville 67, Millville 61, Cherry Hill East 56, Winslow 56, Overbrook 44, St. Joe’s 17.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES 106: Ryan Pancoast, Timber Creek dec. Tyler Police, Hammonton, 6-4 113: Eoin Curran, Deptford pinned Matthew Steele, Timber Creek, 5:54 120: Gavin Morris, Hammonton pinned Devin Karge, Timber Creek, 4:04 126: Ethan Christmas, Deptford dec. Patrick Tull, Millville, 6-5 132: Anthony Cook, Burlington Twp. pinned Michael Rosano, Overbrook, 0:34 138: Trey DeMeo, Barnegat dec. Jaylen Huertas, Deptford, 7-2 144: Aiden O’Halloran, Barnegat dec. Nicholas Davis, Burlington Twp., 10-3 150: Logan Kahrs, Burlington Twp. pinned Ryan Kuriger, Timber Creek, 2:55 157: Gavin Bates, Timber Creek dec. Vincent Palermo, Hammonton, 5-3 (OT) 165: Nakeem Powell, Winslow pinned Gary Williams, Mainland, 2:46 175: Chase Hoag, Mainland dec. Jacob Davis, Burlington Twp., 5-3 190: Elias Lussi, Pennsville, def. Amir Reason-Dallas, Timber Creek, 7-2 215: Mark Hartley, Hammonton maj. dec. over Raymere Mahadeo, Barnegat, 16-5 285: Jayson Ross, Timber Creek pinned Camryn Broadnax, Hammonton, 1:54
Penns Grove wrestlers Anthony Brown (L) and Devine Arce show off their brackets after winning their weight classes in the Clipper Classic. Brown also was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler, the Red Devils’ first since 2019.
Dan Allen Clipper Classic
CLAYTON – The Schalick/Cumberland cooperative won the first team title in the recent memory of either school and Penns Grove’s Anthony Brown was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler as Salem County wrestlers dominated the day.
Schalick/Cumberland won the 10-team event with 158 points. They had 13 wrestlers place, including five weight-division winners and two runner-ups.
Caleb Jenkins (106), Luke Silva (126), Ricky Watt (157) Jake Magonagle (175) and Ronald Piernikoski (215) all won their weight classes.
Brown was one of two Red Devil champions at the tournament. He won the 150 class title that got away from him last year with a dramatic 11-10 double-overtime victory over Eduardo Oliveira of Riverside. He is 7-0 this season. He’s the Red Devils’ first MOW since Tyreke Brown (220) in the 2019 Region 8 Tournament.
Devine Arce pinned his way to his second title of the season, with both coming in less than 30 seconds. He is 8-0 this year at 120.
Bayonne Holiday Classic Consolation: Salem 60, West Orange 56 Championship: Charlestown (Mass.) 74, Bayonne 50
By Riverview Sports News
BAYONNE – Salem basketball coach Anthony Farmer knew his team’s holiday tournament trip to North Jersey would be good for a lot of reasons.
It didn’t necessarily start out in the best of ways, but the Rams learned a lot about themselves and dealing with adversity. They even got a win out of it, holding off West Orange 60-56 in the consolation game of the Bayonne Holiday Tournament to snap a three-game losing streak.
“I thought this holiday tournament we grew up,” Farmer said. “My young guys stepped up and we are looking to make a run in January.”
As much as the Rams (2-3) were looking forward to the program’s first overnight tournament trip, things started stacking up against them quickly.
They were on the bus three hours getting there and caught a flat along the way. Then they had to play a strong team out of Boston in the opening round and lost by 20. And then their best player, senior guard Anthony Farmer, rolled an ankle in the game and didn’t play in Thursday’s consolation game.
But the Rams got through it. They put three scorers in double figures and held on down the stretch after the Mountaineers (1-6) had cut an 11-point Salem halftime lead to four going into the fourth quarter.
Seniors Paul Weathers and Jabez Dejesus led the Rams with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Freshman Tymear Lecator had 12.
Dejesus went 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 9-of-10 for the game. Weathers had nine points in the fourth quarter.
“To win without one of your best players (is encouraging),” Farmer agreed. “The other guys had to step up and they did. That’s what we have been missing the last few games.”
