Here are the Tri-County Conference boys and girls basketball standings in the Classic and Diamond Divisions; games at 5:30 p.m. unless noted; standings through Jan. 18
Girls standings
CLASSIC DIVISION
OV
DIV
GC
WW
CL
PI
ST
SA
Gloucester Catholic
9-1
5-0
—
W
W
W
W
W
Wildwood
8-2
4-1
L
—
W
W
W
W
Clayton
8-2
3-2
L
L
—
W
W
W
Pitman
4-7
2-3
L
L
L
—
W
W
Salem Tech
2-7
1-4
L
L
L
L
—
W
Salem
0-10
0-5
L
L
L
L
L
—
DIAMOND DIVISION
OV
DIV
WO
PV
PG
GL
SC
OB
Woodstown
10-2
5-0
—
W
W
W
W
W
Pennsville
7-3
4-1
L
—
W
W
W
W
Penns Grove
6-4
3-2
L
L
—
W
W
W
Glassboro
5-6
2-3
L
L
L
—
W
W
Schalick
2-6
1-4
L
L
L
L
—
W
Overbrook
2-10
0-5
L
L
L
L
L
—
FRIDAY’S GAMES Clearview 48, Glassboro 28 Kingsway 60, Pitman 18 Gloucester 53, Salem 21 Camden Tech at Salem Tech Clayton 49, Lindenwold 34 Woodstown 65, Pennsville 56
MONDAY’S GAME Bridgeton at Pennsville, 11 a.m.
Boys standings
CLASSIC DIVISION
OV
DIV
PI
SA
GC
WW
CL
ST
Pitman
8-2
5-0
—
W
W
W
W
W
Salem
5-8
4-1
L
—
W
W
W
W
Gloucester Catholic
5-8
2-3
L
L
—
L
W
W
Clayton
6-5
2-3
L
L
L
W
—
W
Wildwood
4-7
2-3
L
L
W
—
L
W
Salem Tech
0-12
0-5
L
L
L
L
L
—
DIAMOND DIVISION
OV
DIV
OB
GL
PG
WO
SC
PV
Overbrook
12-2
5-0
—
W
W
W
W
W
Glassboro
5-7
3-2
L
—
W
L
W
W
Penns Grove
3-7
3-2
L
L
—
W
W
W
Woodstown
7-3
3-2
L
W
L
—
W
W
Schalick
4-8
1-4
L
L
L
L
—
W
Pennsville
1-10
0-5
L
L
L
L
L
—
FRIDAY’S GAMES Clayton 87, Lindenwold 82 GCIT 65, Salem Tech 22 Woodstown 92, Pennsville 47
SATURDAY’S GAMES Cinnaminson 57, Pitman 49 Overbrook 62, Washington Twp. 44 Glassboro 56, Gloucester 46 Lenape 65, Salem 42
SUNDAY’S GAME Newark vs. Everybody Showcase at Weequahic HS Penns Grove vs. Shabazz, 2:30 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAME Penns Grove vs. Burlington City at Woodbury, 5:15 p.m.
Woodstown’s decorated runners win 4×800 indoor Group I Relays title, place top 3 in two other events; Salem’s boys also have big night
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
TOMS RIVER – Add another gold medal to the collection of the Woodstown’s 4X800 relay team.
The decorated group had a big night at the NJSIAA Indoor Relays at the Bennett Center Bubble Friday, winning the Group I 4×800 race and finishing in the top three in two others.
Cole Lucas, Karson Chew, Jacob Marino and Josh Crawford won their signature event, the 4×800, in 8:23.30, beating runner-up McNair Academic by 10 seconds. They dominated their section race, winning by nearly 45 seconds.
They ran 11:00.51 in the distance medley and finished second to Glassboro’s 10:56.39. They ran 3:33.74 and were third, just nosed out by Camden for silver. Woodbury won the race.
“Tonight was a big night for all four of us guys as it was an accomplishment we achieved as a team,” Crawford said. “I wouldn’t want to be considered state champs with any other guys as they have heart, drive and discipline.
“Each one of us faced challenges tonight, such as doubt or nervousness. However, we found the courage to support one another and left everything we had on the track.”
The Wolverines finished tied for fourth as a team.
The Salem boys also had a big night at the meet.
The Rams were tied for ninth as a team. Their 4×200 relay (Kaden Robinson, Anthony Parker, Jelani Beverly, Timothy Gregory) set a school record in finishing third at 1:35.85. Their shuttle hurdle team (Parker, Gradin Buzby, Beverly, Gregory) finished fourth in 33.17.
“They exceeded expectations,” Salem coach David Hunt said. “I’m always proud when you see the kids’ efforts pay off in meets. They work extremely hard in practice.
“The thing I like about track is you’re able to set your expectations and can find wins when you exceed them. It’s important that you have small wins like we did today by setting school records and competing the best we can and improve on that.”
Here are the Salem County athletes who finished in the top six of their respective events at the NJSIAA Indoor Relays Meet.
