Here are the scores and box scores from Tuesday night’s Salem County basketball games; Penns Grove falls at buzzer, Pitman’s Crispin goes over 1,000 in shootout with Salem’s Farmer, and more
TUESDAY’S BOYS GAMES Glassboro 61, Penns Grove 60 Gloucester Catholic 72, Salem Tech 53 Overbrook 65, Pennsville 33 Pitman 71, Salem 60 Woodstown 53, Schalick 30
3-point goals: Salem 8 (Bundy, Farmer 4, Lecator 3); Pitman 5 (Devanney, Crispin 2, Fisicaro 2). Technical fouls: Salem bench 2, Farmer. Total fouls: Salem 21, Pitman 16. Notes: Pitman’s Crispin scored 36 points and hit the 1,000-career point mark with a 3-pointer in the second quarter. Farmer led Salem with 29 points and moved within 83 of the milestone.
WOODSTOWN 53, SCHALICK 30 SCHALICK (5-6) — Levi Freeney-Childers 4, Dan Lis 6, Jordan Johnson 2, Nylan Sutton 7, Jake Siedlecki 5, Nasir Sutton 4, Sherrod Jones 2. WOODSTOWN (7-5) — Manny Ortega 0, Blake Bialecki 8, Alejandro Vazquez 7, M.J. Hall 19, Connor Sanderson-Dick 0, Garrett Leyman 5, Anthony Bokolas 2, Max Webb 0, Rocco String 8, Elijah Caesar 4.
GLASSBORO 61, PENNS GROVE 60 GLASSBORO (7-7) — Xavier Sabb 3-4-10, Charles Graves 10-7-28, Clinton Suggs 2-4-8, Michael Dougherty 0-1-1, Josh Buff 3-0-8, Jayce Grays 3-0-6, Aiden Harris 0-0-0. Totals 21-16-61. PENNS GROVE (5-9) — Brandon Robbins 0-0-0, Roman Gipson 0-1-1, Giomar Conrad 6-3-20, Karon Ceaser 2-0-5, Willie Slocum 0-0-0, Mehki Ballard 8-1-22, Camren Thompson 0-0-0, Khiry Higgs 0-0-0, Mr Peterson 4-0-8, Dameon Wilson 2-0-4. Totals 22-5-60.
Glassboro
13
11
19
18 —
61
Penns Grove
19
12
15
14 —
60
3-point goals: Glassboro 3 (Graves, Buff 2); Penns Grove 11 (Conrad 5, Ceaser, Ballard 5) Notes: Charles Graves hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Penns Grove to its second heartbreaking loss in as many days. The Red Devils were up three with a minute to play.
OVERBROOK 65, PENNSVILLE 33 PENNSVILLE (5-9) — Luke Wood 7, Malik Rehmer 3, Daniel Saulin 4, Jayden Thomas 13, Mason O’Brien 6. OVERBROOK (11-4) — Lamar Little 2 0-0 5, Chris Grier 1 0-2 2, Amare Kee 2 0-0 5, Maki Ortiz 1 0-0 2, Angel Bermudez 0 0-0 0, Shaun Mills 6 0-0 14, Tory Scott 2 0-0 4, Zair Green 4 0-0 10, Kevin Satchell 2 1-1 5, Elvin Santiago 0 0-0 0, Nic Johnson 7 2-4 18. Totals 27 3-7 65.
Pennsville
7
11
7
8 —
33
Overbrook
22
9
17
17 —
65
3-point goals: Overbrook 8 (Little, Keeper, Mills 2, Green 2, Johnson 2). Notes: Pennsville dropped its third straight, all Tri-County Diamond Division games.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 72, SALEM TECH 53 GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (8-5) — Carlos Mendez 4 0-0 8, Trey Battle 4 3-3 11, Ehthan Dugue 2 2-2 6, JonCarlo Coia 0 0-0 0, Nick Calzonetti 3 0-0 9, Kyle Guldin 7 1-4 15, Jack Pund 1 0-0 3, Jack Mustaro 8 1-1 17, Henry Pancoast 0 0-0 0, Billy Ginipro 0 0-0 0, Danny Zellner 0 0-0 0, Mendez 1 0-0 3. Totals 30 7-10 72. SALEM TECH (1-11) — Chase Wills 5 1-1 12, Haneef Frisby 4 0-2 8, Joseph Hayes 2 0-0 5, Daviontae Russell 0 3-4 3, Josh Muntz 1 3-6 6, Tyler Zampino 3 1-2 8, Antoine Robinson 2 3-4 8, Gio Holmes 0 0-0 0, Charlie Brown 0 0-0 0, Chase Ayers 1 1-2 3. Totals 18 12-21 53.
Gloucester Catholic
19
21
22
10 —
72
Salem Tech
14
11
11
17 —
53
3-point goals: Gloucester Catholic 5 (Calzonetti 3, Pund, Mendez); Salem Tech 5 (Wills, Hayes, Muntz, Zampino, Robinson). Total fouls: Gloucester Catholic 15, Salem Tech 12.
