Category: SALEM TECH

High drama

3 Salem County boys games in Tri-County Tournament decided by two points or less; Penns Grove girls upset top seed in their flight

BOYS GAMES
A Flight
No. 1 Timber Creek 76, No. 8 Gloucester Catholic 52
No. 4 Pitman 61, No. 5 Triton 48
No. 6 Salem 51, No. 3 Overbrook 50
No. 2 Delsea 57, No. 7 Wildwood 46
B Flight
No. 1 Kingsway 62, No. 8 Woodstown 52
No. 4 Deptford 55, No. 5 Glassboro 45
No. 3 Highland 48, No. 6 Washington Twp. 46
No. 2 Clearview 51, No. 7 Penns Grove 50
C Flight
No. 5 Clayton 71, No. 4 Cumberland 67
No. 3 Williamstown 48, No. 6 Schalick 46
No. 2 GCIT 75, No. 7 Salem Tech 55

GIRLS GAMES
A Flight
No. 1 Williamstown 57, No. 8 Highland 47
No. 4 Gloucester Catholic 46, No. 5 Woodstown 40
No. 3 Wildwood 58, No. 6 Washington Twp. 42
No. 2 Clearview 63, No. 7 Timber Creek 38
B Flight
No. 8 Penns Grove 54, No. 1 GCIT 44
No. 5 Pennsville 43, No. 4 Delsea 35
No. 6 Pitman 36, No. 3 Kingsway 33
No. 2 Glassboro 29, No. 7 Clayton 22
C Flight
No. 5 Overbrook 52, No. 4 Triton 34
No. 3 Schalick 43, No. 6 Deptford 37
No. 2 Cumberland 46, Salem Tech 21

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
BOYS
A Flight
Pitman at Timber Creek
Salem at Delsea
Wildwood at Overbrook
Gloucester Catholic at Triton
B Flight
Deptford Twp. at Kingsway
Highland at Clearview
Penns Grove at Washington Twp.
Woodstown at Glassboro
C Flight
Clayton at No. 1 Pennsville
Williamstown at GCIT
Salem Tech at Schalick
GIRLS
A Flight
Gloucester Catholic at Williamstown
Wildwood at Clearview
Highland at Woodstown
Timber Creek at Washington Twp.
B Flight
Penns Grove at. Pennsville
Pitman at Glassboro
Delsea at GCIT
Clayton at Kingsway
C Flight
Overbrook at No. 1 Salem
Schalick at Cumberland
Salem Tech at Deptford

Boys Games

SALEM 51, OVERBROOK 50: Anthony Farmer scored 19 points and the Rams rallied from 10 down with four minutes left to upset the No. 3 seed in the A Flight. Marshall Stephens blocked four shots, including two in a row down the stretch to keep the Rams in front.

The win was Salem’s third in a row and ninth in its last 10 games and sent Overbrook to its second straight one-point loss.

SALEM (16-7) – Anthony Farmer 19, Ramaji Bundy 3, Jabez DeJesus 10, Paul Weathers 2, Tymear Lecator 10, Marshall Stephens 5, Antwone Rogers 2. Totals 17-40 12-16 51.
OVERBROOK (18-7) – Shaun Mills 2 2-4 8, Chris Grier 0 2-4 2, Nic Johnson 3 3-7 9, Lamar Little 4 0-1 10, Zair Green 2 2-2 6, Maki Ortiz 2 1-1 5, Xavier Wright 4 0-0 8, Kevin Satchell 1 0-0 2, Amare Kee 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 10-19 50.

Salem7131120 –51
Overbrook1516613 –50
3-point goals: Salem 5-16; Overbrook 2 (Little 2). Rebounds: Salem 23 (DeJesus 6, P. Weathers 6, Stephens 7).

WILLIAMSTOWN 48, SCHALICK 46: The Braves had won only one game all season and lost 10 in a row, but they were the third seed and beat the Cougars on a couple late free throws. Daniel Lis hit four 3-pointers and led Schalick with 19 points.

SCHALICK (7-14) – Daniel Lis 6 3-4 19, Nylan Sutton 9 0-1 18, Jake Siedlecki 1 0-0 2, Nasir Sutton 1 3-4 5, Ryan Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 6-9 46.
WILLIAMSTOWN (2-23) – Kaysen Matthews 3 2-2 10, Drew Schnapp 3 2-2 9, Basill Mateen 1 7-12 9, Sean Donlin 2 0-0 4, Ozias Williams 1 0-0 2, Amir Washington 2 0-0 4, Brayden Covington 3 1-3 8, Gavin Batterman 0 2-2 2. Totals 15 14-21 48.
Schalick7121413 –46
Williamstown1016913 –48
3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Lis 4); Williamstown 4 (Matthews 2, Schnapp, Covington).

GLOUCESTER TECH 75, SALEM TECH 55: Trent Phillips led four scorers in double figures with 16 points and Michael Stanwood had a double-double (12/13) to lead GCIT’s victory. Haneef Frisby had a double-double for Salem Tech (13/14).

SALEM TECH (4-18) – Josh Muntz 3 1-2 7, Tyler Zampino 6 0-1 13, Antoine Robinson 5 3-3 14, Haneef Frisby 3 6-8 13, Chase Wills 3 1-2 7, Joseph Hayes 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 12-18 55.
GLOUCESTER TECH (10-14) – Trent Phillips 8 0-0 16, Mark Hallman 5 4-4 15, Michael Stanwood 5 2-2 12, Carl Schmidt 5 0-0 12, Ian Malgapo 2 0-0 5, Patrick Monaghan 2 0-0 4, Gavin Shainline 1 1-2 3, Charles Donaldson 1 0-0 2, Ethan Morris 1 0-0 2, Brady Johnson 1 0-0 2, Amad Traore-Koffi 1 0-0 2. Totals 32 7-8 75.
Salem Tech1211824 –55
GCIT21212211 –75
3-point goals: Salem Tech 3 (Zampino, Robinson, Frisby); GCIT 4 (Hallman, Schmidt 2, Malgapo).

CLEARVIEW 51, PENNS GROVE 50: The Red Devils missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and could only get a layup at the buzzer for the final margin. Kaprice Stewart scored 24 points to lead Clearview.

PENNS GROVE (10-13) – Willie Slocum 5 0-4 10, Mehki Ballard 4 2-2 10, Giomar Conrad 5 3-5 15, Mr Peterson 2 0-0 4, Roman Gipson 2 0-4 4, KaRon Ceaser 2 1-3 5, Camren Thompson 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 6-18 50.
CLEARVIEW (14-9) – Kaprice Stewart 7 6-6 24, Daulton Pralinés 3 0-0 6, Jake Slotter 3 0-2 6, Russ Manel 4 1-1 10, Jonah Turner 2 0-0 5, JD Steidle 0 0-0 0, Michael Guy 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-9 51.
Penns Grove149916 –50
Clearview14111313 –51
3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Conrad 2); Clearview 6 (Stewart 4, Manel, Turner).

KINGSWAY 62, WOODSTOWN 52: Max Webb hit three 3-pointers and had 18 points to lead Woodstown, but Kingsway placed three scorers in double figures.

WOODSTOWN (11-10) – Manny Ortega 1 1-1 3, Blake Bialecki 2 0-0 5, Alejandro Vazquez 2 0-0 6, M.J. Hall 3 0-0 7, Garrett Leyman 2 0-0 4, Max Webb 6 3-8 18, Rocco String 2 1-1 5, Elijah Caesar 0 4-4 4. Totals 18 9-14 52.
KINGSWAY (13-11) – Nasir Williams-Bey 3 3-4 9, Jadan Martin-Cooper 4 3-3 12, Mikah Hart 5 0-0 10, Maurice Tavares 4 2-2 12, Terrence Collier 2 1-3 5, Christian Conklin 2 0-0 6, P.J. Frey 3 2-2 8. Totals 23 11-14 62.
Woodstown1115917 –52
Kingway15241211 –62
3-point goals: Woodstown 7 (Bialecki, Vazquez 2, Hall, Webb 3); Kingsway 5 (Martin-Cooper, Tavares 2, Conklin 2).

Girls Games

PENNS GROVE 54, GLOUCESTER TECH 44: Brianna Robbins is returning to the scoring form she displayed early in the season, going for a career-high 26 points as the Red Devils upset top-seeded GCIT in their B Flight opener. Robbins has been on a tear of late, scoring 63 points in her last three games. RaNiyah Wilson added 17 points. The Red Devils have won a season-best five in a row and six of their last seven.

The Red Devils will play at Pennsville in the Flight semifinals Wednesday.

Pennsville beat Delsea 43-35 behind Marley Wood’s 16 points. The win got the Eagles (12-12) back to .500 for the first time since mid-January.

PENNS GROVE (12-8) – RaNiyah Wilson 4 7-12 17, Meely Horace 2 3-4 8, Brianna Robbins 9 8-9 26, Amani Taylor 0 1-2 1, JaNiyah Cummings 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 19-27 54.
GLOUCESTER TECH (13-9) – Maggie Duer 2 4-6 9, Ava Friel 3 0-0 6, Savanna Shute 3 2-3 8, Leanne Riddick 4 2-3 11, Gina Sheehan 2 0-0 4, Averie Clement 0 5-7 5. Totals 14 13-17 44.

Penns Grove10141911 –54
Gloucester Tech817712 –44
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, Horace); GCIT 2 (Duer, Riddick).

SCHALICK 43, DEPTFORD 37: Cianna Gaines scored in double figures for the second time in her career and Abby Willoughby had 11 points and 10 steals as the Cougars won a first-round game in the tournament for the first time since 2021.

The Cougars got off to a slow start, falling behind 12-5 in the first quarter, but held the Spartans to just 13 points over the next two quarters to take control of the game. They outscored Deptford 16-5 in the second quarter behind eight points from Willoughby to grab the lead by halftime.

“We game planned to be a little more aggressive than normal and we were just that – aggressive and created turnovers,” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “Offensively, we showed a lot of growth in our confidence as we didn’t second-guess decision and that confidence showed with good ball movement and the highest amount of assists in a game this season. All the girls deserve a shoutout as the hustle and effort was there from everyone, but Abby played a great game today. 

“The team wanted to get our seniors a win in their final home game and played for one another tonight. It was fun to see as a coach.”

DEPTFORD (3-19) – Autumn Daniels 2 3-4 9, Dana Mosad 2 0-0 4, Kayla Jenkins 1 1-2 4, Rachel Farr 3 6-9 12, Brenna Ivey 0 0-0 0, Kylie Galantic 1 1-2 3, Sanai Green 0 2-4 2, Zakyah Bobb 0 3-8 3. Totals 9 16-29 36.
SCHALICK (6-15) – Ava Scurry 2 1-4 5, Abby Willoughby 4 2-3 11, Cali Fisler 1 2-10 4, Cianna Gaines 3 4-6 10, Taylor Sparks 1 2-2 5, Carly Vicente 3 1-2 7, Olivia Lunemann 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 13-29 43.