BOYS GROUP I: Glassboro 39, Hasbrouck Heights 29, Camden 28, Metuchen 24, WOODSTOWN 24, Hanover Park 18, Woodbury 18, Glen Rock 17, SALEM 11, Audubon 11, McNair Academic 10, Haddon Twp. 10, Shore 10, Mountain Lakes 6, Raritan 5, SCHALICK 5, New Providence 4, Ramsey 4, New Milford 3, Clayton 2, Verona 1. Distance Medley: 2. Woodstown (Jacob Marino, Anthony Costello, Lucas Cole, Karson Chew), 11:00.51 Shuttle Hurdle: 4. Salem (Anthony Parker, Gradin Buzby, Jelani Beverly, Timothy Gregory), 33.17 4×200: 3. Salem (Kaden Robinson, Anthony Parker, Jelani Beverly, Timothy Gregory), 1:35.85 4×800: 1. Woodstown (Karson Chew, Jacob Marino, Josh Crawford, Lucas Cole), 8:23.30 Sprint Medley: 6. Schalick (David Stewart, Roneem Thomas, Michael Eberl, Steve Chomo), 3:51.88 4×400: 3. Woodstown (Lucas Cole, Karson Chew, Jacob Marino, Josh Crawford), 3:33.74 Pole Vault: 4. Salvatore Longo, Schalick, 11-6; 6. Gradin Buzby, Salem, 10-6.01
The 3-ball was flying as Battavio, Donelson lead Woodstown girls over Pennsville for sole possession of first place in TCC Diamond Division
GIRLS GAMES Woodstown 65, Pennsville 56 Gloucester City 53, Salem 21 Camden Co. Tech at Salem Tech
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Talia Battavio was fighting through a shooting slump, but she didn’t let it get her down. If there’s one thing she’s learned in all her years playing basketball it’s shooters shoot. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t and when they don’t eventually they will.
They went in for her Friday night against Pennsville. She had made only one 3-pointer in her last three games — and that was a big one in the win over Wildwood. It was her longest drought since her freshman year, but it didn’t deter her in the least.
The first shot she took against the Eagles, she spotted up in the left corner and drained a 3-pointer. Then she hit another. And then another. Three in a row in the first four minutes. Suddenly there was a big exhale even though Pennsville still had the lead.
The sense always was whenever Battavio broke out of the slump it was going to be in a big way. She hit a season-high five 3s against the Eagles in the game, scored 24 points and the Wolverines went on to win 65-56 to gain solo possession of first place in the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division.
“It was a relief, but I know what I can do,” Battavio said. “I felt like I was thinking too much about it, so I kind of just let it fly today and I think it came out in my favor.
“I think it got us all fired up. I think it did set a tone. We came to play. We always do, but I think we were on fire, we were together. Everybody.”
Woodstown coach Matt Smart said seeing those early 3s go down wasn’t a relief to him because he knows what the Goldey-Beacom signee can do. It was seeing the smile return to her face when they did fall that sealed it for him. And hitting those shots opened up a lot of other things for the Wolverines.
And the 3s were flying everywhere. The Wolverines (10-2) made 10. Megan Donelson had three on the way to 28 points that moved her into third on Woodstown’s girls all-time scoring list (behind Tori Smick and Battavio). Lauren Hengel had the other two.
Pennsville (7-3) hit 12 with Nora Ausland making half of them in a 20-point game that moved her within 60 points of 1,000. Marley Wood (17 points) hit three, Addie Johnston two and Taylor Bass one. Each time Battavio hit one of her early 3s, the Eagles answered with one of their own.
“They’re a very talented team who we knew could shoot from all over the place,” Smart said. “Watching film we knew it was going to be tough battle. It’s our first kind of battle since Wildwood, but I think those are the games we play the best. We play unselfish, we’re attacking the basket, we took good shots, we rebound, box out. Our girls showed up.”
It was Woodstown’s 37th win in a row over Diamond Division opponents and 33rd straight against Salem County rivals.
The game was decided by two stretches. The game was tied at 23 with 4:30 left in the second quarter when, at the suggestion of assistant coach Frank Trautz, the Wolverines switched from defenses and pressed a little more to get Pennsville out of its sets and they held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the half while opening a 30-23 halftime lead.
“We haven’t seen that kind of pressure all season long,” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “Kudos to them. That’s a talented group of people. They run up and down the floor, frenetically sometimes, and I tried to tell my kids to prepare for that but it’s difficult.”
It was a five-point game with 3:09 left in the third quarter when Donelson “got in my groove” and scored nine straight points to give the Wolverines some breathing room. It was part of a greater 21-9 run that carried into the fourth quarter and made it a 17-point game before Pennsville battled to bring it back.
“Megan came up to me and was like my shot’s not falling, so we made an adjustment that way,” Smart said. “She was very honest with me. She was like my shot’s not falling right now, Talia’s shot’s falling, let’s try to get her to run the baseline and she’ll be able to shoot 3s and maybe let me control the ball more so I can attack.
“She understands her game so well when her shot’s not falling she understands she can impact the game in other ways. That’s what’s very special about her. She understands her game so well that she’s able to make adjustments off it.”
Even though they were down 18 in the fourth quarter, the Eagles ran towards the fire and made it respectable. Ausland hit her last two 3s and Bass added three points to cut that deficit in half by the horn.
“I’ve been coaching for 21 seasons,” Merritt said. “I’ve had more talented teams, but I didn’t have a team with great heart. They didn’t back down at all. They worked hard to end. We worked our butts off.”
Salem bowler Perez has a career day; Schalick takes down Pennsville in wrestling; Penns Grove’s girls fall in basketball
Bowling
BOYS SALEM 4, SALEM TECH 0: Sophomore Rudy Perez had the best day of his high school career, rolling games of 226, 225 and 244 for a 695 series, to lead the Rams (3-3). His previous high series was 591 last year against Lindenwold and his previous best game was 213 (twice last year).
Troy Carey also rolled a 600 series for the Rams with games of 188, 215 and 197.
Aaron Dean rolled Salem Tech’s high series (522) and Aidan McMackin had the Chargers’ high game (196).
GIRLS SALEM TECH 4, SALEM 0: Courtney Farnkopf rolled a 397 series with a high game of 162 to lead the Chargers to the sweep and their first win of the season. Destiny Pitts had Salem’s high game (124) and series (315).
Wrestling
CENTERTON – Schalick took the lead in the Tri-County Classic Division with a 63-15 win over Pennsville.