Both Salem Tech teams charge into the win column with their first victories of the season; includes other county boys and girls games
MONDAY’S BOYS SCORES Schalick 42, Clayton 35 Glassboro 74, Pennsville 54 Salem Tech 55, Camden Tech 45 Gloucester Catholic 53, Salem 50 Clearview 58, Penns Grove 56
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The third time, they say, is the charm and it was for the Salem Tech basketball team Monday night.
Playing Camden Tech for the third time this season, the Chargers had a pretty good idea of what their opponent was all about. They used those experiences to good form, especially in the fourth quarter, and pulled out a 55-45 victory for their first win of the season.
“We’ve still got work to do, but I’m very proud of them,” Chargers coach Bryan Riley said. “They showed me grit tonight.”
It was a good night all around for the Chargers. Their girls team also picked up their first win of the season, beating Camden Academy Charter 41-28.
The boys teams played in a pre-season scrimmage and a game in the ACIT Holiday Tournament.
On this night, the Chargers used a balanced scoring attack and a big fourth quarter on both ends of the floor to snap their 10-game season-opening losing streak.
“We knew what they had and they knew what we had,” Riley said. “The big message was lock in on defense and capitalize at the rim when we took it. Defensively, they locked in in the first quarter and the fourth quarter.”
The Chargers grabbed a 10-4 lead in the first quarter, but Camden Tech battled back and carried the lead into the fourth. But the Chargers bowed up again and outscored their visitors 24-6 in the final eight minutes.
They were down five with three minutes to play and dug deeper to close it out.
Four Chargers scored in double figures with Antoine Robinson and Wills scoring 14 apiece. Robinson had eight in the fourth quarter and Wills had six. Haneef Frisby had six of his 11 in the fourth quarter.
3-point goals: Camden Tech 2 (Brummel, Figueroa); Salem Tech 1 (Muntz). Fouled out: Cox. Total fouls: Camden Tech 23, Salem Tech 16.
CLEARVIEW 58, PENNS GROVE 56: Daulton Phalines’ layup with 12 seconds left broke a 56-56 tie and the Pioneers held their breath down the stretch.
The Red Devils had two shots in the closing seconds to either take the lead or tie it. Mekhi Ballard, who had the hot hand all night, missed an open 3 and Willie Slocum’s tip at the buzzer didn’t fall.
Ballard hit a career-high six 3-pointers in the game and led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, his third career 20-point game and first since February 2022. Kaprice Stewart led Clearview with 18. Phalines finished with 16.
GLASSBORO 74, PENNSVILLE 54: Charles Graves and Clinton Suggs each scored 22 points and Xavier Sabb had a double-double to lead the Bulldogs. Jayden Thomas and Luke Wood had 12 points apiece for Pennsville.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 53, SALEM 50: The Rams tied the game at 50, but the Lions made three free throws down the stretch to win it.
The Rams hit a pair of free throws to tie the game. The Lions made the first of two to retake the lead, Salem rebounded the missed second shot but turned it over and to foul again for the final margin.
GC’s Jack Mustaro led all scorers with 25 points, Carlos Mendez had 13 points and Kyle Guldin grabbed 12 rebounds. Jabez DeJesus led the Rams with 19 points. Anthony Farmer had 15 and is now 112 points shy of joining his father and coach as career 1,000-point scorers.
3-point goals: Gloucester Catholic 4 (Mendez, Mustaro 3); Salem 7 (Farmer 3, DeJesus 3, D. Weathers).
Girls Games
MONDAY’S GIRLS SCORES Schalick 46, Pennsauken Tech 32 Paulsboro 68, Salem 65 (2 OT) Salem Tech 41, Camden Academy Charter 28
SCHALICK 46, PENNSAUKEN TECH 32: Ava Scurry scored a career-high 16 points and the Cougars got good play from a different pair of players each half to score their second straight victory.
Scurry and Cianna Gaines were strong on the interior in the first half, combining for 15 points as the Cougars opened a 21-17 halftime lead. Guards Taylor Sparks and Abby Willoughby combined for 17 points in the second half and both of their 3-pointers to help them pull away.
Willoughby had six of her eight points in the third quarter and Sparks had 11 of her 13 in the second half.
“Taylor hit a lot of big shots for us in critical moments through the game,” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “The team moved the ball and put forth a really good defensive effort, especially in the second half.”
PAULSBORO 68, SALEM 65 (2 OTs): In the end of the longest game of Salem coach Tiasia Tatem’s tenure, her Rams simply ran out of players with varsity experience and time on the clock.
It was a game of runs and attrition. Three players on each side fouled out. The Rams made a big run in the fourth quarter behind some unsung reserves to rally from a 43-36 third-quarter deficit, but it was Paulsboro that sent the game into overtime.
The Red Raiders tied it at 53 with 16 seconds left in regulation. Salem had a chance to win it, but threw a bad inbounds pass and Paulsboro couldn’t get a shot before the clock ran out. A free throw by Ryann Foote sent the game into a second overtime and the Red Raiders went on a four-point run at the end to win it.
“It went back and forth pretty much the entire game,” Tatem said. “It came down to the wire. They had three girls foul out, we had three girls foul out. It came down to experience and they had more varsity experience. It was not enough varsity experience, not enough time.”