Deptford125811 –36
Schalick5161012 –43
3-point goals: Deptford 3 (Daniels 2, Jenkins); Schalick 2 (Willoughby, Sparks). Fouled out: Ivey, Bobb, Scurry, Willoughby. Total fouls: Deptford 25, Schalick 24.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 46, WOODSTOWN 40: Jahzara Green went 9-for-9 from the free throw line and scored 25 points for Gloucester Catholic. 

WOODSTOWN (16-6) – Talia Battavio 4 0-0 10, Megan Donelson 6 3-5 16, Gianna Maiorini 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Baber 2 0-0 6, Shannon Pierman 3 2-2 8, Lauren Hengel 0 0-0 0, Emma Perry 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-7 40.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (19-6) – Jahzara Green 8 9-9 25, Julianna DiFebbo 4 0-0 11, Talia Shumate 1 0-0 2, Jalyn Moore 1 3-4 5, Yazaniah Shumate 0 3-4 3, Alyssa Elliott 0 0-0 0, Kendall Scott 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 15-17 46.

Woodstown7131010 –40
Gloucester Catholic2131912 –46
3-point goals: Woodstown 5 (Battavio 2, Donelson, Baber 2); Gloucester Catholic 3 (DiFebbo 3).

CUMBERLAND 46, SALEM TECH 21
SALEM TECH (1-19) – Hanna DeWitt 2 3-6 8, Kaylin Beardsley 1 0-0 3, Demajae White 1 0-0 2, TiRonna McGaha 0 1-2 1, Morgan VanDover 1 2-6 5, Rylee Doerr 1 0-0 2. Totals 6 6-14 21.
CUMBERLAND (6-15) – Isabella Albert 3 0-0 6, Gabby Albert 3 2-4 8, Grace Albert 6 1-2 13, Ellie Bodine 3 0-0 6, Elizabeth Pflieger 1 0-0 2, Nya Stephenson 1 0-0 2, Addison Weist 3 2-2 9, Rachel Salvatierra 0 0-0 0, Kamila Ramos 0 0-0 0, DaNya Gould 0 0-0 0, Emily Bokma 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-8 46.

Salem Tech5772 –21
Cumberland1311913 –46
3-point goals: Salem Tech 3 (DeWitt, Beardsley, VanDover); Cumberland 1 (Weist).

This week’s schedule

The Tri-County Conference Tournament highlights the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Feb. 12-17

Monday

BASKETBALL
TRI-COUNTY TOURNAMENT
BOYS
A Flight
No. 8 Gloucester Catholic at No. 1 Timber Creek
No. 5 Triton at No. 4 Pitman
No. 6 Salem at No. 3 Overbrook, 5:30 p.m.
No. 7 Wildwood at No. 2 Delsea
B Flight
No. 8 Woodstown at No. 1 Kingsway, 6 p.m.
No. 5 Glassboro at No. 4 Deptford Twp.
No. 6 Washington Twp at No. 3 Highland
No. 7 Penns Grove at No. 2 Clearview, 6 p.m.
C Flight
No. 5 Clayton at No. 4 Cumberland
No. 6 Schalick at No. 3 Williamstown, 4 p.m.
No. 7 Salem Tech at No. 2 GCIT
GIRLS
A Flight
No. 8 Highland at No. 1 Williamstown
No. 5 Woodstown at No. 4 Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m.
No. 6 Washington Twp. at No. 3 Wildwood
No. 7 Timber Creek at No. 2 Clearview
B Flight
No. 8 Penns Grove at No. 1 GCIT, 4 p.m.
No. 5 Pennsville at No. 4 Delsea, 5:30 p.m.
No. 6 Pitman at No. 3 Kingsway
No. 7 Clayton at No. 2 Glassboro
C Flight
No. 5 Overbrook at No. 4 Triton
No. 6 Deptford at No. 3 Schalick, 4 p.m.
No. 7 Salem Tech at No. 2 Cumberland

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Men
Williamson College of Trades at Salem CC, 6 p.m.

Wednesday

BASKETBALL
TRI-COUNTY TOURNAMENT
BOYS
A Flight
Gloucester Catholic-Timber Creek winner vs. Triton-Pitman winner
Salem-Overbrook winner vs. Wildwood-Delsea winner
Consolation games
B Flight
Woodstown-Kingsway winner vs. Glassboro-Deptford Twp. winner
Washington Twp.-Highland winner vs. Penns Grove-Clearview winner
Consolation games
C Flight
Clayton-Cumberland winner at No. 1 Pennsville
Schalick-Williamstown winner vs. Salem Tech-GCIT winner
Schalick-Williamstown loser vs. Salem Tech-GCIT loser
GIRLS
A Flight
Highland-Williamstown winner vs. Woodstown-Gloucester Catholic winner
Washington Twp.-Wildwood winner vs. Timber Creek-Clearview winner
Consolation games
B Flight
Penns Grove-GCIT winner vs. Pennsville-Delsea winner
Pitman-Kingsway winner vs. Clayton-Glassboro winner
Consolation games
C Flight
Overbrook-Triton winner at No. 1 Salem
Deptford-Schalick winner vs. Salem Tech-Cumberland winner
Deptford-Schalick loser vs. Salem Tech-Cumberland loser

Thursday

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Men
Salem CC at Northampton CC, 7 p.m.
Women
Salem CC at Montgomery County CC, 5 p.m.

Friday

BASKETBALL
TRI-COUNTY TOURNAMENT
BOYS/GIRLS
All Flights
Third-place games
Championship games

Saturday

BASKETBALL
Girls
Overbrook at Woodstown

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Men
Sussex County CC at Salem CC, 1 p.m.

Waiting on the numbers

Penns Grove did everything it could Friday to give it a chance to get a home playoff game, didn’t get outside help it needed and likely will be on the road; Pennsville thinks it’s in, but position hinges on Saturday’s results’ Woodstown, Same Tech also win

FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Penns Grove 59, Schalick 36
Woodstown 77, Buena 22
Paulsboro 63, Pennsville 55
Salem Tech 64, Cape May Tech 53

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Damian Ware left the Schalick gym Friday evening comfortable in the knowledge his Penns Grove basketball team did everything it in its power to put itself in position to get a first-round playoff game. Now it was up to other games around the region to cooperate.

The Red Devils scored their fourth win in a row with their second win over the Cougars in four days, 59-36. It’s a result they figured they needed to move into the top eight of the South Jersey Group I power points standings to secure a first-round home game in the playoffs.

Their job done, all they needed now was a LEAP Academy victory over Palmyra and they could start printing home playoff tickets. But about a half hour after they left the building, the Red Devils learned Palmyra had won, leaving them once again on the outside looking for some mathematical help.

“Our goal was to win four games this week and we accomplished that goal,” Ware said immediately after the game and before the LEAP-Palmyra result was posted. “Right now we did what we had to do, everything else it out of our hands, so you just got to let the chips fall where they may.

“But I’m proud of the way my guys played today. A four-game week is a tough week and we stepped up and played hard. We played great defensively today; held them down. We did what we had to do, we did our part, now hopefully LEAP does their part.”

The win in Burlington County sent Palmyra soaring up the standings, all the way into a tie for sixth with Glassboro, leaving the Red Devils still ninth, eight points behind Woodbury. 

The state cutoff is Saturday, then the final cross checks and calculations are made before the standings become official. Woodbury has a game against a 15-win Paul VI team in the opening round of the Camden County Tournament and the chance to pick up more power points before the deadline. Penns Grove is done until next week’s Tri-County Conference Tournament.

Once the results of Friday’s games started to hit, Ware resigned himself to the idea the Red Devils would be going on the road for the playoffs.

“We’ve got to be road warriors,” he said. “I was thinking the whole time we’re going to be on the road. I actually already kind of collected all of our home uniforms from most of the players. The whole time I was thinking we were going to be on the road, but hopeful we could get a home game. I was already kind of pre-planning to be on the road.

“We did all we could do. Now if we’d have won a couple games early in the season it would have been a no-brainer, but we kind of put ourselves in a position to where we had to hope for some other team’s help and if we didn’t get help, then we’d just have to do what we’ve got to do.”

Knowing they had to win to enhacing their position, the Red Devils controlled Friday’s game from the start. They opened with a Giomar Conrad 3, scored the first seven points of the game and led 20-7 early in the second quarter. They scored the last eight points of the second quarter for a 17-point halftime lead and led by 20 most of the second half.

“I think we’re doing great; the team chemistry is getting better,” post Willie Slocum said. “People have been doubting us, so it felt great to come together and be on this winning streak.”

The Red Devils haven’t won four in a row since starting the 2020-21 season 8-0.

Conrad led the Red Devils with 13 points – all in the first half. KaRon Ceaser had 11. Slocum and Camren Thompson also played big roles. Slocum had eight rebounds and Thompson, drawing his third start of the season in place of absent Mr Peterson, had four points in the first half, seven rebounds and several steals.

“I was just waiting my time, honestly,” Thompson said. “My time would come.”

PENNS GROVE (10-12) – Brandon Robbins 2 0-0 5, Roman Gipson 1 2-3 4, Giomar Conrad 6 0-0 13, Karon Ceaser 5 0-2 11, Willie Slocum 1 0-0 2, Mekhi Ballard 2 1-2 6, Camron Thompson 2 0-0 4, Luis Colon 3 0-1 6, Neziah Spence 2 0-0 5, Jameel Horace 1 1-4 3, Gionni Conrad C 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 4-12 59.
SCHALICK (7-13) – Reggie Allen 3 0-0 7, Daniel Lis 5 1-2 11, Nylan Sutton 3 0-4 6, Nasir Sutton 1 0-1 2, Jake Siedlecki 1 0-0 3, Jordan Johnson 0 0-2 0, Ryan Johnson 1 0-0 2, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 3, Dylan Sheehan 1 0-0 2, Nyzie Wonder 0 0-0 0, Sherrod Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 1-9 36.

Penns Grove13151615 –59
Schalick 561114 –36
3-point goals: Penns Grove 5 (Robbins, Conrad, Ceaser, Ballard, Spence); Schalick 3 (Allen, Siedlecki, Volovar). Rebounds: Penns Grove 39 (Slocum 8, Thompson 7); Schalick 30 (Ny. Sutton 8, Lis 6). Total fouls: Penns Grove 11, Schalick 14.

PAULSBORO 63, PENNSVILLE 55: Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky has done some quick calculations and believes his Eagles are in the 16-team South Jersey Group I playoff field, but where they fall won’t be decided until after Saturday’s cutoff.

The Eagles are currently 15th in standings, but likely will be 15 or 16 depending on the outcome of current No. 16 Burlington City’s game with Riverside. In any event, they’ll be on the road against one of the top seeds in the tournament. But at least they’re in.

“We had a chance to handle our business, we didn’t ,so now we let it fall as it may,” Mecholsky said. “We had three home games and one away game. We couldn’t close any of them out (going 0-4), so we deserve our fate.”