The once-beaten Cougars (10-1) moved to 3-0 in the division, while handing Pennsville (8-4) its first division loss (3-1).
Schalick scored seven pins in the match with Eric Sulik scoring the fastest (0:55) at 165.
SCHALICK 63, PENNSVILLE 15 126: Luke Silva (S) pinned Vincent Ciccantelli, 0:58 132: Ryan Miller (S) pinned Nathaniel Mason, 3:02 138: Gabe Supernavage (P) tech fall Colin Bittle, 17-1 (5:28) 144: Ayden Jenkins (S) dec. Travis Hagan, 5-4 150: Koen Martin (S) won by forfeit 157: Riley Papiano (S) won by forfeit 165: Eric Sulik (S) pinned Juan Velasquez, 0:55 175: Ricky Watt (S) pinned Joseph Halstead, 4:49 190: Connor Ayars (P) maj. dec. Evan Elliott, 13-3 215: Gerardo Felipe (S) won by forfeit 285: Trevor Waddington (P) pinned Julian Reid, 4:45 106: Emma Cain (S) pinned John Sassi, 3:29 113: Caleb Jenkins (S) pinned Brett Land, 4:27 120: E’Shion Underwood (S) pinned Earl Wynn, 3:00
WOODSTOWN 55, TIMBER CREEK 19 120: Carson Bradway (WO) won by forfeit 126: Travis Balback (WO) won by forfeit 132: Walker Battavio (WO) pinned Ayden Zarnosky, 5:25 138: Matt Cordova (TC) maj. dec. Ryan Polk, 11-0 144: Sincere Cook-Reese (WO) tech fall Eric Rambaran, 21-6 (4:31) 150: Joey Walker (TC) pinned Thomas Lacy, 2:55 157: Brett Rowand (WO) won by forfeit 165: Laitton Roberts (WO) pinned Mason Dickerson, 1:09 175: Greyson Hyland (WO) maj. dec. Zyeir Green, 17-9 190: Amir Reason-Dallas (TC) dec. Paul Banff, 9-6 215: Walter Carter (WO) maj. dec. Elijah Green, 13-4 285: Mateo Vinciguerra (WO) pinned Roland Green, 1:11 106: Chase Blandino (WO) won by forfeit 113: Matthew Steele (TC) pinned Hunter Allen, 1:44
CLAYTON/GLASSBORO 34, PENNS GROVE 29 106: Jose Santiago (PG) pinned Ayden Figueroa, 1:53 113: Dylan Adams (CG) pinned Avery Curriden, 1:51 120: Double forfeit 126: Adan Gonzales (PG) won by forfeit 132: Devine Arce (PG) pinned Antonio Mendez, 0:40 138: Willliam Camp (CG) pinned Abdul Tart, 5:51 144: Steven Benkert (CG) pinned Angel Ocasio, 1:07 150: Julian Lloret (CG) won by forfeit 157: Tre Brown (PG) tech fall Brodie Carey, 19-4 165: Double forfeit 175: Double forfeit 190: Jeffrey Smith (CG) maj. dec. Clinton Bobo, 14-0 215: Antonio Cooper (PG) won by forfeit 285: Kasalon Carr (CG) pinned Maliq Reddick, 0:39
Girls basketball
CAMDEN 48, PENNS GROVE 40: Camden outscored the Red Devils 26-17 in the middle two quarters to take the upper hand. Hadiya Higgs-Salaam scored 27 points, hitting 12 of 23 from the free throw line, for the winners.
Rams win second straight after taking hit from the state, beat Gloucester Catholic to spoil Mustaro’s milestone night; Penns Grove, Woodstown also win
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Salem 72, Gloucester Catholic 47 Penns Grove 81, Pennsville 44 Pitman 95, Salem Tech 32 Woodstown 58, Schalick 44
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Anthony Farmer knew the night would have a celebratory tone for the guys sitting on the bench across the way, but the Salem coach didn’t want the party getting too out of hand.
Jack Mustaro became Gloucester Catholic’s all-time leading scorer with his first basket Wednesday, but Farmer and the Salem Rams muted the celebration by taking the biggest prize of the night – a 72-47 win to continue their climb up the South Jersey Group I power points standings after an administrative setback earlier in the week.
“Jack is a hell of a player, I have the utmost respect for Jack,” Farmer said. “A competitor. Just a hell of an athlete all-around, so kudos to him for breaking the record, but for us, it was about us.
“We really just needed to kind of slow down a really good player, be disciplined and follow the game plan and I thought tonight we were disciplined and followed the game plan. That’s what we’re trying to get to, to play four quarters and really put a good, solid win together, and I thought tonight we did that.”
Mustaro, a senior multi-sport start for GC, needed three points to become his school’s all-time leading scorer – a record that stood for 56 years. It took him five shots to get it, but he finally broke through with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 4:29 left in the first quarter to break the mark of 1,507 set by Dom Carrera, who graduated in 1969.
“It’s an honor,” Mustaro said. “Obviously, we wanted a better outcome than that, but it’s an honor to be only player to score this many points in Gloucester Catholic history. I’ve been working so hard for this and I’m so glad it came.
“Coming into the game I knew I wanted it early. I might have forced a couple quick ones there, but it finally came to me. Once I settled down and let it come to me, it came and I got it.”
After hitting the milestone basket, he ran to the far side of the court, tossed the record-setting basketball up to his mom for safe keeping and sat for a couple pictures with his brother and cousins before getting back into the flow of the game.
“I had to give the ball to my mom,” he said. “She’s the one who made all that happen out there.”
Gloucester Catholic’s Jack Mustaro (22) takes the 3-pointer that put him over the top as his school’s all-time leading scorer.