Paulsboro’s Brookelyn Graham led all scorers with 38 points. She had 18 in the fourth quarter and overtimes, including 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Foote scored a career-high 27 for Salem and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Here is the Salem County high school sports schedule for the week of Jan. 22-27
Monday
BASKETBALL Girls Schalick at Pennsauken Tech, 4 p.m. Salem at Paulsboro, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter, 5:30 p.m. Boys Schalick vs. Clayton at Wells Fargo Center, 2 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Camden Co. Tech, at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Clearview, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Woodstown at Deptford Twp., 6 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Salem, Schalick vs. TBA, Toms River
BOWLING Salem vs. Lindenwold, 30 Strikes, 4 p.m.
Tuesday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Pitman at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Gloucester Cath., 5:30 p.m. Woodstown at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Boys Glassboro at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Gloucester Cath. at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Pitman, 5:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Pennsville, Penns Grove in TCC Showcase, Toms River, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday
WRESTLING Clayton at Salem, 5 p.m. Schalick, Penns Grove at Cumberland, 5 p.m. Overbrook at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Timber Creek, 6 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Clayton, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL Girls Penns Grove at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Wildwood, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Clayton, 7 p.m. Boys Clayton at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Wildwood at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Pitman at GCIT, 5:45 p.m. Schalick vs. Salem at GCIT, 7:15 p.m.
Friday
BASKETBALL Girls Woodbury at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Haddon Heights, 5:30 p.m. Boys Salem at Camden Academy Charter, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Pennsville at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Pennsauken, 6 p.m.
Woodstown girls use defense to advance to SJIBT Elite 8; Penns Grove boys lose to Cinnaminson, but better for the experience
SATURDAY’S BASKETBALL SCORES Boys Paul VI Winter Classic Cinnaminson 65, Penns Grove 44
South Jersey Invitational Woodstown 55, Camden Catholic 41
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CHERRY HILL – Defense wins championships and it’s at least putting the Woodstown girls in a position to chase one in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament.
The Wolverines punched their ticket to the Elite 8 of the SJIBT Saturday with a 55-41 win over host Camden Catholic.
There are six games remaining in the tournament’s Sweet 16. The entire Elite 8 will be reseeded once it is determined before the field moves on to Eastern High School for the remainder of the event.
The Wolverines (10-2), the last South Jersey Group I team alive in the tournament, used two big defensive stretches to help their cause. They held the Irish (4-10) to three points in the fourth quarter and outscored them 16-3 to secure their fifth win in a row.
“Defense is what nobody loves to play, but it’s the thing that makes or breaks teams,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said. “They (the Wolverines) play so well together, they’re constantly talking to each other, they trust each other, they’re quick to adjust if you tell them to. All five of them who are on the floor are true basketball players, so any defense you tell them to run, they’re going to run effectively. It works so well.”
It looked like they locked up the win with a big run at the end of the first half. They went on a 13-0 run over the final 5:30 of the second quarter to turn a 16-15 deficit into a 28-16 halftime lead. They held the Irish to 0-for-10 shooting and forced three turnovers in the stretch.
The Irish rallied in the second half to get back into it. They came out firing to start the third quarter and hit five 3s among their first six buckets and first 16 points to erase all the good Woodstown did at the end of the half and take a 35-34 lead. Eight of the first nine buckets of the third quarter by either team were 3-pointers.
Woodstown’s winning defensive flurry actually started on the final play of the third quarter. Megan Donelson picked up a loose ball just outside the top of the key and drove the length of the floor for a layup with five-tenths of a second left to send the Wolverines into the fourth quarter with a 39-38 lead.
They didn’t lose the edge during the break. They forced turnovers on each of the first three possessions of the quarter and four over the first 2:30 and converted them all into points.
Talia Battavio got it started right at the start when she made a steal in just about the same place Donelson picked up her loose moments earlier and drove the floor for a layup. Donelson then stole the ensuing possession and fed Battavio for another layup.
The next time down the floor, Shannon Pierman forced a turnover along the baseline, then converted one of two free throws at the other end after the Wolverines put the ball back in play. The run ended just like it started with Battavio making a steal, driving the length of the floor for a layup and one. It gave the Wolverines a 47-39 lead with 5:30 to play.
“Everybody looks at us crazy because we play a 2-3 zone 90 percent of the time, but when we have Talia and Megan up top … once they get going with their steals, there’s just no stopping them,” Straughn said. “We do things just a little bit different that I think really makes huge difference for us.”
Battavio led the Wolverines with 16 points and four steals. Donelson had 15 points and five steals, and Alyssa Baber, whose 3-pointer stopped the Irish’ run in the third quarter, had a career-high 14 points. Both Battavio and Donelson are less than 115 points from 1,000.
“She’s been a little down on herself,” Straughn said of Baber, who miss all of last season with a knee injury. “Not disappointed in herself, but she knows she could be scoring more. She’s been working really hard in the gym, she’s been shooting a ton in practice and she even said this is why I’ve been working so hard because I know I can do it I just needed to put in a little extra. I think the fruits of her labors paid off.