Warriors Classic
WOODSTOWN 50, NEW EGYPT 46: The undefeated Wolverines got on top early, then spent the rest of the game trying to stay there before finally putting the hosts away in the Warriors Classic title game.
Garrett Leyman, who’s three-point play in the final 10 seconds gave the Wolverines the lead in the semifinals, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final, scored 15 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Max Webb also made the all-tournament team.
Rocco String was Woodstown’s leading scorer with 17 points.
The Wolverines carried a three-point lead into the fourth quarter, then stretched their lead to eight with 1:26 to play.
WOODSTOWN 50, NEW EGYPT 46 WOODSTOWN (4-0) – Blake Bialecki 3-0-7, M.J. Hall 0-2-2, Garrett Leyman 5-3-15, Max Webb 3-1-7, Rocco String 8-1-17, Zyaire Caesar 0-2-2. Totals 19-9-50. NEW EGYPT (2-4) – Nolan Arnold 8-3-20, Jack Burr 1-0-3, Connor Fischer 2-0-5, Tommy Merlucci 1-0-3, Clyde Ferris 5-0-11, Evan Goldberg 1-0-2, Ryan Reynolds 1-0-2. Totals 19-3-46.
PENNSVILLE 73, BUENA 43: The Eagles would like to have a little better record heading into the new year, but a 3-3 they’re really not complaining. They got back on the winning track after being routed in the tournament opener by taking control early, spreading the wealth and opening it up with a 27-point third quarter.
“As a program I’m just happy we can be disappointed at 3-3,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “I wanted to be 5-1, 4-2, maybe yesterday’s game is one I’d liked back if we started a little bit fresher, but (we’re) 3-3 heading into the conference schedule, so … moving forward. Good win today. Three wins in another year may have been the whole season, so three before the new year is good.”
Eight players scored for the Eagles, three in double figures. Luke Wood led the Eagles with 24 points and is now 82 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He was 10-of-15 from the free throw line.
Daniel Saulin had his third double-double in six games — 16 points (on 8-of-10 shooting) and 11 rebounds – and blocked five shots. Cohen Petrutz scored 10 points and Jayden Thomas had eight points and six assists.
“That’s what everything was today – balanced,” Mecholsky said. “We were just looking to execute on offense, we didn’t care who scored. We knew if we put the ball in the basket then the score would turn out the way it did. Everybody was looking for the extra pass and it worked today.”
VINELAND 41, PENNS GROVE 27: When the horn sounded to end the third quarter it was like a switch that flipped the script.
The Red Devils carried a three-point lead into the fourth quarter of their Marty Derer Showcase at Delsea and held their opponent to less than 20 percent shooting from the floor.
But in the fourth quarter everything that could go wrong for the young Red Devils did. They hit only one of 10 shots from the floor, committed seven turnovers and were outscored 19-2.
It was more a change in chemistry than strategy that did in the Red Devils. They played mostly freshmen Karon Ceaser, Neziah Spence and Will Roy in the third quarter with Luis Colon and Mr Peterson alongside senior Willie Slocum and the group got them the lead.
They reinserted veterans Giomar Conrad and Mekhi Ballard in the fourth quarter and it fell apart.
“I should have kept the young guys in because they were making it happen,” coach Damian Ware said.
Karon Ceaser scored the Red Devils’ only basket of the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Jack Baruffi and Ernie Bernhardt teamed up for 11 of their combined 16 points in the fourth quarter for Vineland.
It was Bernhardt’s bucket three minutes into the fourth quarter that gave Vineland the lead for good.
ATLANTIC TECH 67, SALEM TECH 44: The every-other-game pattern of Haneef Frisby and Antoine Robinson leading the Chargers in scoring was back in Frisby’s court Thursday.
Frisby scored 18 points in the consolation game of the tournament to led the Chargers in scoring. Curiously, he has been leading them in scoring in all the even-numbered games, while Antoine Robinson has led them in the odd-numbered games. When they come through together consistently, coach Bryan Riley knows he’ll have something special.
“They’re sophomores,” he said. “They’ll figure it out.”
The Chargers were in the game in the first half, trailing by only three at the break with Frisby scoring 14 points. But ACIT outscored them 20-7 in the third quarter and continued to pull away in the fourth.
Tyler Zampino scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for Salem Tech.