It was a tight game through the first quarter, but Salem took control in the second with its physicality and athleticism.
Mustaro opened the second quarter with a four-point play to give his team the lead, then Salem ran off the next nine points and never trailed again. The record-setter scored all of GC’s points in the quarter, but the Rams outscored him 21-10 to take a 33-19 halftime lead and they continued to pull away in the second half.
Mustaro wasn’t there for the finish. He fouled out with 1:34 left in the third quarter and spent the rest of the game tied to the bench. He finished with 17 points, giving him 1,522 for his career.
“We knew (the record) was coming for a bit,” GC coach Brandon Dougherty said. “You don’t want it coming in a game like this, but when you step back, it’s just a testament to his whole career and well he’s played.
“It took a minutes for it to happen – he had a couple clean looks; I don’t know if he’s a little tight or adrenaline pumped up – but once he got that monkey off his back I thought we got a chance to kind of compete. That’s a really big physical team and we’re a little inexperienced and I think that’s the difference tonight.”
DeShaan Williams was big for the Rams in the pull-away second quarter. At one point in the quarter he scored seven straight points for them and had 11 of his 13 in the first half.
Sophomore Tymear Lecator once again led Salem’s offense with 23 points; he now has 507 career points in a season and a half. He also had eight rebounds and seven assists. Williams had seven rebounds to go with his points and Nyziah Spence had 10 points.
“I was laughing with the coaches, teams have been known to play us zone, but we haven’t had a high post presence,” Farmer said. “DeShaan is a legitimate high post presence. He catches it, makes the right read out of there, he can drive it both ways, so he’s a legitimate high post threat with the zone, which is a great pleasure to have.”
The win moved Salem from 13th to 10th in the SJ Group I power points standings. The Rams fell all the way to 17th after the NJSIAA ruled Monday they had used an ineligible player and had to forfeit their four wins in which the player participated.
3-point goals: GC 7 (C. Mendez 2, Mustaro 2, Pund 2, J. Mendez); Salem 7 (Spence 3, Lecator 4). Rebounds: GC 14 (Pund 4); Salem 42 (Lecator 8, McGriff 7, Williams 7, Burden 7). Technical fouls: Mustaro. Fouled out: Mustaro. Total fouls: GC 11, Salem 16.
PENNS GROVE 81, PENNSVILLE 44: Penns Grove coach Damian Ware really feels for the struggles coaching pal and teaching colleague Joe Mecholsky is having at Pennsville this season, but the Red Devils were in need of a win, too.
Pennsville had won only once this year and lost six straight coming into the game. Penns Grove wasn’t ripping it up, either, winning only twice and coming in with a four-game losing streak, albeit against a demanding schedule that has elevated them to ninth in the power points standings.
Something had to give.
“We definitely needed to get a win,” Ware said. “It’s unfortunate it’s at their expense, but at the same time you’ve got to play the game no matter what. No matter who the opponent is, you’ve got to play the same way.”
The Eagles (1-9) came out ready to hunt, hitting three 3s in the first quarter to keep it interesting. But Ware substituted in the second quarter to introduce a quicker tempo to the game and the Red Devils pulled away.
Will Roy was one of the strategic subs and he responded by hitting three 3-pointers in the first half, scoring 10 points in the second quarter and finishing with a career-high 15. Roy, a sophomore, had scored only 23 points and one other 3-pointer his entire career before Wednesday night and never had more than five points in any game.
But he had the hot hand in the second quarter when the Red Devils outscored the Eagles 26-7 to open a 25-point halftime lead.
“He’s been playing back and forth between varsity and JV,” Ware said. “We’re giving him a little more time because in the beginning of the season he wasn’t playing much varsity. He’s coming into his own now. He’s getting more confident and he’s playing a lot better.
“He started a couple games for us. Today he didn’t start, but he was like the first sub off the bench and he came in and gave us a big spark and that’s kind of what led to us pulling away.”
Penns Grove’s Karon Ceaser led all scorers with 19 points; he scored a career-high 20 in the first meeting with Pennsville last year. Jovanni Rios led Pennsville with a career-high tying 15.
Interestingly, earlier in the day the two teams rode together to the Al Carino Basketball Club’s Captain’s Day Luncheon in Cherry Hill. The party included Ware, Mecholsky, five players from Penns Grove and two from Pennsville. There was friendly banter all the way up and back.
A few hours later it got serious.
PENNS GROVE 81, PENNSVILLE 44 PENNS GROVE (3-7): Brandin Robbins 2 0-0 4, Roman Gipson 3 0-0 7, Karon Ceaser 8 1-1 19, Antoine Robinson 3 0-0 8, Haneef Frisbee 2 1-2 5, Geonni Conrad 2 1-2 5, Jameel Horace 1 0-1 2, William Roy 6 0-0 15, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, Caleb Fowler 3 0-0 8, Davine Banks 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Costacamps 2 0-0 4. Totals 34 3-6 81. PENNSVILLE (1-9): Jovanni Rios 6 2-4 15, Cole Johnston 3 0-0 7, Shiloh Jefferson 2 1-4 6, Logan Hitt 3 0-0 9, Charles McDevitt 2 1-2 5, Arthurs Frantzy 1 0-0 2, Danny Knight 0 0-0 0, Perry Meranti 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 4-10 44.
WOODSTOWN 58, SCHALICK 44: Blake Bialecki hit four 3-pointers and led all scorers with 18 points as Woodstown snapped a two-game losing streak and ended Schalick’s three-game winning streak in the process. Alejandro Vazquez and Rocco String both chipped in 11 for the Wolverines.