“When a team plays zone against us like they did tonight, our shooters flourish and she just happened to be hot. She took advantage of it. She works super hard in practice and I think tonight showed she could be like that every game. I think it gave her some confidence.”
SOUTH JERSEY INVITATIONAL SWEET 16 Williamstown 50, Cherry Hill West 42 Woodstown 55, Camden Catholic 41 Jan. 22: Cherokee vs. Highland Jan. 22: Lenape vs. Gloucester Catholic Jan. 24 Holy Cross vs. Moorestown Jan. 26: Shawnee vs. Paul VI Jan. 26: Cinnaminson vs. Clearview Jan. 27: Timber Creek vs. Sterling
Paul IV Winter Classic
WESTMONT – Penns Grove coach Damian Ware knew his team was going up against a machine, but he’s never been one to shy away from competition. What is they say, iron sharpens iron.
The Red Devils may have lost Cinnaminson 65-44 in the Paul VI Winter Classic and were outscored in every quarter, but Ware said they will be better for the experience.
“It was a good game for us to play,” Ware said. “I always want to play up in competition. I don’t like playing down in competition. I want to play teams that are better than us, therefore we get better. We get better by playing better teams. You don’t get better by playing worse teams. That’s one of my beliefs.”
The Red Devils might have lost the game by 21 and all four quarters in the game, but an immediate gauge of the way they got better is by managing to trim the margin of separation in each quarter – 8, 6, 4 and 3.
The Pirates pulled away from an 8-6 game in the first quarter with a couple of late 3-pointers and stretched the lead at the break with a 3 to close out the half.
“We didn’t play super bad, we just didn’t make shots that we needed to make when we needed to make shots,” Ware said. “They’re a team that’s going to make their shots and that’s really what it came down, but it’s not like they just killed us. Each quarter they just beat us by a few points and it totaled up to 20 at the end of the game.”
Starting slow has been a problem. The Red Devils have trailed after the first quarter in nine of their games this season and are 2-7 in them. In games they’ve scored less than 10 points in the first quarter they’re 1-5.
It didn’t help two of their better players were in foul trouble the first half and three others who get a lot of minutes missed the game for various personal reasons. The absences did, however, open the door for some other players to get some quality minutes.
Neziah Spence, a freshman who’s scored only nine points all season on three 3-pointers, had seven and the Red Devils’ only trey of the game. Sophomore Luis Colon, who’d scored only one, had four.
“It was a chance for other guys to get a little bit of experience,” Ware said. “That’s what we used it as, experience.”
3-point goals: Cinnaminson 8 (N. Harvey 2, D. Harvey 2, Plaza, Parrish 3); Penns Grove 1 (Spence). Total fouls: Cinnaminson 13, Penns Grove 11. NOTES: The Pirates won their seventh in a row.
Marley Wood helps Pennsville keep it together after losing a top scorer, propels Eagles to an OT win over rival Penns Grove, calls it ‘the best feeling ever’
THURSDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Clayton 63, Salem 33 Pennsville 63, Penns Grove 60 (OT) Pitman 56, Salem Tech 32 Schalick 38, Overbrook 33 Woodstown 60, Glassboro 36
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – As soon as the horn sounded to signal the end of the game, Pennsville coach Sam Trapp leaped from the bench and made a bee-line towards her players coming off the court.
It was reminiscent of but not quite as frantic as the iconic image of Jim Valvano racing around the floor in Albuquerque looking for someone to hug after his North Carolina State team won the national championship in 1983. Valvano was looking for anyone. Trapp was seeking out a certain someone.
It didn’t take long for the coach to find the object of her search. Shortly after her Eagles had secured their 63-60 win over Penns Grove in overtime Thursday night Trapp located Marley Wood in the sea of blue and white uniforms and wrapped her arms around the sophomore guard in a giant bear hug.
“It was kind of a surreal moment; it was like crazy,” Wood said. “That’s the first time she’s ever hugged me like that. I played really hard and I think she saw I was getting kind of frustrated during the game but I stayed (with it) and I kept working and she was just happy that I kept going.”
Wood was the glue that kept the Eagles together down the stretch when circumstances dictated things could have easily gotten away.
They were without Nora Ausland, the other part of their one-two punch, for the most important part of the game after the junior forward injured her left foot and came out with 4:57 left in regulation and the Red Devils on the verge of seizing the momentum. It was the same foot she broke last year that ended her season at Salem after 12 games, although the extent of this latest injury wasn’t immediately known.
The Eagles have been rocked by injuries this season and shortly after the new year began had to elevate players from the junior varsity just to have enough able bodies to function. Post Bella Farina had just gotten back from concussion protocol and guard Taylor Bass was scheduled to return Friday after getting the cast removed from her broken hand, but the incoming snowstorm likely has disrupted those plans.
At least they’re not playing Friday now.
So with Ausland on the shelf after scoring 17 points, the Eagles needed Wood to step up in a big way. And she did. She kept things together with her ball handling, scoring and defense. She finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds and was the steadying influence down the stretch.
“I just knew that I had to step up and keep scoring so that we had our momentum still,” Wood said. “I had to kind of take her role and my role at the same time and try to coach my other teammates to keep going, too.”