The Eagles made it a game despite missing 1,000-point scorer Luke Wood and Jayden Thomas with ankle injuries. 

Throughout this recent spate of injuries, the Eagles have been playing through center Danny Saulin and the 6-8 senior delivered another solid game (19 points on 9-of-15 shooting, nine rebounds). Cohen Petrutz has his best game of the season, 18 points with three 3-pointers. They combined for 20 points in a 25-point third quarter that got them back in the game.

The Eagles led by one in the fourth quarter, then Paulsboro closed it out with an 8-0 run. Aiden Milligin hit a 3-pointer to get it started. Milligan scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.

PENNSVILLE (9-15) – Peyton O’Brien 3-10 0-0 6, Daniel Saulin 9-15 1-4 19, Mason O’Brien 1-9 2-2 4, Cohen Petrutz 7-13 1-1 18, Cole Johnston 0-1 0-0 0, Connor Starn 2-3 0-0 6, Logan Hitt 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 23-54 4-7 55.
PAULSBORO (10-12) – Ty Hodges 2 3-4 7, Ryann Briscoe 4 0-1 9, Aiden Milligan 6 2-2 16, Antonio Pandolfo 7 0-0 17, Yan Rodriguez 1 0-0 2, Eric Scott 4 2-2 10, Stephan Lane 0 0-0 0, Aaron Scott 0 0-0 0, Jamar Robinson 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 7-9 63.
Pennsville1362511 –55
Paulsboro10221516 –63
3-point goals: Pennsville 5-16 (P. O’Brien 0-2, Petrutz 3-7, Johnston 0-1, Starn 2-3, Hitt 0-2); Paulsboro 6 (Briscoe, Milligan 2, Pandolfo 3). Rebounds: Pennsville 27 (Saulin 9, Petrutz 8); Paulsboro 30 (Briscoe 9, E. Scott 8). Total fouls: Pennsville 15, Paulsboro 9.

WOODSTOWN 77, BUENA 22: Connor Sanderson and Elijah Caesar both enjoyed career scoring nights and 11 players hit the scoring column as the Wolverines swamped winless Buena to solidify their spot in the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

Sanderson hit four 3-pointers and led the Wolverines with 14 points. He had scored only two points previously this season. Caesar scored 11 points, his first game in double figures.

The Wolverines jumped out to a 22-5 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 47-8 at halftime. Buena has lost 25 in a row over the last two seasons.

WOODSTOWN 77, BUENA 22
BUENA (0-22) – Carlo Spreng 1 0-0 3, Troy Gregory 2 0-0 6, Michael Letushko 1 0-2 2, Dominic Longona 1 0-0 3, Nathan Nieves-Medina 3 0-0 8. Totals 8 0-2 22.
WOODSTOWN (11-9) – Manny Ortega 4 0-0 8, Blake Bialecki 4 1-1 10, Alejandro Vazquez 1 0-0 3, M.J. Hall 2 0-0 5, Connor Sanderson 5 0-0 14, Garrett Leyman 1 0-0 3, Anthony Bokolas 2 0-0 5, Lucas Fulmer 2 0-0 4, Max Webb 4 0-0 8, Rocco String 3 0-0 6, Elijah Caesar 5 0-0 11. Totals 33 1-1 77.

Buena5386 –22
Woodstown22251218 –77
3-point goals: Buena 6 (Spreng, Gregory 2, Longona, Nieves-Medina 2); Woodstown 10 (Bialecki, Vazquez, Hall, Sanderson 4, Leyman, Bokolas, Caesar).

SALEM TECH 64, CAPE MAY TECH 53: The Chargers opened a 19-point halftime lead and held on through a barrage of Benjamin Lynch 3-pointers in the second half for their third win, one more than they had all last season.

Tyler Zampino hit five 3-pointers and matched his career-high (set Feb. 1 against Clayton) with 26 points. Antoine Robinson had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Haneef Frisby had nine points and 10 boards.

The Chargers led 36-17 at halftime, but Lynch got hot in the second half and hit six of his seven 3-pointers. he hit four of them in the fourth quarter, but the Chargers had enough of a cushion to close it out. They were 2-23 last year and are guaranteed to have won more and lost fewer this year.

“It’s big for me,” coach Bryan Riley said. “It’s exactly how we envisioned it going.

“Last year we had two guys returning with varsity experience .I knew that getting into the Tri-County (Conference) was going to be difficult (and) playing in the Classic Division, in my eyes, was even harder … It was a big task, but every day my boys come, strap up the boots and get to work.

“This year, the underclassmen are stepping up and the seniors are leading with their energy. Antoine (Robinson), Tyler (Zampino) and Haneef (Frisby) are all returning and putting up big numbers the back end of the season. There were a few close games this year that we were missing starters that I would have liked to have won (but) you live and learn.

“We have three games left. We are hoping to end the season strong.”

SALEM TECH (3-17) – Chase Wills 2 0-0 4, Haneef Frisby 3 3-3 9, Joseph Hayes 1 0-0 3, Josh Muntz 0 2-7 2, Daviontae Russell 0 1-2 1, Tyler Zampino 8 5-10 26, Antoine Robinson 3 8-9 16, Gio Holmes 0 0-0 0, Charlie Brown 1 0-0 3, Chase Ayers 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 19-31 64.
CAPE MAY TECH (2-19) – Tyler Dille 1 1-2 3, Colin Gery 1 4-4 6, Ronnie Neenhold 2 4-4 8, Lucas Woolcock 0 0-0 0, Benjamin Lynch 8 1-1 24, Austin Bigelow 0 0-0 0, Chance Ginyard 2 0-0 5, Trevor Frey 1 0-0 2, Alec Dooley 1 2-2 4, Paul Simmerman 0 1-2 1, Jimmy Richie 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-15 53.
Salem Tech19171513 –64
Cape May Tech1071522 –53
3-point goals: Salem Tech 9 (Hayes, Zampino 5, Robinson 2, Brown); Cape May Tech 8 (Lynch 7, Ginyard). Rebounds: Salem Tech 40 (Frisby 10, Robinson 9, Zampino 6). Fouled out: Wills, Holmes, Dille, Gery, Lynch. Total fouls: Salem Tech 24, Cape May Tech 29.

South Jersey Group I
Top 16 Power Points

(Games through Feb. 9; state cutoff Saturday)
TEAMRECORDPTS
KIPP Cooper19-6493
Pitman18-6461
Salem14-7393
Wildwood13-9388
Audubon14-8357
Palmyra12-8345
Glassboro11-11345
Woodbury13-10331
Penns Grove10-12323
Paulsboro10-12315
Riverside10-12288
LEAP Academy13-9279
Woodstown11-9262
New Egypt7-12249
Pennsville9-15235
Burlington City4-18208
No. 17 Maple Shade (8-15) 203, No. 18 Schalick (7-13) 182

Big night for NaeNae

Salem’s Logan goes for triple-double in Senior Night victory that clinches a playoff spot; Penns Grove wins its fourth in a row, Pennsville pushing for a home game in playoffs

FRIDAY’S GIRLS SCORES
Penns Grove 52, Schalick 14
Salem 58, Pleasantville 12
Cape May Tech 35, Salem Tech 24
Pennsville 52, Millville 36

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – NaeNae Logan let everything go and turned it loose Friday night. The result was a game for the ages.

LOGAN

The Salem senior enjoyed her second triple-double of the season, going for 19 points, 25 rebounds and 13 blocked shots to lead the Rams to a 58-12 Senior Night victory over winless Pleasantville that snapped five-game losing streak and locked up a spot in the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

The Rams (8-14) came into the game holding the 16th and final SJ-I power points position and a 30-point cushion on No. 17 Schalick, which lost at Penns Grove. They gained a point overnight and are solidly at No. 16, projected to play at No. 1 Woodbury in the opening round.

“I’m just happy that my seniors get a fighting chance at doing something in their last year,” Rams coach Tiasia Tatem said. “Last year we didn’t have any seniors, so we always knew all the girls would be coming back where this year they’re actually going to fight for it.”

The spotlight Friday shined on all the Salem seniors in this game, but Logan projected the brightest light.

She had her first triple-double against Oakcrest on Dec. 27 (10 points, 11 rebounds, 15 blocked shots). She now has 96 blocked shots on the season. 

“I feel like today was one of those days where you could see she had her confidence up,” Tatem said. “All season we’ve been on her to push her to her full potential. I told her before the game forget everything else, this night is for y’all, so just go out there and have fun and just play basketball.

“I think that took the pressure off of her and she was just relaxed and playing.”

All three sets of numbers were impressive, but the one that jumped out to Tatem were her points. She’d scored in double figures only one other time in her career – the triple-double game once this year – but had 10 or more rebounds in seven of her last eight games and had at least five blocked shots 10 times this season.

Over her last eight games she has 108 rebounds, 46 blocked shots and 45 points.

“Her rebounding and her blocking skills come natural,” Tatem said. “As her coach watching her throughout the season I know how hard she gets on herself. I tell her all the time your defense is phenomenal, it’s OK if you don’t always make all these points. So for her to have those 19 points today, I feel like she needed that.”

PLEASANTVILLE (0-17) – Janderlys Reyes 1 5-9 8, Keyana Osoria 0 1-2 1, Ivana Garcia 0 2-2 2, Nahkiyah Harris 0 1-2 1. Totals 1 9-15 12.
SALEM (8-14) – Ameriyona Hunter 2 0-1 5, Marjziah Bundy 1 0-2 2, Ryann Foote 0 2-4 2, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Dakirah Gray 1 0-0 2, Carlysia Pierce 1 2-6 4, Marissa Bower 2 2-2 6, Nevaeh Hickman 0 0-0 0, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0, NaeNae Logan 9 1-2 25, Kaela Nichols 6 4-6 16, Ava Rodgers 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 11-23 58.

Pleasantville1731 –12
Salem1917139 –58
3-point goals: Pleasantville 1 (Reyes); Salem 1 (Hunter).

PENNS GROVE 52, SCHALICK 14: Arianna Dowe matched her career-high with 14 points and Meely Horace had 12 to lead the Red Devils to its second win over the Cougars in three days. Horace scored her 1,000th career point in the first meeting Tuesday.

Dowe scored all her points in the second half. Horace and RaNiyah Wilson scored nine points each in the first half as the Red Devils opened a 32-8 halftime lead.

SCHALICK (5-15) – Gianna Gaines 1 1-6 3, Ava Scurry 1 0-0 2, Taylor Sparks 0 0-0 0, Cali Fisler 1 0-0 2, Abby Willoughby 2 1-2 5, Carly Vicente 1 0-0 2. Totals 6 2-8 14.
PENNS GROVE (11-8) – RaNiyah Wilson 4 0-0 9, Meely Horace 5 1-2 12, Brianna Robbins 3 2-2 8, Zoey Caesar 1 1-2 3, Amani Taylor 0 0-0 0, JaNiyah Cummings 3 0-2 6, Arianna Dowe 6 0-0 14, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 4-8 52.