Sherrod Jones hit a career-high four 3-pointers and tied his career high with 14 points to lead Schalick. Jase Volovar tied his career high of three 3-pointers in scoring 11 for the Cougars. WOODSTOWN (6-3): Elijah Caesar 1 0-0 2, Garrett Leyman 2 0-3 4, Blake Bialecki 7 0-2 18, Rocco String 5 1-2 11, M.J. Hall 1 0-4 4, Braydon Hall 2 2-4 6, Alejandro Vazquez 4 2-2 11. Totals 22 9-17 58. SCHALICK (4-8): Reggie Allen 2 1-1 6, Nylan Sutton 1 0-0 2, Jase Volovar 4 0-0 11, Sherrod Jones 4 2-2 14, Jamari Whitley 2 2-3 6, Justin Iacona 1 0-0 3, Zaeshawn Mills 1 0-0 2, Sean Kelly 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-6 44.
PITMAN 95, SALEM TECH 32: Elijah Crispin filled the box scored with 31 points, 10 assists and nine steals as the Panthers kept the Chargers winless. Michael Fisicaro (16) and Aidan Stranahan (11) also scored in double figures for Pitman. Joseph Hayes led Salem Tech with 10. PITMAN (8-1): Hudson Rue 2 2-3 7, Elijah Crispin 14 1-1 31, Greg Peterson 3 2-2 8, Michael Fisicaro 6 3-4 16, Aidan Stranahan 5 0-0 11, Dane Collum 2 1-2 5, Oliver Spier 1 0-0 2, Lucas Razze 1 0-0 3, Jake Bowen-Ashwin 1 0-0 2, Wyatt Thompson 1 0-0 3, Ethan Kubat 0 0-0 0, Parker DeChristopher 1 0-0 2, Joey Zubert 2 0-2 5, Jaron Scull 0 0-0 0. Totals 39 9-14 95. SALEM TECH (0-11): Chase Pompper 2, Joseph Hayes 10, Luke Kroll 3, Larry Pompper 6, Logan Pace 1, Alex Thomas 2, Chase Ayars 8.
Bass gives Pennsville big boost in second half against Penns Grove, win sets up showdown with Woodstown for first place Friday
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Pennsville 58, Penns Grove 51 Pitman 38, Salem Tech 33 Gloucester Catholic 86, Salem 26 Woodstown 57, Schalick 20
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE — Taylor Bass had a big knot rising over her right eye from hitting her head on the floor late in the second quarter. It shook her up briefly and it shook up her game.
Bass came out in the second half ready to score. The Pennsville junior torched Penns Grove for 11 of her season-high 20 points in the third quarter as the Eagles pulled away for a 58-51 victory for their sixth straight win.
“The bump on the head didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would,” Bass said. “I get banged on the floor every single game. It’s just like part of my routine at this point.”
“After that (fall) she shot better,” Eagles coach Steve Merritt said. “i gotta go smack people in the head, maybe that’ll work.”
The game was as close as many in the series between the teams. Penns Grove scored the last eight points of the first quarter to take a 16-9 lead and led by six midway through the second quarter, but Pennsville scored the last seven points to take a one-point halftime lead.
It was during that last flurry that Bass hit her head. It came during a scramble for a loose ball near mid-court. She laid on the floor for a few moments as trainers raced to her side, then walked off under her own power.
She came out for the second half and scored 11 points in the first four and a half minutes. Included in the outburst was a 3-[pointer and a nifty layup in which drove under the basket from right to left and scooped a shot from underneath that dropped through to make it 39-32.
“I just went in (at halftime), regathered my thoughts and came back out and just played the game I know how to play,” Bass said. “Once I got going, the pain went away. We were only up by one, that’s not going to work for me, so I was like we’ve gotta go out there and we’ve got to get more. And that’s what we did.”
“I told my assistant what we need is a big third quarter to stretch it out a bit and that’s what they did.” Merritt said. “They played hard in that second quarter and brought the game to one point for us. In the third quarter we put some points on the board. And at that point all we have to do is protect the ball.”
They at least protected the lead. The Eagles opened the fourth quarter with another 9-0 run and maintained the lead to the finish.
RaNiyah Wilson kept the Red Devils in it. She led all scorers with 30 points to surpass 600 points in her Penns Grove career and move with 146 of 1,000 for her career. She also had 11 rebounds. JaNiyah Cummings had 10 points and 11 boards. They combined Penns Grove’s first 14 points and 25 of their first 29.
The other two players on the floor chasing 1,000, Pennsville’s Marley Wood and Nora Ausland, had 16 and 12, respectively. Ausland is now only 78 points away from the milestone.
The Pennsville win sets up a midseason showdown at Woodstown 7 p.m. Friday for first place in the Tri-County Diamond Division. Both teams are 4-0 in the division.
3-point goals: Pennsville (Bass 2, Wood 3, Ausland); Penns Grove 6 (B. Robbins, Wilson 4 Rebounds: Pennsville 33 (Ausland 15, Burns 9); Penns Grove 42 (Wilson 11, Cummings 11, Washington 9). Total fouls: Pennsville 8, Penns Grove 14.
WOODSTOWN 57, SCHALICK 20: The Wolverines recognized both ends of their development curve – Senior Night and Youth Night – and put on a big show.
Seniors Megan Donelson and Talia Battavio continued to grow their legacy for the future Wolverines to follow, scoring 19 and 15 points, respectively, and the defense posted another shutout quarter as the Wolverines won their fifth in a row. They extended their winning streak over Tri-County Diamond Division opponents to 36 games and Salem County rivals to 32.
It couldn’t have started better with the underclassmen sharing stories about their favorite moments with the seniors while the youth players listened at floor level. And then the game started and the Wolverines held Schalick scoreless in the first quarter. They blanked Delsea in the fourth quarter Saturday and held Salem scoreless in the third quarter of their season opener.