“Why did I hug her; that’s why,” Trapp said. “To step up and remain composed and to continue to work hard through adversity. That girl has continued to lead this team through and through, through injuries and battles and I applaud her because she’s a sophomore, but she demonstrates leadership at such a supreme level, it’s phenomenal. She’s that player who just knows basketball IQ to put her at an advantage above the other kids on the court.”
Of course, Wood didn’t do it alone, but shepherded those who helped.
Farina was a rock in the post, grabbing rebounds, blocking shots and standing her ground, drawing praise from among others Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden, who repeatedly called her the best big man in the county’s girls game. Izzy Saulin gave the Eagles several big baskets, Kylie Harris was effective when she subbed in for Farina, and freshman Karsen Cooksey came through with rebounding and defense before fouling out.
Farina had seven points, 10 rebounds and at least three blocked shots in the fourth quarter and overtime. Saulin had 10 points. Harris had the first two baskets in an 8-0 run at the end of the first quarter as the Eagles started to pull ahead.
“I was just really glad that everybody stepped up today,” Wood said. “Sometimes it’s hard but today everyone really showed what they could do. I think everybody played a big part of today’s game.”
The Eagles led by 13 early in the third quarter, but the Red Devils rallied behind RaNiyah Wilson and freshmen JaNiyah Cummings and Arianna Dowe. Cummings was a factor inside and Wilson and Dowe combined for 15 points in an 18-7 run that got their team within two late in the third quarter. It was a dogfight the rest of the way.
Wilson scored 14 of her 17 points in the second half and overtime. Cummings had 13 points and Dowe scored 11 of her career-high 15 points and hit all three of her 3-pointers in the second half.
“That girl scored 33 against Woodstown, that’s impressive, which is why we chose to go box-and-one on her,” Trapp said of Wilson. “They rely on her a lot. They have plenty of other scorers on that court and I mentioned that to our girls … but when you look at film they rely so heavily on No. 3 that you have to take her out and force the other players to step up and score and they did and did a great job.”
Wilson hit two free throws with 16 seconds left that tied the game at 58. The Red Devils had the last shot in regulation. They ran an inbounds play with three-tenths of a second left and got it in to Wilson, but her tap up didn’t connect.
Penns Grove scored first in overtime, but Wood hit a runner with 2:04 left to put Pennsville up for good and after Farina blocked a shot on the next possession she scored on the other end to make it a three-point game. Farina blocked another shot a short time later to keep the Eagles in front.
3-point goals: Woodstown 7 (Battavio 4, Donelson 2, Baber); Glassboro 3 (Smith 2, Miles). NOTES: The 27-point third quarter matched their biggest quarter of the season. It was highlighted by multiple steals from Donelson and Battavio as well as them finishing around the basket and hitting some jumpers. Battavio completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Donelson had five assists, six blocks and six steals. Pierman grabbed 11 rebounds. The Wolverines have won four in a row.
CLAYTON 63, SALEM 38 CLAYTON (6-6) – Rainelle Blocker 9 4-5 22, Jordyn Jones 4 3-3 11, Rosalina Pereira 0 1-2 1, Deondria Simon 1 0-0 2, Ava Delaney 7 2-6 18, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, Indian Williams 3 0-0 7. Totals 25 10-16 63. SALEM (4-7) – Ameriyona Hunter 2 0-0 5, Marjziah Bundy 1 1-2 4, Madison Dizon 1 1-4 3, Ava Rodgers 1 4-6 6, Ryann Foote 2 1-2 5, Carlysia Pierce 2 1-2 5, Marissa Bower 4 1-4 12. Totals 13 9-20 38. 3-point goals: Clayton 3 (Delaney 2, Williams); Salem 4 (Hunter, Bower 3). NOTES: Rodgers grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots. Foote dished five assists. Hunter had seven rebounds and four steals. The loss snapped Salem’s two-game winning streak.
3-point goals: Pitman 4 (Fisicaro 2, Villari, Rollins); Salem Tech 2 (Beardsley 2). NOTES: Fisicaro also was credited with 17 of the Panthers’ 30 steals. Duffield had seven.
3-point goals: Overbrook 4 (Evans, Nevins 3); Schalick 4 (Sparks, Willoughby). Total fouls: Overbrook 13, Schalick 12. NOTES: The Cougars showed their potential in the first and, especially, fourth quarters with high energy defense and crisp ball movement. Gaines scored nine of her career-high 13 in the fourth quarter and she had 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. Scurry, with seven rebounds and five blocked shots, hit 100 rebounds and 50 blocks for the season. Schalick used a big fourth quarter rally to win. Schalick is 3-6, Overbrook 2-8.
Penns Grove outlasts Pennsville in a game that had a little bit of everything, a lengthy delay and a player going over 1,000 points
THURSDAY’S BOYS GAMES Glassboro 55, Woodstown 47 Overbrook 58, Schalick 31 Penns Grove 75, Pennsville 65 Pitman 101, Salem Tech 44 Salem 90, Clayton 52
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – For all the highs and lows that were going on in the Pennsville-Penns Grove game Thursday night, there were three big takeaways that should have followed the crowd back out into the cold night.