Schalick6152 –14
Penns Grove1715137 –52
3-point goals: Schalick 0; Penns Grove 4 (Wilson, Horace, Down 2). Total fouls: Schalick 9, Penns Grove 10.

PENNSVILLE 52, MILLVILLE 36: The Eagles hit four of their five 3-pointers and five of their six free throws in the second half to pull away from a close game and pick up enough point to go into the cutoff day in a position to host a first-round playoff game.

It didn’t look good after their lost to Penns Grove the night before, but the Eagles moved into eighth place in the South Jersey Group I power point standings by the end of the day. The top eight seeds host first-round games.

“We know we are in the playoffs,” Pennsville coach Sam Trapp said. “We will play wherever we need to play.”

The Eagles spread the wealth in the second half. Taylor Bass hit both of her 3-pointers in the third quarter and scored all 10 of her points in the second half. Nora Ausland hit both of her 3s in the second half and finished with 11 points. Bella Farina scored nine of her 13 in the second half and Marley Woods had seven of her 12 in the half.

MILLVILLE (8-13) – Jaylynn Jones 0 0-0 0, Aubree Justin 1 0-0 2, Ayla Gomez 1 0-0 3, Marissa Stevens 3 0-2 7, Brooke Justin 8 5-6 24, Aphrea Robinson 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 5-8 36.
PENNSVILLE (11-12) – Calla Ausland 0 0-0 0, Nora Ausland 4 1-2 11, Taylor Bass 4 0-0 10, Sophia Belindas 0 0-0 0, Lily Edwards 0 0-0 0, Bella Farina 6 1-1 13, Izzy Saulin 3 0-0 6, Marley Wood 4 3-3 12. Totals 21 5-6 52.

Millville513117 –36
Pennsville6112015 –52
3-point goals: Millville 5 (Gomez, B. Justin 3, Stevens); Pennsville 5 (N. Ausland 2, Bass 2, Wood). Total fouls: Millville 7, Pennsville 9.

CAPE MAY TECH 35, SALEM TECH 24: Emma Drumm scored 17 points and Anna Delaney had 10 to lead Cape May Tech.

Cape May Tech (9-12)152513 –35
Salem Tech (1-18)4668 –24

South Jersey Group 1
Top 16 Power Points

(Through games of Feb. 9; state cutoff Saturday)
TEAMRECORDPOINTS
Woodbury15-8559
Wildwood16-6485
Maple Shade17-5457
Woodstown16-4455
Palmyra14-6408
Audubon13-6373
Glassboro13-7349
Pennsville11-12339
Gateway14-9337
Burlington City14-8319
Clayton11-9294
Penns Grove10-8272
Cape May Tech9-12271
Pitman10-10244
Paulsboro7-12234
Salem8-14222
No. 17 Schalick (5-14) 191

Tensions rise

Penns Grove, Pennsville play to an empty house in second half as gym cleared in third quarter; includes all of Thursday’s Salem County girls games

THURSDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Penns Grove 39, Pennsville 32
Clayton 58, Salem 30
Pitman 43, Salem Tech 28
Overbrook 41, Schalick 27

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Games between Pennsville and Penns Grove in every sport are always a spirited affair, but Thursday night added a new layer of intensity to the rivalry, at least on the girls basketball side of things.

Tensions spilled over from the visitors’ bleachers in Salberg Gym midway through the third quarter, precipitating a 30-minute delay and forcing site managers to clear the gym before allowing play to continue. When it did resume, Penns Grove closed out a 39-32 victory that helped it solidify a spot in the South Jersey Group I playoffs and win for only the second time in its last 10 games against the Eagles.

The drama developed after a hard collision between the Red Devils’ recently installed 1,000-point scorer Meely Horace and Pennsville’s Taylor Bass on a 50-50 ball in the frontcourt with 3:32 left in the third quarter and Penns Grove leading 34-26.

Fans in the Penns Grove stands took exception to the contact and let the officials know about it. It was so concerning to Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas that he approached the group, directed authorities to remove the most vocal individuals and announced over the public address system the game “will not continue until the bleachers are cleared.”

Both teams left the floor and waited in the bench area before finally retiring to their respective dressing rooms. Three Pennsville police officers appeared on the scene to help restore order while Thomas watched from the center circle. Three more officers arrived later. At one point Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby crossed the floor to engage the crowd.

After about 15 minutes game managers began to clear the stands on both sides of the gym with the Penns Grove group the last to leave. After about a 30-minute delay, which included a brief warmup for the teams, play resumed with no spectators in the gym.

Horace and Bass collided again diving for a loose ball in the fourth quarter without incident between the players.

“I was trying to remove the folks who were instigating the whole thing and getting a little bit too aggressive,” Thomas said. “They asked where’s my warning; your warning’s at the beginning of the game. There’s a sportsmanship message in there and it clearly says this is your first and last warning, we’re not issuing warnings.

“When you’re standing up and approaching the court and screaming at the top of your lungs, that’s over the top, because what’s the next step. It’s trying to almost cut the head off the snake right away and be done with the problem. I think we let some go that got to a point we had to shut it down. It’s unfortunate you’ve got to get rid of everybody.”

There were no arrests and a game management report was being prepared after the game to send to the respective district superintendents, principals, officials assignor, Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden and the Tri-County Conference. Details of the report will not be made public.

It wasn’t the first time tensions in the series red-lined. There was a dust up in this game at Pennsville last year that resulted in fan ejections on both sides.

“Our fans have got our back and we’ve got their back,” Denby said. “They support us, we support them, so that’s what we’ve got to do because we’re tired on 7-on-5.”

Pennsville coach Sam Trapp declined to comment on any aspect of the game.

Right before the incident, the Red Devils (10-8) had rebuilt a 10-point lead after Pennsville (10-12) closed the second quarter with a 7-0 run to get back within three at halftime. Marley Wood had five of her team-high 12 points in the rally.

But Penns Grove opened the third quarter with runs of 6-2 and 7-2 to gain some breathing room. Brianna Robbins had a spinning layup to start the first run and a three-point play to cap the second. She had 13 points in the game. RaNiyah Wilson led the Red Devils with 16.

“What we try to teach the girls is we’re always like 7-to-5, so you’ve got to continue to play,” Denby said. “I’m happy they came out and continued to play regardless of the calls that were made and things like that. I think the girls played through the situation and that speaks volumes about them.”

The win moved Penns Grove to 12th in the South Jersey Group I power points standings with a game against Schalick left before Saturday’s state cutoff. Pennsville remained tied for ninth with Burlington City, 18 points behind the final spot for a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

“Every game is important at this point,” Denby said.

PENNS GROVE 39, PENNSVILLE 32
PENNS GROVE (10-8) – RaNiyah Wilson 6 2-2 16, Meely Horace 2 2-2 6, Brianna Robbins 5 3-8 13, Zoey Caesar 1 0-0 2, Amani Taylor 0 0-0 0, JaNiyah Cummings 0 0-0 0, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, Arianna Down 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 7-12 39.
PENNSVILLE (10-12) – Celli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Nora Ausland 2 1-2 5, Taylor Bass 2 4-6 9, Sofia Belitas 0 0-0 0, Bella Farina 1 0-2 2, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Malani McGee 0 0-0 0, Izzy Saulin 2 0-0 4, Marley Wood 4 4-8 12. Totals 11 9-18 32.

Penns Grove174135 –39
Pennsville810104 –32
3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Wilson 2); Pennsville 1 (Bass). Fouled out: Bass. Total fouls: Penns Grove 14, Pennsville 19. Officials: Lahm, Moskovitz, Ryan.
Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas (L) talks with a Pennsville police office as fans file out of the gym before play is resumed in the Penns Grove-Pennsville girls basketball game.

CLAYTON 58, SALEM 30: NaeNae Logan led Salem with eight points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots. She now has 83 blocks for the season and 100 for her career. Carlysia Pierce had seven points, five rebounds and four steals. Ava Rodgers grabbed nine rebounds and Marjziah Bundy had eight.

SALEM (7-14) – Carlysia Pierce 3 1-3 7, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Marjziah Bundy 1 0-0 2, Ava Rodgers 2 0-0 4, Nevaeh Hickman 2 0-0 5, Ameriyona Hunter 1 0-0 2, Dakirah Gray 1 0-0 2, NaeNae Logan 4 0-0 8, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0, Marissa Bower 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 1-3 30.
CLAYTON (11-9) – Jordyn Jones 3 3-8 9, Rainelle Blocker 6 1-2 13, Rosalina Pereira 1 0-0 2, Deondria Simon 6 0-0 14, Ava Delaney 6 0-0 12, India Williams 2 0-0 4, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, Kaya Gunther 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 4-10 58.

Salem 231510 –30
Clayton 2219116 –58
3-point goals: Salem 1 (Hickman); Clayton 2 (Simon 2).

PITMAN 43, SALEM TECH 28
SALEM TECH (1-17) – Hanna DeWitt 0 1-2 1, Demajae White 1 0-0 2, TiRonna McGaha 1 0-0 2, Kaylin Beardsley 4 0-0 9, Morgan VanDover 3 0-0 6, Lavae Scott 1 0-0 2, Rylee Doerr 2 1-2 5, Drummond 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 3-6 28.
PITMAN (10-10) – Anna Fisicaro 7 0-0 15, Miya Villari 4 4-6 14, Jessica Bretz 1 0-0 2, Evelyn Wisely 3 0-0 7, Audrey Duffield 2 0-0 5. Totals 17 4-6 43.

Salem Tech41158 –28
Pitman141199 –43
3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Beardsley); Pitman 5 (Fisicaro, Villari 2, Wisely, Duffield).

OVERBROOK 41, SCHALICK 27: Zahaisha Nevius and Gianna Simon led Overbrook with 19 and 11 points, respectively.

Schalick (5-14)84105 –27
Overbrook (5-14)813911 –41

Cover photo: Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson tosses a pass to Meely Horace in an empty gym during the second half of their game with Pennsville Thursday night.

The way home

Penns Grove closing in on goal of home playoff game, Pennsville hoping to secure a spot; includes all Salem County games

THURSDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Penns Grove 60, Pennsville 51
Salem 89, Clayton 63
Overbrook 75, Schalick 38
Washington Twp. 50, Woodstown 46
Pitman 76, Salem Tech 42

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The goal for the Penns Grove basketball team this week was pretty straight forward.

Play four games, win four games. Do that and there’s a good chance they can collect a nice reward at the end of the week.

Ever since the second half of the season began the push for the Red Devils has been to fight their way back for a first-round home game in the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

They moved a step closer to locking that up Thursday with a 60-51 win over Pennsville for their third win of the week. It’s their longest winning streak since late in the 2021-22 season.

“It keeps it rolling,” Penns Grove coach Damian Ware said. “It’s three in a row; we want to keep winning.