Battavio, Donelson never far apart in the box score, combine for 57 as Woodstown opens its tournament with easy win; Pennsville bounces back in Buena and more
THURSDAY’S GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES Battle at Buena Pennsville 49, Camden Academy 33
Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center St. Dominic 53, Penns Grove 51
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson are two of the most dynamic scorers on any one team in any type of geography you want to name – county, conference, section, state.
Woodstown coach Kara Straughn would put them up against anyone anywhere. And when she does, they usually dominate the box score.
When they’re are on – and often when they’re not – they’re capable of outscoring any team they play by themselves. They came thisclose to scoring 30 points in the same game for the first time in their career Thursday, but settled for 28 and 29, respectively, and it was plenty as the Wolverines routed winless Bridgeton 75-41 in the opening round of the Wolverine Holiday Tournament.
They had plenty of time to get it, but they were lifted to play another day with 2:20 left in the game and the win safely tucked away.
“Mainland I believe has a set of twins this year that are seniors who are very good, Megan and Talia caliber, but I don’t know of anybody in Tri-County or maybe South Jersey,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said. “Gloucester Catholic has a couple, but they’re not Megan and Talia.
“The big thing is there’s no competition (between them). You have some teams who have two really great players, but it’s a constant competition. But with those two, they’re feeding each other. Together, the two of them, I don’t think there are anybody (like them).”
Battavio agreed the combination gives the Wolverines “something different.”
Donelson said “it’s like a power move for us. We just work really well together because we’ve been playing with each other a lot time. We’re like just locked in together.”
The two juniors are a lot closer than what you see in the scoring column. Sure, it might look like they’re locked in some friendly competition to see who gets scoring honors for the night, but they’re close friends that extend beyond the high school basketball court and genuinely want to see the other succeed.
In the 59 games Woodstown has played during their varsity careers, Battavio has been the higher scorer of the two 27 times, Donelson has had the better of it 26 times and they’ve wound up even six times. Their final line has been within three points of each other 32 times and only three times in the last 26 games has the difference between them been more than six points.
While they were so close to going for 30 in the same game for the first time Thursday, they’ve both gone for 20 in the same game five times and in four of the last eight games going back to last season, including the last two. Their previous best combined effort before Thursday was a 56-point night against Penns Grove (Donelson went for 31) in last year’s South Jersey Group I semifinals.
“I think we share a chemistry over the three years and also being really good friends helps,” Battavio said. “We like to push the ball and get it up to each other and I think we’re both not selfish about it. I’m willing to give up the ball to get her a layup any day. If she has 20 and I have 10, if we win, it’s a win. We’re heavy on that.”
Of course, the biggest beneficiary of it all is the team and the program.
“I think it sets the tone for not just now but the future as well,” Straughn said. “I have a lot of sophomores who are looking to those two and saying, ‘OK, I want to be the Megan and Talia in two years when I’m a junior and senior and they’re gone.’ So they’ve set a great example and a great tone for the young girls and the program overall.
“We have youth programs coming out to watch both of them. And they’re both involved in the youth program, they both help out. So, I think it doesn’t just help on the court, it helps the future of Woodstown basketball as well.”
They played a big part in the Wolverines putting this one away early. Bridgeton stayed with them early, even leading 9-8, but then the avalanche came. The Wolverines went on a 15-3 run to the end of the quarter that turned into a 27-5 spree before the Bulldogs called time with 4:21 left in the first half.
The Dynamic Duo had 25 of the Wolverines’ first 35 points and 29 points in the first half. Donelson had 11 in the first quarter.
While there is no pact for making it happen, everyone involve – Battavio, Donelson and Straughn – all agree it would be “really cool” if they both hit their 1,000th career point on the same night.
After Thursday, Donelson stands are 753 career points and Battavio is at 741. They’re projected to be the 10th and 11th members of the school’s girls 1,000-Point Club sometime around the Tri-County Tournament.
“I think that would really be the icing on the cake,” Straughn said. “I can’t even imagine that celebration.” WOODSTOWN 75, BRIDGETON 41 BRIDGETON (0-6) – Adelina Wilks 10 3-7 25, Ayianna Ridgeway 0 0-0 0, Diara McGriff 1 0-0 2, Imara James 4 0-0 8, Jayla Bowman 2 0-2 4, Sarena Parker 1 0-0 2, Kahmya Johnson 0 0-0 0, Karina Perez 0 0-0 0, TaMiyah Russell 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 3-9 41. WOODSTOWN (3-1) – Talia Battavio 11 4-8 28, Megan Donelson 13 0-0 29, Alyssa Baber 1 1-1 4, Gianna Maiorini 0 0-0 0, Shannon Pierman 4 2-2 10, Lauren Hengel 1 0-0 2, Emma Perry 1 0-0 2, Jala Thomas 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Kendall Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 7-11 75.