Penns Grove coach Damian Ware picked up another win over his Carleton School teaching colleague, planning period partner and Pennsville coaching buddy Joe Mecholsky. The Red Devils collected a bunch of South Jersey Group I power points and some serious county cred by beating their rivals. And Pennsville’s Luke Wood became the latest member of the 1,000-Point Club.
And, oh, Penns Grove’s floor Zamboni works just fine.
Luke Wood and his family celebrate the Pennsville junior guard scoring his 1,000th career point Thursday night at Penns Grove.
First the highlights:
The Red Devils took down the Eagles 75-65 for their ninth win in the last 10 meetings between the two coaches. They led virtually wire-to-wire largely by hitting 3s and ruling the boards (18 offensive rebounds) and placed three scorers in double figures.
Freshman KaRon Ceaser, riding the high of receiving his first college football scholarship offer from Syracuse earlier in the day, led the Red Devils with 20 points. Giomar Conrad had 18 points and Mehki Ballard, who seems to have found his shooting rhythm just in time for the second half of the season, had 14 with a couple 3-pointers.
Wood became the 17th member of Pennsville’s 1,000-Point Club and second in his family when he drained a 3-pointer from the left corner with 5:45 left in a game the Eagles had climbed back into contention for. He needed 19 points coming into the game and finished with a season-high 28, going 11-of-25 from the field. He hit the magic number on his 18th shot of the game.
It was hoped he would reach the milestone at home this weekend, where his sister Ryane, the most recent player to join the club (1224 points ending in 2022), could have been on hand to watch. Instead, he had to settle for reaching the milestone against the same team his coach did against in 1992.
“I don’t know if there’s any other emotion other than it feels good, it’s great,” Wood said. “That’s something you come into high school trying to get and you finally hit it, it feels good.”
Now for the lowlight:
The game was delayed 28 minutes late in the first quarter as a custodian cleaned the gym floor after it had become dangerously slippery from the de-icing salt on spectators’ shoes mixing with the chemicals used to clean the floor. It made for hazardous footing along the sidelines and players from each team fell hard as a result.
Mecholsky threatened to pull his team from the game after Peyton O’Brien slipped along the baseline for a second time in the opening minutes of play. The game was halted at 7:28 p.m. local time – with 36.9 seconds left in the first quarter and Penns Grove leading by 10 – after the Red Devils’ Camren Thompson crashed into the bleachers.
“We’re here with kids, we’re here just trying to play a game and conditions are disastrously … I’ve never even seen that before in my life,” Mecholsky said. “We were going home. We were going home. What am I going do, have a Pennsville kid break his clavicle over there? No. We were leaving. We were leaving. That was an embarrassment. But they did fix it.”
The players from both teams said it was only slippery in the corners and around the sideline. The playing area was not affected, they said.
“The court was fine, but once you went out of bounds it was scary,” O’Brien said, “but we fought through it and they fixed it after a while so we were good.”
“I tried to stay away from the sidelines,” Wood said. “I was playing it smart. I tried to stay in the middle of the floor.”
A custodian made four laps around the court on the cleaner during and went back-and-forth three times along the baselines before the game resumed at 8 p.m. local time. The custodian went around the court twice more at halftime.
A Penns Grove High School custodian cleans the edge of the basketball court during a delay in Thursday night’s game with Pennsville.
The teams hung out in their bench area until the clean-up was finished.
“It was something that was out of any of our control,” Ware said. “For precaution and safety of the kids (the delay) was the best thing to do. You never know, somebody could have slipped, rolled an ankle, fell, bust their elbow up. It was the best thing we could do at that point.”
There were some rumblings the game could be suspended at halftime and resumed at a later date, but the three-person all-female officiating crew indicated at halftime the second half would proceed as scheduled. Ware said he would have not been in favor of a stoppage. The second half proceeded without incident.
The delay didn’t seem to bother the Red Devils’ game. They were leading 24-14 at the time of the delay and wound up winning by that margin. They hit six of their eight 3-pointers after the delay. They led by 20 in the third quarter before Ware subbed in his reserves and Pennsville rallied.
“I was actually kind of tired in the beginning of the game so the delay actually kind of helped me,” Ballard said.
Wood’s milestone 3-pointer got the Eagles to within 10. The junior guard looked a lot more relaxed once he reached 1,000 and he scored the Eagles next seven points. His next 3-pointer got them within six with 3:34 to play, 65-59, but that was as close as they got.
“There’s definitely a little bit of pressure when you’re about to score 1,000 points,” Wood said. “I think definitely after I scored it today everyone could tell the pressure got lifted and that I was back to my normal self.”
Thompson answered with a 3 and the Red Devils kept the margin between eight and 10 for the time that remained.
“They made more 3s than I anticipated and we didn’t rebound like them,” Mecholsky said. “Great game by coach (Ware). His players made shots tonight and they rebounded. They weren’t special, but they outrebounded us and we lost.”
3-point goals: Glassboro 2 (Suggs, Dougherty); Woodstown 9 (Bialecki 3, Hall 3, Webb, Leyman, Vazquez). NOTES: Graves and Sabb both had double-doubles with Graves grabbing 10 rebounds and Sabb hauling in 11. Webb had six assists and four steals for Woodstown. The Wolverines have lost three in a row.