“Our goal for this week was to go 4-0 and move into the Tri-County Conference (on a roll). Right now we’ve got three of them so we look to finish off the week tomorrow.”

The Red Devils (9-12), 5-11 on Jan. 29, entered the day in ninth place in the SJ Group I power points standings, 24 points behind of Palmyra that holds the eighth and final home game slot. They cut the gap to eight points with their win over the Eagles with a winnable game Friday at Schalick before Saturday’s state cutoff. Palmyra plays LEAP Academy (13-8) Friday.

If they win Friday and get the same 25 power points they did for beating Schalick on Tuesday, the Red Devils would net gain 16 power points in their best 16-game ledger. If Palmyra loses, it would net gain six points and the Red Devils would jump them with a win.

“As long as we win tomorrow we should be locked into it, but we’ve got to finish the job,” Ware said. “We’ve had a really good week. If we finish tomorrow, we’ll have a great week. I’ve told these guys all year it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. We’re trying to finish strong.”

Pennsville, meanwhile, has been living on the bubble. The Eagles (9-14) are 15th after Thursday’s game, but feel good about their position despite the loss because they’re 27 points ahead of the final qualifying spot and the two teams above them and the three teams directly below them all lost.

They can nail it down with a win Friday at Paulsboro, but they’ll have to do it without junior guard Luke Wood. The 1,000-point scorer turned his ankle in the first two and a half minutes of the game, hurridly hobbled off the floor to the training room and didn’t play the rest of the game.

He is not expected to play Friday. Of even greater concern is how the injury might affect him for the upcoming baseball season. A promising left-handed pitcher, the ankle he hurt is in his push-off leg on the mound.

With Wood out of the game, the Eagles turned their eyes to post Danny Saulin to either score down low or draw the defense in to get the ball to his teammates. The 6-7 senior took advantage of the mismatch and responded with a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double this year and 10th over the last two seasons. He also blocked two shots.

“I had to take control to help us get back in the game, to help find my teammates and my teammates found me,” Saulin said. “We had them on the ropes. It was just that first quarter not getting used to that press without Luke, then we figured it out and we were moving the ball from there and we almost won the game.”

Saulin scored the first 11 points in a 14-6 run that got the Eagles to within two with 1:14 left in the third quarter. 

But that’s where the game turned. Penns Grove’s Giomar Conrad made a driving layup and was fouled, but Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky protested too loud and long that it was a foul on the floor and was rung up with a technical. Conrad made his and-one to complete the three-point play and then hit both two technical foul shots to put the Red Devils up by seven. 

“That pretty much changed the game,” Ware said.

Conrad led Penns Grove with 19 points. He was 7-for-7 from the free throw line, 6-for-6 in the second half. Mekhi Ballard had 16 with three 3-pointers.

The Eagles made one more push. They got back within three on four more Saulin points, but then KaRon Ceaser hit two buckets to make it a seven-point game with 4:40 left and Penns Grove never led by fewer than five the rest of the game.

PENNS GROVE 60, PENNSVILLE 51
PENNS GROVE (9-12) – Mr Peterson 1 0-0 2, Brandon Robbins 1 0-0 2, Roman Gipson 1 0-0 2, Giomar Conrad 6 7-7 19, KaRon Ceaser 2 1-3 5, Willie Slocum 4 1-4 9, Mehki Ballard 5 3-4 16, Camren Thompson 2 1-2 5. Totals 22 13-20 60.
PENNSVILLE (9-14) – Luke Wood 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton O’Brien 4-6 1-3 10, Daniel Saulin 12-19 4-8 28, Mason O’Brien 3-6 0-3 6, Cohen Petrutz 2-5 3-6 7, Connor Starn 0-0 0-0 0, Cole Johnston 0-3 0-0 0, Logan Hitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-40 8-17 51.

Penns Grove17101518 –60
Pennsville11101416 – 51
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Ballard 3); Pennsville 1-7 (P. O’Brien 1-1, Petrutz 0-3, Johnson 0-2, Hitt 0-1). Technical fouls: Mecholsky. Fouled out: Thompson, M. O’Brien Total fouls: Penns Grove 14, Pennsville 16.

WASHINGTON TWP. 50, WOODSTOWN 46
WOODSTOWN (10-9) – Blake Bialecki 20, M.J. Hall 9, Garrett Leyman 2, Max Webb 4, Rocco String 11.
WASHINGTON TWP. (13-9) – Gevon Conrad 2 7-8 13, Justin Pagano 0 0-0 0, Ethan Hyman 3 2-2 9, Luke McKenty 5 2-3 14, Kade Pekarick 1 0-0 2, Keegan Smith 3 4-4 12, A’Quil Taylor 0 0-0 0, Matt Rodia 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 15-17 50.

Woodstown6161313 –46
Washington Twp. 519719 –50
3-point goals: Woodstown N/A; Washington Twp. 7 (Conrad 2, Hyman, McKenty 2, Smith 2).

OVERBROOK 75, SCHALICK 38
OVERBROOK (18-5) – Shaun Mills 5 3-4 14, Chris Grier 3 0-0 6, Nic Johnson 5 3-4 15, Lamar Little 2 1-2 6, Zair Green 2 4-5 8, Amare Kee 3 0-0 8, Maki Ortiz 2 0-0 4, Xavier Wright 2 1-2 5, Kevin Satchell 0 2-2 2, Tory Scott 1 0-0 2, Davian Santiago 1 0-0 2, Samir Muhammand 1 0-0 3. Totals 27 14-19 75.
SCHALICK (7-12) – Reggie Allen 1 1-4 4, Daniel Lis 5 0-0 11, Nylan Sutton 6 1-2 15, Jake Siedlecki 1 0-0 3, Jordan Johnson 1 0-0 2, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 3, Justin Iacona 0 0-0 0, Dylan Sheehan 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 2-6 38.

Overbrook23132217 –75
Schalick109127 –38
3-point goals: Overbrook 7 (Mills, Johnson 2, Little, Kee 2, Muhammand); Schalick 6 (Allen, Lis, Ny. Sutton 2, Siedlecki, Volovar).

SALEM 89, CLAYTON 63: Jabez DeJesus led four Salem scorers in double figures with 24 points, 15 in the second quarter. Ramaji Bundy had his best game of the year with 13 points, highlighted by three 3-pointers. Paul Weathers had 13 points and Anthony Farmer added 10. The Rams (14-7) have won seven of their last eight and are currently a solid third in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

CLAYTON (3-18) – Dillon Jones 7 2-4 16, Nazir Davis 4 3-6 11, John Carter 1 0-0 3, Demetris Williams 2 0-0 4, Jon Cox 3 0-0 6, Cristan Scott 2 0-0 5, Ashaud Hines-Pope 1 0-0 2, Nasir Carter 5 0-0 13, Fareed Mamah 0 0-0 0, Earl Townsend 0 0-0 0, Brian Marshall 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Aviles 0 0-0 0, Rodney Robinson 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 5-10 63.
SALEM (14-7) – Anthony Farmer 3 4-4 10, Ramaji Bundy 5 0-0 13, Jabez DeJesus 10 2-2 24, Paul Weathers 6 1-2 13, Davonte Jackson 3 0-0 8, Tymear Lecator 3 0-0 8, Marshall Stephens 2 0-0 4, Xavier McGriff 2 0-0 5, Donovan Weathers 0 0-0 0, Antwone Rogers 1 0-0 2, Joe Tunis 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 1 0-0 2. Totals 36 7-8 89.

Clayton12151521 –63
Salem20251925 –89
3-point goals: Clayton 6 (J. Carter, Scott, N. Carter 3, Robinson); Salem 10 (Bundy 3, DeJesus 2, Jackson 2, Lecator 2, McGriff). Total fouls: Clayton 6, Salem 12.

PITMAN 76, SALEM TECH 42
SALEM TECH (2-17) – Haneef Frisby 3 0-0 6, Joseph Hayes 0 3-4 3, Josh Muntz 1 2-2 5 Tyler Zampino 2 0-0 6, Antoine Robinson 8 3-6 20, Gio Holmes 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 8-14 42
PITMAN (17-6) – Porter Kostiuk 2 3-5 7, Stephen Devanney 5 0-0 14, Colin Ambrosius 0 0-0 0, Chris Wyllie 3 0-1 6, Michael Fisicaro 2 0-0 6, Sonny Myers 3 4-6 11, Hudson Rue 1 1-2 4, Jake Epting 2 1-4 6, Elijah Crispin 7 3-3 19, Sean Powell 0 0-0 0, Trey Tinges 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 12-21 76.
Salem Tech 951711 –42
Pitman17301910 –76
3-point goals: Salem Tech 4 (Muntz, Zampino 2, Robinson); Pitman 12 (Devanney 4, Fisicaro 2, Myers, Rue, Epting, Crispin 2, Tinges).

Power Points
South Jersey Group I

TEAMRECORDPOINTS
KIPP Cooper19-6493
Pitman16-6434
Salem14-7393
Wildwood13-9388
Audubon14-8357
Glassboro11-11345
Woodbury13-10331
Palmyra11-8315
Penns Grove9-12307
Paulsboro9-12299
Riverside10-12288
LEAP Academy13-8279
Woodstown10-9262
New Egypt7-12249
Pennsville9-14235
(16) Burlington City4-18208
Maple Shade8-15203
Schalick7-12182
Clayton3-18169
Cape May Tech2-18138
Gateway1-22131
Buena0-21126
Camden Prep1-656
Through games of Feb. 8

Rising above the noise

Penns Grove distances itself from the distractions, beats Schalick as only Salem County winner of the night

TUESDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Glassboro 68, Pennsville 56
Gloucester Catholic 64, Salem 41
Overbrook 52, Woodstown 35
Penns Grove 53, Schalick 45
Wildwood 84, Salem Tech 38

By Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – There was a lot going on inside the Hyper-Baric Chamber that is Penns Grove’s gym Tuesday night, but the Red Devils rose above the din and put away Schalick 53-45 to remain in the hunt for a first-round home playoff game in the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

The win left the Red Devils (8-12) in ninth place in SJ-I power points standings, 18 points behind eighth with only two games against Diamond Division county rivals fighting for a playoff spot before Saturday’s cutoff left. The top eight teams draw first-round home games.

“I don’t know if we can get up to having a home game, we’ll see what happens,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said. “We want to try to get at least one home game. I won’t say that’s a goal, but the goal is to get home games in the playoffs. Since we had a slow start, if we can finish strong and get at least one home game then it’ll be great.”

There was a lot to distract the Red Devils from the task at hand. There were activities involving the cheerleaders, at halftime senior girls player Meely Horace was recognized for scoring her 1,000th career point at earlier in the day, and it was Senior Night, meaning a senior-heavy starting lineup that isn’t necessarily their SOP.

The Red Devils were slow out of the gate with the honor lineup and fell behind 10-5, but eventually the senior regulars emerged and they pulled away.