“When the game started our defensive effort was outstanding, playing good smart defense and attacking the glass,” Woodstown coach Matt Smart said. “(Kyia) Leyman had some big offensive rebounds where she stood strong.
“The second quarter we started to attack the basket more often. Donelson was able to get to the foul line off strong takes to the basket. When we attacked the basket, we were able to open up our outside shot with (senior Ryann) Foote draining a huge 3. It is great to see Foote starting to get in the flow of things because it’s only her third game of the season.”
With her 13 points Battavio moved into second place on Woodstown’s all-time girls scoring list, passing Stephanie Owen with 1,386 career points. Tori Smick is No. 1 with 1,566.
Donelson is fourth on the list. She needs 23 to pass Owen.
“It was a great night,” Smart said. :I am so grateful to be able to coach this senior class.”
Here are the results from Tuesday night’s wrestling and bowling action involving Salem County teams
Wrestling
TUESDAY’S MATCHES Cumberland at Penns Grove Schalick at St. Joe (Hamm.)
PENNSVILLE 52, PITMAN 29 106: Grady Datz (Pit) pinned John Sassi, 5:04 113: Brett Land (PV) won by forfeit 120: Mekhi Dicks (PV) pinned King Iglesia, 3:49 126: Christopher Daniels (PV) pinned John Wisniewski, 0:43 132: Nathaniel Mason (PV) pinned Isaac Gaspariano-Robbins, 1:58 136: Gabe Supernavage (PV) pinned Jared Luu, 1:47 144: Jacob Lawrence (Pit) tech fall Travis Hagan, 16-0 (5:15) 150: Chris McIntyre (Pit) won by forfeit 157: Aidan Upham (Pit) won by forfeit 165: Juan Velasquez (PV) won by forfeit 175: Joseph Halstead (PV) maj. dec. Anthony Cappello, 10-0 190: Connor Ayars (PV) pinned Andrew Hurst, 0:39 215: Aiden Milward (Pit) won by forfeit 285: Trevor Waddington (PV) won by forfeit
CEDAR CREEK 54, SALEM 6 106: Sincere Wilcox (CC) won by forfeit 113: Luke Senn (CC) won by forfeit 120: Double forfeit 126: Gavin Marcasciano (CC) dec. Guylherme Quintanilha, 11-5 132: Antonio Cruz (CC) won by forfeit 138: Cameron Reid (CC) pinned Thomas Langley 144: Masen Cruz (CC) won by forfeit 150: Leilin D’Amico (CC) won by forfeit 157: Cole Burton (CC) won by forfeit 165: Double forfeit 175: Giovanni Carnes (CC) won by forfeit 190: Double forfeit 215: Abdur Jenkins (S) over Carlos Villarrubia, inj. 285: Slayton D’Amico (CC) dec. Abdullah Jenkins, 4-1
Bowling
BOYS GLOUCESTER 3, SALEM 1: Troy Carey had high game (255) and high series (616) for Salem. Rudy Perez rolled a 561 series for the Rams.
GIRLS GLOUCESTER 4, SALEM 0: Audrey Harding rolled games of 201, 228 and 165 to lead Gloucester. Sade Jones had the high game (135) and high series (360) for Salem.
Monday basketball: Motivated Salem outruns Clayton in second half to win; includes all 10 games involving Salem County teams
GIRLS GAMES
BOYS GAMES
Clayton 62, Salem 27
Salem 82, Clayton 69
Woodstown 79, Overbrook 28
Overbrook 57, Woodstown 48
Pennsville 63, Schalick 20
Schalick 61, Pennsville 38
Penns Grove 44, Glassboro 39
Glassboro 65, Penns Grove 59
Wildwood 77, Salem Tech 23
Wildwood 77, Salem Tech 32
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CLAYTON — Anthony Farmer called time out with four minutes left in the third quarter. He was looking for some leaders.
His Salem basketball team was clinging to a one-point lead in a game that really was that tight against a team capable of scoring 100 in any game it played – it already had twice against Salem County teams this year – and the coach wanted somebody to step up and take charge.
Azhone Burden answered the call. The 6-5 senior transfer, playing in only his fourth game since regaining his eligibility, had 14 points and nine rebounds in the second half to help the Rams pull away from Clayton 82-69.
“Azhone spoke up and kind of rallied the troops,” Farmer said. “He got the guys together, started getting a little more vocal once he got his head together, and I think that was kind of the turning point for us.”
The Rams led 41-40 at halftime and were up 45-44 when Farmer called his decisive time out, which, incidentally, left him with only one for the rest of the game. They went on a 18-4 run that carried into the fourth quarter and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
Burden had 10 points in the third quarter, more than the Clippers did as a team, and 12 after the key time out.
“It’s just the fire coming out,” said the senior they call A-Magic. “I’ve been waiting on the bench this whole time, all the fire has been building up. It’s just coming out now.”
In his four game since satisfying his senior transfer requirement, Burden has scored 51 points and grabbed 41 rebounds with two double-doubles.
The Rams, who’d prefer playing at a pace somewhere between Clayton’s break-neck approach and the half-court game they purposely played against LEAP, held their own against the Clippers once they got adjusted to what was coming. As a result, four players enjoyed double-doubles.
Tymear Lecator had a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Burden finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds and came within two assists of joining Lecator with a triple-double. Deshaan Williams was big for the Rams in the first half and finished with 17 points and 12 boards. And Antwaun Rogers had 10 points and 10 boards.
The Rams were playing only hours after learning they had to forfeit four wins due to an ineligible player, a penalty that knocked them all the way to No. 17 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. The win moved them all the way to No. 13.
Lecator wouldn’t speak on the issue preferring just to focus on playing basketball but said he did come into the game with “a real chip on my shoulder.”