Cover photo: Megan Donelson (20) and Talia Battavio lead the Woodstown girls basketball team out of timeout Thursday just as they usually do in the scoring column. (Photo by Collin Groom)
Battle at Buena
PENNSVILLE 49, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 33: After having what coach Sam Trapp called “a big honest conversation” about how their opening-round loss to Pemberton went down, the Eagles got back on the winning road in the consolation game, but an even bigger issue emerged.
The Eagles played through two injured and endured another during the game.
Point guard Marley Wood played through an ankle injury she sustained the day before, Taylor Bass didn’t play because of a broken finger on her left hand and Annika Macalino suffered a knee injury during the game.
“It’s just so frustrating, it feels like a curse this year,” Trapp said. “I struggled with a lot of injuries with soccer and here we are with Round 2 in basketball. The best thing I can do is just keep coaching the other girls through it and working our team strength at this point and hoping the girls will be able to recover and get back on the court quickly.”
Even with all that going on, the Eagles had enough to get past the winless Cougars. They placed three scorers in double figures and led wire-to-wire, even with a hiccup in the third quarter. Nora Ausland led the offense with 17 points, Wood came through with 12 and Bella Farina had 11.
They built a 14-point halftime lead and never lost it, unlike the day before when Pemberton rallied in the second half. The third quarter was a little interesting, though, as they were outscored 16-14. The Eagles have been outscored in the third quarter in four of their five games this season.
“I was just very honest with the girls,” Trapp said. “I just told them we’ve got to take better care of the basketball. You have to step up when you’re playing in the game. You have to do your best when you’re on the court at all times.
“It’s taking accountability for their mistakes and what they can do better moving forward. Thankfully, the girls responded to what I said. We changed our gameplan a little bit with the injuries that we had, so it all ended up shaking out all right at the end.”
3-point goals: Camden Academy 7 (Y. DeLaRosa, Rodriguez 2, D. DeLaRosa 4); Pennsville 6 (N. Ausland 3, Macalino, Wood 2). Total fouls: Camden Academy 6, Pennsville 7.
Penns Grove’s Brianna Robbins (2) prepares to drive the line during Thursday’s Boardwalk Classic game against St. Dominic. (Tournament photo)
Boardwalk Classic
ST. DOMINIC 53, PENNS GROVE 51: The Red Devils staged a furious fourth-quarter rallying from double digits to tie the game, but just came up short. RaNiyah Wilson scored 15 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to help Penns Grove come back from a nine-point deficit.
The Red Devils rallied from 12 down to tie the game, but St. Dominic went back ahead when leading scorer Alyssa Stridiron hit a pair of technical foul shots. In the final five seconds Brianna Robbins drove the length of the floor and got to the basket with contact, but didn’t get a call they thought was warranted.
Robbins, who tied the game twice in the fourth quarter, finished with 15 points.
Stridiron was 6-of-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and finished with 28 points.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, B. Robbins); St. Dominic 1 (Capers). Fouled out: Taylor, Wilson. Technical fouls: Wilson. Total fouls: Penns Grove 17, St. Dominic 13.
ACIT Holiday Tech Tournament
GCIT 51, SALEM TECH 15 SALEM TECH (0-4) – Demajae White 1-0-2, Hanna DeWitt 0-1-1, Morgan VanDover 3-0-7, Drummond 1-0-2, Amedee 1-0-2, Reed 0-1-1. Totals 6-2-15. GLOUCESTER TECH (4-3) – Sophia Molinari 1-0-3, Maggie Duer 4-0-12, Leanne Riddick 3-2-8, Ava Friel 1-0-2, Savanna Shute 2-0-4, Reis Hartman 3-0-6, Gina Sheehan 0-1-1, Averie Clement 3-0-8, Sofia McKay 1-0-2, Octavia Adkins 5-0-13. Totals 23-5-51.