Giomar Conrad and Mehki Ballard led Penns Grove with 23 and 19 points, respectively. Conrad hit three straight 3s in the second quarter and it sparked a 23-8 run that gave the Red Devils the lead.

“That was two seniors who stepped up on Senior Night,” Ware said. “Back in the day they always played big on Senior Night.”

Daniel Lis led Schalick with 16 points. Jake Siedlecki hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12.

PENNS GROVE 53, SCHALICK 45
SCHALICK (7-11) – Daniel Lis 6-4-16, Reggie Allen 0-4-4, Nasir Sutton 3-0-6, Nylan Sutton 2-1-5, Jake Siedlecki 5-0-12, Jordan Johnson 1-0-2. Totals 17-9-45.
PENNS GROVE (8-12) – Brandon Robbins 0-2-2, Roman Gipson 0-1-1, Giomar Conrad 9-2-23, KaRon Ceaser 0-1-1, Willie Slocum 1-0-2, Mehki Ballard 6-4-19, Camren Thompson 0-0-0, Khiry Higgs 0-1-1, Mr Peterson 2-0-4. Totals 18-11-53.

Schalick108189 –45
Penns Grove5231510 –53
3-point goals: Schalick 2 (Siedlecki 2); Penns Grove 6 (Conrad 3, Ballard 3).

OVERBROOK 52, WOODSTOWN 35: The Rams used an 8-0 run to pull away from an early tie and then held Woodstown without a field goal 10 and a half minutes in the second half to secure their sixth straight win and clinch their sixth straight divisional title.

The teams slugged it out early with Woodstown rallying to earn a 14-14 tie midway through the second quarter before the Rams took control with an 8-0 run. The Wolverines got back to within four on Rocco String’s put back with 10 seconds left in the first half, but they didn’t hit another field goal until String’s bucket in the paint with 5:38 left in the game.

The Wolverines were 0-for-7 with five turnovers in the stretch. Their only points came on five free throws.

“At halftime we challenged them defensively to (give) a little bit more effort and energy in winning those 50-50 balls and keeping them off the glass,” Overbrook coach Donny Lang said. “I know we went a pretty long time with maybe letting them only score maybe three points to close to a quarter. It was more of their energy and effort that stepped up in the second half.”

During their current run of division titles, the Rams have won four straight Tri-County Diamond Division titles and two Colonial Conference Patriot Division crowns before that.

“That was one of our goals, to put up another banner,” Lang said. “I like to look up at that banner, make sure our number’s there.”

OVERBROOK 52, WOODSTOWN 35
OVERBROOK (17-5) – Shaun Mills 5 2-2 13, Chris Grier 0 1-2 1, Nic Johnson 4 0-1 9, Lamar Little 3 0-0 7, Zair Green 4 2-3 11, Amare Kee 1 0-0 3, Maki Ortiz 1 0-0 2, Xavier Wright 0 0-0 0, Kevin Satchell 3 0-0 6, Jaden St. John 0 0-0 0, Tory Scott 0 0-0 0, Angel Bermudez 0 0-0 0, Elvin Santiago 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-8 52.
WOODSTOWN (10-8) – Manny Ortega 0 1-2 1, Blake Bialecki 0 2-2 2, Alejandro Vazquez 1 0-0 2, M.J. Hall 2 2-2 6, Connor Sanderson 0 0-0 0, Garrett Leyman 1 1-2 3, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Max Webb 4 0-3 10, Rocco String 3 2-2 8, Elijah Caesar 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 9-15 35.
Overbrook12121612 –52
Woodstown6123 14 –35
3-point goals: Overbrook 5 (Mills, Johnson, Little, Green, Kee); Woodstown 2 (Webb 2). Total fouls: Overbrook 15, Woodstown 12.

GLASSBORO 68, PENNSVILLE 56
GLASSBORO (10-11) – Xavier Sabb 7 0-3 15, Charles Graves 9 3-3 24, Clinton Suggs 5 1-4 14, Michael Dougherty 2 0-0 5, Josh Buff 1 0-2 3, Tashean Thomas 0 0-0 0, Marley Crout 1 0-0 2, Jayce Grays2 1-1 5.
PENNSVILLE (9-13) – Luke Wood 8-21 0-0 17, Peyton O’Brien 1-6 1-2 3, Daniel Saulin 7-9 4-4 18, Cohen Petrutz 3-6 1-2 9, Mason O’Brien 3-6 2-2 6, Connor Starn 0-2 1-2 1, Cole Johnston 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 9-12 56.
Glassboro16182014 –68
Pennsville1271817 –56
3-point goals: Glassboro 9 (Sabb, Groves 3, Suggs 3, Daugherty, Buff); Pennsville 3-21 (Johnston 0-3, Starn 0-2 M. O’Brien 0-1, Petrutz 2-3, P. O’Brien 0-1, Wood 1-11). Fouled out: M. O’Brien, Saulin. Total fouls: Glassboro 13, Pennsville 16

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 64, SALEM 41
SALEM (13-7) – Anthony Farmer 3 9-10 16, Ramaji Bundy 3 0-0 5, Tymear Lecator 2 0-0 4, Jabez DeJesus 2 0-0 5, Marshall Stephens 4 0-0 8. Totals 14 9-10 41.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (13-8) – Carlos Mendez 3 7-8 13, Jack Mustaro 4 0-0 12, Trey Battle 2 10-12 14, Kyle Guldin 6 3-6 15, Billy Ginipro 1 0-0 3, JonCarlo Coia 1 0-0 2, Nick Calzonetti 1 0-0 2, Ethan Dugue 1 1-2 3, Brody Gates 0 0-0 0, Jack Pund 0 0-0 0, Kybron Ricks 0 0-0 0, Danny Zellner 0 0-0 0, Jordan Mendez 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 21-28 64.
Salem811148 –41
Gloucester Catholic9161920 –64
3-point goals: Salem 4 (Farmer, Bundy 2, DeJesus); Gloucester Catholic 5 (Mustaro 4, Ginipro).

WILDWOOD 84, SALEM TECH 38
SALEM TECH (2-16) – Chase Wills 2 0-0 4, Haneef Frisby 4 1-1 9, Joseph Hayes 1 0-2 2, Daviontae Russell 2 0-0 4, Tyler Zampino 2 2-3 6, Antoine Robinson 3 4-4 11, Gio Holmes 1 0-0 2, Charlie Brown 0 0-0 0, Chase Ayers 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-10 38.
WILDWOOD (12-9) – Junior Hans 6 1-1 13, Ryan Troiano 2 0-0 6, Jordan Dozier 0 2-2 2, Jordan Fusik 3 0-0 9, Brian Cunniff 2 1-2 5, Josh Pintella 1 1-4 3, Haney Buscham 3 0-0 8, Lukas Basile 3 0-0 8, James Wyers 6 1-2 15, Keynan Alston 1 2-2 4, Nolan Mawhinney 1 0-0 2, Trevor Troiano 1 0-0 3, R.J. Blanda 1 0-0 2, Burke Fitzsimmons 0 0-0 0, Lance Lillo 2 0-0 4. Totals 32 8-13 84.
Salem Tech741215 –38
Wildwood25172616 –84
3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Robinson); Wildwood 12 (R. Troiano 2, Jordan Fusik 3, Buscham 2, Basile 2, Ayers 2, T. Troiano). Rebounds: Salem Tech 23 (Robinson 8); Wildwood 28 (Wears 4). Total fouls: Salem Tech 9, Wildwood 7.

Welcome to the club

Penns Grove’s Horace becomes fifth player in Salem County to reach 1,000-point milestone this season, roundup includes all Salem County girls games

TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Penns Grove 51, Schalick 30
Pennsville 40, Glassboro 38
Gloucester Catholic 61, Salem 12
Wildwood 62, Salem Tech 27
Woodstown 76, Overbrook 42

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Every day since the start of her senior season Meely Horace has walked into the Penns Grove gym and looked at the big red banner on the wall of 1,000-point scorers in the girls program.

Penns Grove senior Meely Horace looks up at her name after it was revealed on the banner of 1,000-point scorers in the school’s girls basketball program.

And every time there has been this big strip of tape underneath the last name on the list, presumably covering the line that carried her name in anticipation of her joining the club just daring her to pull it down. She couldn’t wait to pull that piece of tape down.

Well, she doesn’t have to look at it or wait any more.

Horace became the latest member of the Penns Grove 1,000-Point Club Tuesday when she hit a short jumper from the right side with 6:18 left in the second quarter of the Red Devils’ 51-30 win over Schalick.

“It meant a lot,” she said of the milestone. “It’s been a minute since somebody hit 1K, so I feel like I achieved a goal. My cousin, Tamara Walker, is on that banner, too. I wanted to be up there with her.

“Every day at school when I was in PE and all that I would go in there and look at it and be like, ‘I can’t wait to pull this down.’”

The moment of truth came at halftime of the boys game once her team returned to campus from its road win. She stood on the baseline with the congratulatory banner they presented at her game, then turned and looked upwards as the tape was removed to reveal her name. The space for points remains blank as she still has games to play.

Horace is the 19th player in Penns Grove history to score 1,000 points and the seventh girl. She’s the fifth player in Salem County to reach the milestone this season, joining Woodstown’s Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson, Salem’s Anthony Farmer and Pennsville’s Luke Wood. Both Farmer and Wood hit their marks in games against Penns Grove. Farmer is the only one to have done it at home.

The last Penns Grove player to clear the hurdle was Jamar Johnson in 2020. The last girl was Natrice Reed in 2018.

Horace has been sitting on 998 since Thursday night when she put 38 on Overbrook and she admitted the suspense was killing her.

It was expected she would reach the milestone early in Tuesday’s game, maybe even on the first play of the game, but it took a while. She was turned away the first three times the Red Devils came down the floor – traveling in the right corner, getting double teamed at the top of the key without getting a shot and missing a fast break layup.

She hit 999 with the first of two free throws with 5:38 left in the first quarter. She missed the second shot, but got the rebound and had the ball stripped as she drove to the basket.

Acting coach Taylor Smith took her out with 4:57 left in the quarter. It wasn’t because anyone thought she was pressing to score the milestone points, but rather to give more family members a chance to get to the gym to witness the historic occasion when it came.

“I was frustrated at first, but then I was like it’s going to come to me,” she said. “I feel like (she rushed things) a little bit, then I realized I’ve got to slow it down; there are four quarters. After I missed a couple I didn’t force anything, I let it come to me. I knew I was going to get it regardless. My teammates and my coaches were going to make sure.”

She reentered the game with 12 seconds left in the quarter and missed a layup at the buzzer. She missed two more free throws and then lost a ball in the lane.

The milestone finally came on a short jumper from the right side. They stopped the game, family poured onto the floor from the stands and she was presented with a game ball, a congratulatory 1,000-point banner and balloons that spelled out ‘1K.’

“Congrats to Meely because that’s a great accomplishment,” Smith said. “That’s not an easy thing to do in your high school career. We would like to salute her and congratulate her a million times for it because it is a great accomplishment.