OVERBROOK 58, SCHALICK 31 SCHALICK (4-5) – Reggie Allen 19, Dan Lis 4, Jordan Johnson 2, Nylan Sutton 4, Jase Volovar 2. OVERBROOK (9-3) – Jaden St. John 2 0-0 4, Lamar Little 4 0-0 11, Chris Grier 2 1-3 5, Amare Kee 2 1-1 6, Maki Ortiz 1 0-0 2, Angel Bermudez 0 0-0 0, Shaun Mills 4 0-1 9, Tory Scott 1 0-0 2, Zair Green 3 1-1 8, Kevin Satchell 0 1-2 1, Elvin Santiago 1 2-2 4, Nic Johnson 2 2-5 6. Totals 22 8-15 58.
PITMAN 101, SALEM TECH 44 PITMAN (10-3) – Porter Kostiuk 2 6-6 10, Stephen Devanney 1 2-4 4, Hudson Rue 1 0-0 2, Elijah Crispin 8 2-2 19, Trey Tinges 1 1-2 4, Colin Ambrosius 1 0-0 2, Chris Wyllie 3 0-0 7, Michael Fisciaro 12 3-3 32, Sonny Myers 5 1-4 11, Greg Petersen 1 4-4 8, Jake Epting 2 0-0 4. Totals 37 19-25 101. SALEM TECH (0-10) – Haneef Frisby 12, Joseph Hayes 4, Daviontae Russell 6, Josh Muntz 4, Tyler Zampino 8, Antoine Robinson 8, Chase Ayers 2.
Pitman
34
23
28
16 –
101
Salem Tech
12
14
12
6 –
44
3-point goals: Pitman 8 (Crispin, Tinges, Wyllie, Fisicaro 5). NOTES: The Panthers became the first team to score 100 in Salem Tech’s gym. Clayton hung 100-plus on the visiting Chargers in the 2021-22 and 2019-20 seasons.
For the two coaches in the Pennsville-Penns Grove basketball game, tomorrow they can be friends, today they fight
THURSDAY’S BOYS GAMES Glassboro 55, Woodstown 47 Overbrook 58, Schalick 31 Penns Grove 75, Pennsville 65 Pitman def. Salem Tech Salem 90, Clayton 52
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – For everybody else at the Paul W. Carleton School it was just another day at school, but for two of the teachers there it was a day a little different than all others.
For 363 days of the year, Damian Ware and Joe Mecholsky are teachers in the same school. One, Ware, teaches the fifth graders in an upstairs classroom. The other, Mecholsky, has the fourth graders downstairs.
They wave familiarly when they pass in the halls. They have the same planning period and often sit together talking basketball, comparing notes on common opponents.
But Thursday, while the conversation may be cordial and more poor mouth than trash talk, this day is different.
Every other day of the year they’re Carleton School teachers through and through, but when this school day ended Thursday they were trying to beat each other’s brains in as the coaches of the Penns Grove and Pennsville basketball teams that also, by the way, happen to be their high school alma maters.
“Oh, we’ll talk,” Ware said. “We don’t trade secrets or anything, but we’ll have general conversations about hoops and stuff like that.
“It’s actually a lot of fun. We have fun with each other. Neither one of us take anything personally. It’s all fun. It’s all about the kids. It’s a competitive, fun thing, basically.”
Everybody in the school gets caught up in it. Teachers and students are always asking when they’re going to play. The students get a kick out of watching their Mr. M coach the opposition.
Their teams have met nine times in the previous six years they’ve been head coaches at their alma maters and Ware has had the best of it, winning eight of them. Mecholsky finally broke through in the first meeting last season – in the Hyper-Baric Chamber that is Penns Grove’s gym – but the Red Devils got them back in Pennsville in the rematch.
(UPDATE: Ware made it nine out of 10 against his buddy Thursday night as the Red Devils won 75-65.)
There have been some memorable games though.
“We aren’t friendly while coaching against each other because every chance that son of a gun has had a chance to put 100 on my head he does it,” Mecholsky said. “He doesn’t try to hold back his team. He doesn’t try to be nice. No-o-o-o.
“One year (2018), they scored 100 on us and had a foul called so they took the 100 off the board. The next possession instead of just dribbling out the clock, with the crowd going ‘one hundred, one hundred,’ he scored again, so the crowd got to celebrate twice.
“And then the next morning we had breakfast together at the Deepwater Diner as if nothing happened.”
The game has no name, like the Wildman Willey Boot the teams play for in football, and strangely there have been no special wagers between the coaches like mayors and governors sometime do during football bowl games. Those things aren’t needed here. They’re playing for something more. Much more.
“We bet the one thing that can’t be bought with money – pride,” Mecholsky said. “When I see him in the hall the next day and I look at him, yea-h-h-h, I’m able to say I got you. And if he gets me, he’ll give me the same thing. We get on each other, but it’s brotherly love.”