“It’s in the back of our head,” Farmer said. “We know what what’s going on. We know what happened to us. It’s just a little motivation, that’s all. We take it game by game anyway, but the worst thing you can do in Group I South is give us a little motivation.”
SALEM 82, CLAYTON 69 SALEM (4-7): Donovan Weathers 1 0-2 2, Xavier McGriff 4 0-0 8, Neziah Spence 3 0-0 8, Tymear Lecator 7 0-1 16, Deshaan Williams 8 1-2 17, Antwan Rogers 5 0-0 10, Joe Tunis 2 1-2 5, Azhone Burden 8 0-0 16, Giovanni Tuvale 0 0-0 0. Totals 38 2-7 82. CLAYTON (4-5): Jackson Venuto 1 1-2 4, Princeton Sackor 11 1-1 24, Nazir Davis 4 4-5 13, Demetris Williams 3 0-0 6, Anthony Taylor 0 0-0 0, Nasir Carter 4 1-2 11, Isaiah Aviles 0 0-0 0, Rodney Robinson 0 0-0 0, Anthony Archer 0 0-0 0, Trevor Rehm 0 0-0 0, King Mosley 0 0-0 0, James Fritz 4 1-2 11. Totals 27 8-12 69.
Salem
23
18
17
24-
82
Clayton
23
18
9
20-
69
3-point goals: Salem 4 (Spence 2, Lecator 2); Clayton 7 (Venuto, Sackor, Davis, Carter 2, Fritz 2). Rebounds: Salem 67 (Burden 13, Williams 12, Rogers 10, Lecator 10). Total fouls: Salem 14, Clayton 12.
SCHALICK 61, PENNSVILLE 38: Reggie Allen hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Cougars to their third win in a row. It’s their longest winning streak since the last three games of the 2019-20 season. Allen’s previous career best was 22 his freshman year against Clayton. SCHALICK (4-7): Reggie Allen 10 5-6 29, Nylan Sutton 6 5-8 17, Sherrod Jones 2 2-2 6, Justin Iacona 1 0-0 2, Jamari Whitley 3 2-4 8. Totals 22 14-20 62. PENNSVILLE (1-8): Jovanni Rios 3-1-7, Cole Johnston 2-0-4, Shiloh Jefferson 3-0-6, Logan Hill 1-0-2, C.J. McDevitt 4-4-12, Daniel Knight 1-1-3, Arturus Franz 1-2-4, Perry Meranti 0-0-0. Totals 15-8-38.
GLASSBORO 65, PENNS GROVE 59 PENNS GROVE (2-7): Brandin Robbins 5, Roman Gipson 18, Karon Ceaser 15, Antoine Robinson 1, Haneef Frisbee 10, Jameel Horace 6, William Roy 4. GLASSBORO (4-6): Xavier Sabb 12, Kenny Smith 28, Tashean Thomas 2, Davon Barr 4, Maurice Davis 5, Aiden Harris 14.
Penns Grove
16
13
14
16-
59
Glassboro
17
16
13
19-
65
WILDWOOD 77, SALEM TECH 32 WILDWOOD (3-6): Brian Cunniff 15 5-6 40, Nolan Mawhinney 5 3-5 14, Trevor Troiano 3 0-0 8, Jordan Dozier 0 1-2 1, Jack Fullerton 1 0-0 2, R.J. Blanda 1 0-0 2, Gianni Troiano 1 0-0 2, Daniel Benichou 0 0-0 0, Sammy Santiago 1 4-5 6, Jeff Knight 1 0-0 2, Justice Santiago 0 0-2 0. Totals 28 13-20 77. SALEM TECH (0-10): Ayden Myers 2 0-0 5, Joseph Hayes 1 0-0 3, Luke Kroll 3 0-0 8, Larry Pompper 1 0-0 2, Logan Pace 1 2-2 4, Chase Ayars 1 0-0 2, Chase Pompper 1 0-0 2, Aiden Bobo 2 0-0 5, Alex Thomas 0 0-2 0. Totals 12 2-4 29.
PENNSVILLE 63, SCHALICK 20: Nora Ausland returned to the lineup after a brief illness and posted a double-double (21 points, 12 rebounds) to lead the Eagles to their fifth straight win. The game moved Ausland over 900 points on her way to the 1,000-point plateau. Marley Wood, who’s also chasing the 1,000-point milestone, had 16 points and Taylor Bass had 15 points and eight steals.
PENNS GROVE 44, GLASSBORO 39: RaNiyah Wilson scored 21 points and the Red Devils won the fourth quarter 16-11 to win the game.
“They played great in the fourth quarter — poised, together on both ends of the floor,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “I saluted them as a team today. The coaches are proud of them.” PENNS GROVE (6-2): RaNiyah Wilson 9 1-2 21, Brianna Robbins 3 0-0 7, JaNiyah Cummings 4 5-9 13, Mikayla Washington 0 1-4 1, Keziah Patterson 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 7-15 44. GLASSBORO (4-5): Sanaa Thomas 4 3-4 14, Tamia Smith 3 2-4 10, Kezia Brackett 1 3-4 5, Kimora Miles 1 1-2 3, Sianna Wedderburn 0 2-2 2, Lily Czubas 2 0-0 5. Totals 11 11-16 39.
Penns Grove
5
15
8
16-
44
Glassboro
6
10
12
11-
39
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, Robbins); Glassboro 6 (Thomas 3, Smith 2, Czubas).
WOODSTOWN 79, OVERBROOK 28: Megan Donelson scored 13 points and Kendall Young and Lauren Hengel scored 11 points apiece to lead the Wolverines. For Young, a sophomore, it was a career high and came all in the second half. Hengel, a junior, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double.