“I was excited for her. Everybody was excited for her. We were all waiting on the moment for her.”

When the milestone finally arrived it was like a weight was lifted off everyone on the Penns Grove side. Her basket gave the Red Devils a 12-7 lead and touched off a run that stretched the lead to 28-7 before the Cougars scored again.

Horace finished with 12 points and now has 1,010 for her career.

PENNS GROVE 51, SCHALICK 30
PENNS GROVE (9-8) – RaNiyah Wilson 4 4-4 13, Meely Horace 5 2-7 12, Brianna Robbins 5 1-3 12, Amani Taylor 1 2-4 4, Zoey Caesar 2 2-6 6, Semijah Hines 0 0-0 0, Syanna Robbins 1 0-0 2, Arianna Down 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 11-24 51.
SCHALICK (5-13) – Cianna Gaines 1 3-4 5, Taylor Sparks 1 1-2 4, Ava Scurry 4 2-2 10, Abby Willoughby 0 0-0 0, Cali Fisler 0 2-4 2, Carly Vicente 3 0-0 8, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Kyleigh Cutler 0 0-0 0, Olivia Lunemann 0 1-4 1. Totals 9 9-16 30.

Penns Grove824127 –51
Schalick77610 –30
3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Wilson, B. Robbins); Schalick 3 (Sparks, Vicente 2). Technical fouls: Robbins. Fouled out: Willoughby. Total fouls: Penns Grove 17, Schalick 17.

PENNSVILLE 40, GLASSBORO 38: Taylor Bass’ only basket of the game, a put back with a minute left, broke a 38-38 tie and the Eagles made it stand for their third straight win. Marley Wood led three Pennsville scorers in double figures with 16 points, 10 in the second half. Nora Ausland had 12 points, 10 in the first quarter, and Bella Farina had 10.

PENNSVILLE 40, GLASSBORO 38
PENNSVILLE (10-11) – Nora Ausland 5 0-0 12, Taylor Bass 1 0-1 2, Bella Farina 5 0-0 10, Marley Wood 7 1-2 16, Celli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 1-3 40.
GLASSBORO (12-6) – Sanaa Thomas 3 2-2 8, Tamia Smith 5 3-4 13, Kezia Brackett 7 0-2 17, Ante Davis 0 0-0 0, Sianna Wedderburn 0 0-0 0, Kimora Miles 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-8 38.

Pennsville197410 –40
Glassboro86186 –38
3-point goals: Pennsville 3 (N. Ausland 2, Wood); Glassboro 3 (Brackett 3). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Glassboro 8.

WILDWOOD 62, SALEM TECH 27: In the return game of two-day home-and-home, the Warriors jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter and then held the Chargers scoreless in the second. Wildwood’s Macie McCracken led all scorers with 23 points.

WILDWOOD 62, SALEM TECH 27
SALEM TECH (1-16) – Hanna DeWitt 2 3-4 7, Demajae White 2 0-0 4, TiRonna McGaha 0 2-2 2, Morgan VanDover 3 2-2 8, Lavae Scott 0 0-2 0, Rylee Doerr 2 2-2 8. Totals 9 9-12 27.
WILDWOOD (16-5) – Sophia Wilber 3 0-0 7, Angela Wilber 2 0-0 5, Macie McCracken 9 2-3 23, Kaliah Sumlin 4 0-0 8, Rebecca Benichou 4 0-0 10, Ashley Nagle 3 0-0 8, Janet Gonzalez 0 0-0 0, Mia Chips 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 2-3 63.
Salem Tech401112 –27
Wildwood1916235 –62
3-point goals: Wildwood 9 (S. Wilber, A. Wilber, McCracken 3, Benichou 2, Nagle 2).

WOODSTOWN 76, OVERBROOK 42: The Wolverines opened a comfortable 10-point lead, then pulled away with a 33-3 second quarter.

Talia Battavio had eight points in the quarter, while Megan Donelson and Shannon Pierman had six apiece. The only basket they allowed in the quarter was a 3-pointer by Zahaisha Nevius.

“We hammered it inside to Shannon in their zone defense and moved the ball really well,” Wolverines coach Kara Straughn said. “We have also been focusing a lot on our drives and kicks and the girls did a much better job executing that tonight.”

Battavio led the Wolverines with 19 points. Donelson and Pierman had 14 each. Ten players scored.

Donelson now had 1,029 career points and Battavio 1,028.

WOODSTOWN 76, OVERBROOK 42
WOODSTOWN (15-4) – Talia Battavio 7 2-2 19, Megan Donelson 5 2-2 14, Alyssa Baber 3 0-0 7, Gianna Maiorini 2 0-0 4, Shannon Pierman 7 0-0 14, Emma Perry 2 0-0 4, Brae DiGregorio 1 0-0 2, Jala Thomas 2 0-0 4, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, Kailyn Kennedy 2 0-0 4, Kendall Young 2 0-0 4, Talia Guardascione 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 4-4 76.
OVERBROOK (4-14) – Gianna Simon 1 0-0 2, Joel Presley 4 2-6 11, Kaylee Burckhardt 2 0-0 4, Zahaisha Nevius 6 4-7 19, Sarah Evans 1 0-0 3, Leiani Knight 0 0-0 0, Alahni White 0 0-0 0, Kayla Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Nahia Smith 0 0-0 0, Talia Wiggins 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-13 42.

Woodstown2033914 –76
Overbrook1031514 –42
3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Battavio 3, Donelson 2, Baber); Overbrook 6 (Presley, Burckhardt, Nevius 3, Evans). Total fouls: Woodstown 10, Overbrook 8.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 61, SALEM 12
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (16-6) – Jahzara Green 6 1-2 13, Julianna DeFebbo 5 0-0 10, Talia Shumate 5 0-0 10, Yazaniah Shumate 2 0-0 4, Jalyn Moore 2 0-0 4, Ashlynn Eggers 4 0-0 10, Kendall Scott 0 2-4 2, Anna Gerardi 1 0-0 2, Maya Hutchinson 2 2-2 6, Julia Calzonetti 0 0-2 0. Totals 27 5-10 61.
SALEM (7-13) – Marjziah Bundy 0 0-4 0, Ameriyona Hunter 3 1-4 7, Carlysia Pierce 1 3-4 5, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Ava Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0. Totals 4 4-12 12.

Score by quarters not available.
3-point goals: Gloucester Catholic 2 (Eggers 2).

On the rise

Woodstown scores big win on the road, Schalick may have gotten its signature win, includes box scores from all of Monday night’s Salem County basketball action

MONDAY’S SALEM COUNTY SCORES
Boys
Gloucester City 76, Pennsville 62
Penns Grove 63, Williamstown 22
Schalick 66, Maple Shade 37
Woodstown 55, Glassboro 49
Girls
Kingsway 64, Salem 29
Maple Shade 43, Schalick 15
Pennsville 53, Gloucester City 20
Wildwood 70, Salem Tech 29

By Riverview Sports News

GLASSBORO – Just about a week ago the Woodstown basketball team was teetering precariously on the edge of the South Jersey Group I playoff bubble. Two wins later they’ve come off the edge and now have a little breathing room in the final days of the regular season.

The Wolverines earned their largest power point haul of the season Monday night with a 55-49 road victory over Glassboro. Put that with a blowout win over nine-win Pennsville and an overtime loss to 12-win Gloucester Catholic, over the last five days they have gone from 15 to 13 in the power points standings, 46 points ahead of the 16th and final qualifying spot from the section.

They have three games between now and Saturday’s state cutoff date to pick up more points.

Blake Bialecki (21) and Max Webb (19) combined for 40 points to lead the Wolverines (10-7) in this one, outscoring Glassboro’s two leading scorers, Xavier Sabb and Charles Graves, who had 13 points apiece.

Webb was involved in one of the headiest plays in the game. With about 30 seconds left, the Wolverines were trying to get the ball inbounds. With no timeouts and nobody getting open, Webb smartly threw the ball off a defender in front of him and got it back to save the possession.

Bialecki then made a pair of free throws with five seconds left to ice it.

Another crucial factor to getting the win was the play of Rocco String. The 6-foot-7 junior played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls and never picked up his fifth. And he managed to pick up a couple blocked shots and key rebounds.

WOODSTOWN 55, GLASSBORO 49
WOODSTOWN (10-7) – Blake Bialecki 6-4-19, M.J. Hall 2-0-4, Garrett Leyman 1-0-2, Max Webb 6-4-19, Rocco String 3-1-7, Elijah Caesar 2-0-4. Totals 20-9-55.
GLASSBORO (9-11) – Xavier Sabb 5-3-13, Charles Graves 5-2-13, Clinton Suggs 2-2-8, Michael Dougherty 2-0-6, Josh Buff 1-0-3, Crowly Marley 2-0-4, Jayce Grays 1-0-2. Totals 18-7-49.

Woodstown2081115 –55
Glassboro1021108 – 49
3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki 3, Webb 3); Glassboro 6 (Graves, Suggs 2, Dougherty 2, Buff).

SCHALICK 66, MAPLE SHADE 37: The Cougars have been looking for that signature win in their winningest season in five years and may have gotten it here.

The teams they had beaten prior to Monday had a combined 12 wins and they picked up a season-high 28 power points for this one. It puts them at No. 18 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, technically No. 17 since they beat Maple Shade who sits one spot above them.

Nasir and Nylan Sutton led the Cougars with 15 and 13 points, respectively. It was the second time this year and fourth time in their careers they both scored in double figures in the same game. Dan Lis had 14 with three 3-pointers.

The Cougars, now with more wins than the last three seasons combined, have won back-to-back games for the first time since winning the last three games of the 2019-20 season.

MAPLE SHADE (8-13) – Nicholas Gowen 2 0-0 4, Amir Hall 2 0-0 5, Elijah Ashe 3 2-2 8, Antjuan Johnson 2 0-0 6, Hezekiah Delvalle 0 1-2 1, Corey Volcy 6 1-2 13. Totals 15 4-6 37.
SCHALICK (7-10) – Dan Lis 5 1-2 14, Jake Siedlecki 2 0-2 6, Reggie Allen 3 0-2 7, Nylan Sutton 6 1-2 13, Nasir Sutton 6 3-3 15, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 3, Justin Iacona 1 0-0 3, Nyzier Wynder 1 0-0 2, Dylan Sheehan 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 5-11 66.

Maple Shade691111 –37
Schalick16101723 –66
3-point goals: Maple Shade 3 (Hall, Johnson 2); Schalick 9 (Lis 3, Siedlecki 2, Allen, Volovar, Iacona, Sheehan).