When Friday morning comes things will return to normal for everyone at the Carleton School, unless, of course, school gets canceled or delayed by the impending snowstorm. Ware will make his way upstairs to teach his fifth graders and Mecholsky will head to downstairs to be with his fourth graders.
They’ll pass each other in the halls and get together during their planning period and talk ball as if nothing had happened. Only this time one will have a little extra pep in their step that’s not likely to subside until they play again the last day of the regular season.
“During the game we’re rivals and want to beat each other, Pennsville-Penns Grove,” Mecholsky said, “but right after the game it’s a handshake, it’s a hug and we’re back to work tomorrow.”
Who knows, they might even have breakfast at the Deepwater Diner together again.
Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Jan. 15-21
Monday
BASKETBALL Girls Salem at Burlington City, 11 a.m. St. Joe at Schalick, 1:30 p.m.
Boys Pennsville at Haddon Twp., 11 a.m.
WRESTLING Egg Harbor Twp. at Schalick, 5 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK NJSIAA Relays, Bennett Center, Toms River
Tuesday
BASKETBALL Girls Schalick at Penns Grove, 5 p.m. Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Wildwood at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Boys Penns Grove at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m. Wildwood at Salem Tech, 4 pm. Woodstown at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4:30 p.m.
SWIMMING Schlick at Camden Academy, 3:30 p.m.
BOWLING Salem vs. Salem Tech, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Wednesday
BASKETBALL Girls Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Boys Woodstown at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Woodstown at Cumberland, 5 p.m. Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Pennsville, Penns Grove, Salem in SJCTA Meet, Toms River, 3:30 p.m.
BOWLING Salem Tech at West Deptford, 4 p.m.
Thursday
BASKETBALL Girls Pennsville at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Clayton at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Overbrook at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Pitman, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Boys Glassboro at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Penns Grove at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Pitman at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Clayton, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m.
SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Gloucester Catholic at GCIT, 5:45 p.m. Schalick vs. Pitman at GCIT, 7:15 p.m. Salem vs. Deptford Twp. at GCIT, 8:30 p.m.
BOWLING Salem Tech in NJTAC at Bowlero, North Brunswick, 11:30 a.m. Salem vs. Collingswood, Westbrook Lanes, 4 p.m.
Friday
BASKETBALL Girls Pennsville at Gloucester City, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Buena, 4 p.m. Boys Buena at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Gloucester City at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Salem Tech at Moorestown Friends, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Woodstown at Timber Creek, 5 p.m. Pennsville at Mainland Regional, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
BASKETBALL Girls Salem Tech at Camden County Tech, 11:30 a.m.
SJIBT Tournament Woodstown at Camden Catholic, 2:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Schalick, Deptford Twp., Pemberton at Haddon Twp., 8 a.m. Salem, Overbrook, Pitman at Penns Grove, 9 a.m. Pennsville, Vineland, BCIT-Westampton at Collingswood, 10 a.m. Woodstown, Haddon Heights, Pennsauken at Buena
SWIMMING Salem, Schalick in SJISA Championships at GCIT
INDOOR TRACK Woodstown, Penns Grove at Bennett Center, Toms River
Girls roundup: Wolverines roll over Clayton behind Donelson, Battavio; Pennsville, Salem Tech fall
WEDNESDAY’S GIRLS SCORES Glassboro 61, Salem Tech 23 Gloucester Catholic 68, Pennsville 18 Salem at Schalick, ppd. Woodstown 72, Clayton 42
By Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Talia Battavio helped teammate Megan Donelson hit her 100th career 3-pointer in a game the other day, and now she’s not that far behind.
Battavio hit five 3-pointers on the way to a 23-point game in Woodstown’s 72-42 rout of Clayton, and now she needs just one more from behind the arc to reach 100 for her career. She’s also just two steals short of 100 in that category.
Donelson led the Wolverines with 27 points and went over 250 rebounds and 125 assists in the game.
The Wolverines are now 12-1 over the last two seasons when either Donelson or Battavio score 20 in the same game, 7-0 when they both go for 20.
Both players are going for an even more prestigious milestone. Donelson now needs 151 points for 1,000 and Battavio needs 170.
GLOUCESTER CITY — The Eagles can’t wait to start getting some their injured players back. They were held scoreless in the first quarter and only got scoring from three players in their third straight loss.
GLASSBORO — Tamia Smith scored 26 points, Kezia Bracket scored 25 and Gianna Wedderburn grabbed 13 rebounds as Glassboro won its third straight and kept the Chargers winless.
GLASSBORO 61, SALEM TECH 23 SALEM TECH (0-8) — Hanna DeWitt 2-3-7, Kaylin Beardsley 1-3-5, Rylee Doerr 1-0-2, Morgan VanDover 3-0-7, Shelby Drummond 1-0-2. Totals 8-6-23. GLASSBORO (6-3) — Tamia Smith 12 0-3 26, Kezia Brackett 10 2-3 25, Ante Davis 1 0-0 2, Sianna Wedderburn 1 0-0 2, Scarlett Saicic 1 0-0 3, NiJah Norton Clark 1 0-0 3, Grave Moore 0 0-0 0, Sanaa Thomas 0 0-0 0, Kimora Miles 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 2-8 61.
Riverview Sports News 