“Kendall has worked her butt off this season,” Woodstown coach Matt Smart said. “She has a high basketball IQ and watches a ton or film. Whenever I have to call on her she seems ready.
“My favorite part of Lauren’s game today wasn’t the scoring, it was the 14 rebounds. She’s a tough kid who will run through a brick wall if you asked her to do so. When she’s confident with the basketball she is dangerous.”
Ineligible player forces Salem to forfeit four victories, record drops to 3-7 but Rams remain eligible for the playoffs
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – The Salem boys basketball program learned earlier today it would have to forfeit four pre-2025 wins because of an ineligible player.
The Rams were informed of the penalty by the NJSIAA after it was ruled junior Darrelle Johnson was in violation of the student transfer rule.
“They said there was inaccurate information on (Johnson) coming from his technical school, so the state gave us the wrong information back and we played him and lost four games,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “It’s a huge shock because it seemed like an error on their end because we only did what the state allowed us to do and they approved him.”
Johnson played for Vineland as a freshman enrolled at Cumberland Tech, which does not offer basketball, and played for Millville last year before transferring to Salem to join his cousin, Rams’ leading scorer Tymear Lecator.
Students who attend tech schools that do not offer a particular sport can play that sport at their home district public school. They cannot play at the public school if their tech school sponsors the sport.
Senior transfers are required to sit out the lesser of 22 days from the first game or 1/3 the maximum number of games to regain their eligibility. Underclassmen transfers don’t have that requirement, but all student-athletes who transfer to a second school must sit out the lesser of 30 days or half the maximum number of games, but Johnson didn’t do that.
The Rams say they were only working with information they were given.
“When I put him in the portal I just put the school of record, which was Cumberland County Tech, not realizing they didn’t have sports and he played at Millville,” Salem athletics director Darryl Roberts said. “I didn’t have any idea Cumberland County Tech didn’t have sport because of my experience most of the tech schools we deal with right now have sports and I didn’t know anything about Cumberland County Tech.
“So I was unaware he played elsewhere, so when I put him in the portal I sent the information to Cumberland County Tech. It’s not really their responsibility to let you know if he played somewhere else.”
Roberts attempted to plead their case further Monday, but was told by state officials there was no further appeal.
The Rams were forced to forfeit their first two wins against Woodbury and Woodstown that opened the season and their two wins at the Boardwalk Classic over Oakcrest and Millville. They now have a record of 3-7 and are No. 17 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.
Johnson, a 6-3 junior guard, had 11 points and five rebounds against Woodbury, six points and 10 rebounds against Woodstown and 12 points, 10 boards and five assists against Oakcrest. He played six minutes against Millville without scoring. He had scored in six of the Rams’ 10 games, averaging 6.5 points and 7.2 rebounds.
The Rams were made aware of an issue after playing Millville.
They remain eligible for the playoffs and Johnson will be eligible to return Feb. 8.
“It’s nothing we tried to do because we had five transfers,” Farmer said. “We played the ones we could play. We followed all the rules with everything, it’s just the technical school didn’t clear him and we ended up getting jammed up.
“Now we’re going to be a nightmare for somebody at an 11 or 12 spot (in the seedings). Wherever we end up at, we’re just going to be a nightmare for Group I.”
The sanction also put a dent in Farmer’s record. With the adjustment, he now needs 12 more victories to reach 100 for his coaching career.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 13-18
JAN. 13 GIRLS BASKETBALL Clayton at Salem Overbrook at Woodstown Pennsville at Schalick Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Wildwood BOYS BASKETBALL Penns Grove at Glassboro Salem at Clayton Schalick at Pennsville Wildwood at Salem Tech Woodstown at Overbrook SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Schalick at Vineland YMCA, 3:15 p.m. TRACK Pennsville, Woodstown at Ocean Breeze, Staten Island
JAN. 14 WRESTLING Cumberland at Penns Grove Pennsville at Pitman, 6:30 p.m. Salem at Cedar Creek Schalick at St. Joe (Hamm.) BOWLING Salem vs. Gloucester City at Wood Lanes Salem Tech vs. Clayton MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at RCSJ-Cumberland, 5 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Harcum at Salem CC, 5 p.m. JAN. 15 GIRLS BASKETBALL Pennsville at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Pitman at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m. Schalick at Woodstown BOYS BASKETBALL Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 7 p.m. Penns Grove at Pennsville Pitman at Salem Tech Woodstown at Schalick BOWLING Salem vs. West Deptford, Bolero Deptford Lanes Salem Tech vs. Gloucester City at Westbrook Lanes SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Haddon Heights at Camden County Tech WRESTLING Woodstown at Middle Twp. JAN. 16 WRESTLING Clayton at Penns Grove Pennsville at Schalick, 6 p.m. Timber Creek at Woodstown, 6 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 at GCIT, 8:15 p.m. BOWLING Salem vs. Salem Tech at Wood Lanes MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Atlantic Cape, 6 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Anne Arundel CC, 5 p.m.
JAN. 17 GIRLS BASKETBALL Camden County Tech at Salem Tech Pennsville at Woodstown, 7 p.m. Salem at Gloucester City BOYS BASKETBALL Pennisville at Woodstown Haddon Twp. at Schalick Salem Tech at GCIT TRACK NJSIAA Relays, Bennett Center, Toms River
JAN. 18 BOYS BASKETBALL Salem at Lenape, 1 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville Collingswood, Sterling at Vineland Penns Grove, Salem, Overbrook at Pitman Deptford, Haddon Twp., Pemberton at Schalick, 9 a.m. Buena, Haddon Heights, Pennsauken at Woodstown MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Passaic County CC at Salem CC, 2 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Essex County, noon