PENNS GROVE 63, WILLIAMSTOWN 22
PENNS GROVE (7-12) – Brandon Robbins 1 0-0 3, Roman Gipson 3 6-6 12, Giomar Conrad 5 3-4 14, KaRon Ceaser 3 1-1 7, Willie Slocum 1 0-0 2, Mehki Ballard 6 0-0 13, Camren Thompson 2 2-2 6, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, Mr Peterson 2 0-0 4, Will Roy 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 12-13 63.
WILLIAMSTOWN (1-20) – Drew Schnapp 1 0-0 3, Tyrone Price 3 0-0 6, Basill Mateen 3 3-4 10, Josh Roberts 1 0-0 2, Jordan Foley 0 1-5 1. Totals 8 4-9 22.

Penns Grove9241317 –63
Williamstown5872 –22
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Robbins, Conrad, Ballard); Williamstown 2 (Schnapp, Mateen).

GLOUCESTER 76, PENNSVILLE 62: Ryan James was 6-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to help Gloucester pull away from a close game.

Danny Saulin returned to the Pennsville lineup after a four-game absence and had 23 points and six rebounds. Peyton O’Brien had 10 rebounds and six assists, and Luke Wood had q8 points and nine boards.

GLOUCESTER (11-10) – Ryan James 4 6-8 15, Marcus Flagg 2 0-0 4, Keegan Cohan 6 2-3 19, Jake Smith 8 1-2 17, Kadon Harris 3 5-6 11, Mike Light 4 0-0 10, Kevin Wall 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 14-19 76.
PENNSVILLE (9-12) – Luke Wood 7-18 0-0 18, Peyton O’Brien 3-9 0-4 6, Daniel Saulin 10-15 3-9 23, Cohen Petrutz 3-9 0-4 8, Mason O’Brien 2-8 0-0 4, Connor Starn 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-60 3-13 62.

Gloucester15142423 –76
Pennsville11231612 –62
3-point goals: Gloucester 8 (James, Cohan 5, Light 2); Pennsville 7-20 (Starn 1-1, M. O’Brien 0-3, Petrutz 2-6, P. O’Brien 0-1, Wood 4-9). Technical fouls: Saulin. Total fouls: Gloucester 15, Pennsville 16. Officials: McCormick, Brown, Lundy.  

Girls Games

PENNSVILLE 53, GLOUCESTER 20
PENNSVILLE (9-11) – Nora Ausland 4 4-5 14, Taylor Bass 4 3-5 12, Bella Farina 2 2-4 6, Marley Wood 8 3-6 21, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Calli Ausland 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 12-20 53.
GLOUCESTER (5-14) – Logan Thomson 1 1-4 3, Kierstynn O’Donnell 0 3-8 3, Elizabeth Schultes 1 0-0 2, Bailey Schoenfeldt 2 0-1 5, Victoria Serrano 2 0-0 5, Alexis Ulman 1 0-0 2. Totals 7 4-13 20.

Pennsville15111215 –53
Gloucester2756 –20
3-point goals: Pennsville 5 (N. Ausland 2, Bass, Wood 2); Gloucester 2 (Schoenfeldt, Serrano).

WILDWOOD 70, SALEM TECH 29
WILDWOOD (15-5) – Sophia Wilber 1 2-2 5, Angela Wilber 7 0-0 19, Macie McCracken 11 3-4 27, Kaliah Sumlin 1 2-3 4, Rebecca Benichou 4 0-0 10, Cydnee Kilian 1 0-2 2, Ashley Nagle 1 0-0 3, Mia Cripps 0 0-0 0, Janet Gonzalez 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 7-11 70.
SALEM TECH (1-15) – Morgan VanDover 3 0-0 6, Kaylin Beardsley 2 0-0 4, Lavae Scott 2 0-0 4, Demajae White 6 0-0 12, Rylee Doerr 0 1-2 1, TiRonna McGaha 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 1-2 29.

Wildwood2818213 –70
Salem Tech44912 –29
3-point goals: Wildwood 11 (S. Wilber, A. Wilber 5, McCracken 2, Benichou 2, Nagle); Salem Tech 0. Notes: Wildwood’s McCracken had 10 steals and Sophia Wilber had nine assists.

MAPLE SHADE 43, SCHALICK 15
SCHALICK (5-12) – Abby Willoughby 2-0-4, Cianna Gaines 1-0-2, Carly Vicente 2-1-7, Olivia Lunemann 1-0-2, Ava Scully 0-0-0, Taylor Sparks 0-0-0, Cali Fisler 0-0-0. Totals 6-1-15.
MAPLE SHADE (15-5) – Billie Ormsby 1-1-3, Addison Yackel 7-6-22, Alexis Andrada 3-0-7, Maddy Vessels 3-1-8, Mel Bimmer 1-0-2, Molly Mitchell 0-1-1. Totals 15-9-43.

Schalick2337 –15
Maple Shade108205 –43
3-point goals: Schalick 2 (Vicente 2); Maple Shade 4 (Yackel 2, Andrada, Vessels).

KINGSWAY 64, SALEM 29
SALEM (7-12) – Ava Rodgers 1 1-1 3, Ameriyona Hunter 3 1-4 8, Marjziah Bundy 0 0-0 0, Ryann Foote 0 2-6 2, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Dakirah Gray 0 0-0 0, Carlysia Pierce 2 2-3 7, Nevaeh Hickman 3 1-3 9, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 7-17 29.
KINGSWAY (9-11) – Erin Lail 2 0-0 5, Kellis Greer 2 0-0 4, Vienna Gantz 4 0-0 10, Emily Barber 2 0-2 4, Olivia Myers 4 2-2 12, Ava Valente 1 2-2 4, Jaylynn Curtis 3 3-4 10, Paige Horton 2 2-2 6, Bella Archer 1 0-0 3, Chloe McNeill 2 0-0 4, Ojanile Gabriel 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 9-12 64.

Salem9695 –29
Kingsway25515 19 –64
3-point goals: Salem 4 (Hickman 2, Hunter, Pierce); Kingsway 7 (Lail, Gantz 2, Myers 2, Curtis, Archer). Notes: Salem’s Bundy had 10 points and seven blocked shots.


Tri-County pairings

Here are the pairings for the Tri-County Conference Tournament; only one Salem County team has a first-round home game

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Timber Creek’s Liberty Division-leading boys and Williamstown’s Royal Division-leading girls have pulled down the overall No. 1 seeds for next week’s Tri-County Basketball Tournament.

The tournament begins next Monday with 22 games at the higher seeds. The brackets were finalized Sunday and became official at noon today.

Timber Creek is currently 13-3, 8-0 in the Liberty Division, riding a 10-game on-the-floor winning streak and fourth in the South Jersey Group III power points standings. Williamstown is 14-5 overall, 6-0 in the Royal Division and leads the South Jersey Group IV power points standings.

As far as Salem County’s teams are concerned, no county boys team has a first-round home game and Schalick’s girls are the only county team playing at home in the opening round.

Pennsville’s boys and Salem’s girls have No. 1 seeds in their respective seven-team C Flight brackets, have first-round byes and will play home games in Round 2 Feb. 14. Pennsville is 5-0 against the other teams in its bracket, Salem 3-1.

“It’s bittersweet,” Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky said of his team’s seeding. “It’s not our goal to be the best of the bottom. However, we will get two solid days of practice in as we prepare for the playoffs.

“Hopefully, two home games and the good vibes that come with winning a C bracket will help build momentum into the first round of the playoffs.”

On the girls side, Woodstown is No. 5 in the A Flight and will open the tournament at current Classic Division No. 2 Gloucester Catholic, a team the Wolverines opened the season against and are presently scheduled to play in Saturday’s consolation bracket of the SJIBT. Pennsville is No. 5 and Penns Grove 8 in the B Flight, and Salem is 1, Schalick 3 and Salem Tech 7 in the C Flight.

On the boys side, Salem is No. 6 in the A Flight and will open at Diamond Division leader Overbrook, a solid No. 7 in the South Jersey Group II power points standings. Penns Grove is No. 7 and Woodstown 8 in the B Flight, while Pennsville is No. 1 in C, followed by Schalick (6) and Salem Tech (7).

Day 1 winners are guaranteed two more games. Day 1 losers (except in Flight C) will play one consolation game.

The pairings for all six flights are listed below:

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
BOYS BRACKETS
A FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Gloucester Catholic (12-8) at No. 1 Timber Creek (13-3)
No. 5 Triton (11-8) at No. 4 Pitman (15-6)
No. 6 Salem (13-6) at No. 3 Overbrook (15-5)
No. 7 Wildwood (11-9) at No. 2 Delsea (13-7)
Feb. 14
Gloucester Catholic-Timber Creek winner vs. Triton-Pitman winner
Salem-Overbrook winner vs. Wildwood-Delsea winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

B FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Woodstown (9-7) at No. 1 Kingsway (11-10)
No. 5 Glassboro (9-10) at No. 4 Deptford Twp. (10-9)
No. 6 Washington Twp. (11-9) at No. 3 Highland (9-9)
No. 7 Penns Grove (6-12) at No. 2 Clearview (11-8)
Feb. 14
Woodstown-Kingsway winner vs. Glassboro-Deptford Twp. winner
Washington Twp.-Highland winner vs. Penns Grove-Clearview winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

C FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 1 Pennsville (9-11) bye
No. 5 Clayton (3-16) at No. 4 Cumberland (2-18)
No. 6 Schalick (6-10) at No. 3 Williamstown (1-19)
No. 7 Salem Tech (2-15) at No. 2 GCIT (7-14)
Feb. 14
Clayton-Cumberland winner at Pennsville
Schalick-Williamstown winner vs. Salem Tech-GCIT winner
Schalick-Williamstown loser vs. Salem Tech-GCIT loser
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

GIRLS BRACKETS
A FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Highland (10-9) at No. 1 Williamstown (14-4)
No. 5 Woodstown (14-4) at No. 4 Gloucester Catholic (15-5)
No. 6 Washington Twp. (10-8) at No. 3 Wildwood (14-5)
No. 7 Timber Creek (13-8) at No. 2 Clearview (14-3)
Feb. 14
Highland-Williamstown winner vs. Woodstown-Gloucester Catholic winner
Washington Twp.-Wildwood winner vs. Timber Creek-Clearview winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

B FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Penns Grove (7-8) at No. 1 GCIT (12-7)
No. 5 Pennsville (8-11) at No. 4 Delsea (8-10)
No. 6 Pitman (9-8) at No. 3 Kingsway (8-11)
No. 7 Clayton (8-9) at No. 2 Glassboro (12-5)
Feb. 14
Penns Grove-GCIT winner vs. Pennsville-Delsea winner
Pitman-Kingsway winner vs. Clayton-Glassboro winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

C FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 1 Salem (7-11) bye
No. 5 Overbrook (3-12) at No. 4 Triton (6-11)
No. 6 Deptford (3-15) at No. 3 Schalick (5-11)
No. 7 Salem Tech (1-14) at No. 2 Cumberland (4-13)
Feb. 14
Overbrook-Triton winner at Salem
Deptford-Schalick winner vs. Salem Tech-Cumberland winner
Deptford-Schalick loser vs. Salem Tech-Cumberland loser
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship