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.
Salem head coach steps down from storied program after one season in his return to Garden State
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Another Salem County football coach is on the move. Salem’s Danny Mendoza has stepped down after one season with the Rams, but hopes to coach again.
MENDOZA
Mendoza officially stepped down from the Rams’ coaching position Friday and told his team earlier Wednesday.
“It’s a personal decision for me and my family and I’m looking forward to what’s next,” he said. “I will enjoy the process and find the best situation.
“I appreciate the opportunity. I wish Salem High School and the Salem community nothing but the best going forward.”
There are other opportunities out there for him. He is believed to be a front-runner for the head coaching job at Absegami High School.
Mendoza is the second Salem County head football coach to move on this offseason. Penns Grove’s John Emel recently was named the new coach at West Deptford. Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden declined to comment Wednesday on the progress of the Red Devils’ coaching search.
Salem athletics director Darryl Roberts said he respected Mendoza’s decision and the school appreciated “everything he did coming in and taking care of the kids and keeping the program going.”
Roberts said the Rams have “some options” in terms of finding Mendoza’s successor but wasn’t at liberty to discuss them at this time. There wasn’t a timetable for naming the new coach, but officials hoped it would be sooner rather than later.
“We don’t want to run into the same situation as we did last year, going into May and June not knowing who the head football coach would be,” Roberts said.
The “Jersey-born and Florida-bred’ Mendoza came to Salem in June after two seasons as head coach at Wellington (Fla.) High School with the vision of taking the Jersey grittiness and Florida flashiness and molding them into his own program.
He didn’t have a lot of time to lay the groundwork, coming aboard in June, and with no spring football in New Jersey his first on-field work with his players didn’t come until camp opened. In addition, he had a spartan coaching staff that had him coordinating all three phases of the game and his predecessor was still at the school.
The Rams played a brutal schedule, mostly on the road while they waited to occupy their on-campus stadium, and started the year 0-6. They won their first game over Paulsboro on Oct. 7, then followed it the next week with a win over West Deptford in a rainy inaugural game of their new stadium.
They did make the Group I playoffs and lost a tough opening-round game on the road at South Hunterdon.
“It was obviously a difficult situation when you’re not getting the players in who were there before,” Mendoza said. “With the schedule we had with no stadium, it was definitely a tough deal, but you never go into anything without challenges and expectations and you look forward to every challenge.
“With a very young team I believe they learned a lot. I believe they might not understand now, but I think later on they’ll know what they went through how much stronger it’s going to make them if they decide to use this year’s tribulations to propel them to do better next year under whoever that coach may be.
“I’ve always as a competitor loved difficult situations. I loved to play the best, but at the same time you’ve got to build that up and there was just a lot of things up in the air for just so long. It was definitely an experience, but at the same time I learned a lot. I believe I became a better coach this year and I believe we taught these kids a lot of things that they would have never had their minds open to as well.
“I think we did a lot of good things and I believe this program is 100 times better the way I’m leaving as opposed to when I got it.”
Salem girls meet the day, erupt for 21-point first quarter and run past Burlington City in morning game
MONDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Salem 52, Burlington City 42 St. Joe’s at Schalick, ppd.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BURLINGTON – The history of Salem’s girls basketball team in morning matchups has been a mixed bag. Sometimes the Rams rise and shine and others they look like they missed their wakeup call.
Monday morning’s road game was one of those times they skipped the snooze alarm and came to play, beating Burlington City 52-42.
Rams coach Tiasia Tatem had a feeling her team would answer the bell.
“I knew it coming in,” she said. “We had a little break because I gave them the weekend off because we didn’t have access to our gym, so I knew coming in they should’ve come in with fresh legs. And I think they were carrying the momentum from Friday night’s game.”
The Rams (4-6) were coming off their highest-scoring game in more than 20 years, a 75-14 rout of Camden Academy Charter, and rode that wave to their best first quarter of the season against the Blue Devils (8-6) – 21 points to open a 21-9 lead.
Kaela Nichols continued her recent roll with two 3-pointers in the quarter and 10 of her team-high 14 points in the first half. Nichols, Marissa Bower (12) and Carlysia Pierce (12) all scored in double figures for the Rams to offset a 33-point game from Aneesa Artis that included 21-of-34 from the free throw line.
“To see the kids come in their senior year with that fire and that spark and just go off, I’m loving watching in,” Tatem said of Nichols. “Carlysia Pierce, she’s great at finding the space; she’s killing the back door right now. She’s tiny, but she’s able to sneak around and she’s great at finding the open position and getting the easy layup. One moment you see her, the next minute she’s going and by the time you realize where she is, there’s already a layup.”
The Rams won’t have to remember to set their alarm anymore as they have regularly scheduled games the rest of the year. They are scheduled to play Gloucester Catholic, Tuesday weather permitting.
Understandably, Tatem will keeping her eye on the weather.
Salem’s girls lead county contingent at State Indoor Relays with 3 Group I silver medals; Woodstown’s girls 4×800 also runs second, Schalick’s boys DM third
By Riverview Sports News
TOMS RIVER – Salem’s girls picked up three silver medals and finished fourth as a team Friday in the Group I Championships of the NJSIAA Relays at The Bubble.
The Rams’ shuttle hurdle relay team of Anna Buzby, Sairis Jiminez, Karima Davenport-White and LaMiracle Summers ran 36.05, behind winner Hasbrouck Heights’ 35.03.
Their sprint medley team of Buzby, Rhionna Timmons, Jiminez and Davenport-White ran 4:28.44 and finished second to Metuchen (4:24.58).
Dominique Lewis finished second in the girls shot put with a throw of 35-4.75. Meghan Kreinberg of Jonathan Dayton won the event at 38-0.
Woodstown’s girls 4×800 relay team of Kayla Ayers, Arie Still, Jaime Deal and Sarah Seiden finished second (10:31.93). The Wolverines also finished fourth in the 4×400 relay (4:25.24).
The Rams scored 27 points and finished behind champion Hasbrouck Heights (46), Metuchen (40) and Audubon (37) in the team standings. Woodstown was ninth (12).
On the boys side, Schalick’s distance medley relay team finished third in 11:18.76. The runners were Matthew Tozer, David Stewart, Steve Chomo and reigning county cross country champion Charles Fuerneisen.
The Cougars were tied for 10th in the team standings.
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
Rams have chances, stage fourth-quarter rally, but Cherokee turns them away in overtime
By Riverview Sports News
MARLTON – Streaking Salem went into a tough Group IV environment Saturday with a chance to gain some major power points. The Rams gave a good enough effort to stay in the game. They took their hosts to overtime. But in the end they came up a little short.
Will Carr scored six of his game-high 18 points in overtime, including 4-for-4 from the free throw line, to help Cherokee turn back the Rams 48-45 and snap their five-game winning streak.
“I thought we played hard, I thought the effort was there, the attention to detail was there for the most part,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “The key to the game was we turned the ball over too much.
“They went to a 1-3-1 and we had too many turnovers against it. We kind of gave them about six points out top just from run outs. I thought that was the difference in the game.”
The Rams (6-4) led early in the game, but it was tied at halftime and the Chiefs (8-4) pulled ahead in the third quarter. Two of their four losses have been by three points or less.
Salem forced overtime when Anthony Farmer scored on a driving layup with two seconds left and the Chiefs missed a shot at the buzzer. The Chiefs went on top early in overtime and the Rams didn’t recover.
Farmer and freshman Tymear Lecator led the Rams with 12 points apiece, but they didn’t have Farmer for much of the overtime.
“We were a few plays away,” Coach Farmer said. “We definitely had opportunities, we had chances. This one hurts.”
CHEROKEE 48, SALEM 45 SALEM (6-4) – Anthony Farmer 5 2-3 12, Jabez DeJesus 4 0-0 10, Ramaji Bundy 1 1-2 3, Paul Weathers 2 1-2 6, Donovan Weathers 1 0-0 2, Tymear Lecator 5 0-0 12. Totals 18 4-7 45. CHEROKEE (8-4) – Will Carr 5 8-9 18, Daniel Leonard 1 0-0 2, Brian Magee 2 0-0 4, Jordan Henriquez 2 0-0 4, Darwin Walker 0 1-2 1, Judd Holt 2 1-2 7, Louis Gallasso 5 0-0 12. Totals 17 10-23 48
Salem
10
9
9
12
5 –
45
Cherokee
5
14
14
7
8 –
48
3-point goals: Salem 5 (DeJesus 2, Weathers, Lecator 2); Cherokee 4 (Holt 2, Galasso 2). Fouled out: Farmer. Total fouls: Salem 14, Cherokee 11.
What’s in a name: NaeNae means no, no to shooters who dare come into the paint against the Rams; updated with reports and boxscores from Friday’s games
FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Salem 75, Camden Academy 14 Penns Grove at Deptford Twp. Paulsboro 32, Schalick 21 Pennsville 60, Bridgeton 30 SATURDAY’S GAMES SJIBT Tournament Eastern at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m.
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – NaeNae Logan may be the most appropriately named basketball player in Salem County for what she does best on the court.
Tall and long, she has become a machine when it comes to blocking shots.
LOGAN
Think of NBA great Dikembe Mutombo knocking back boxes of Cheerios in the cereal aisle of the grocery store or swatting away paper wads before they make it to the classroom trash can and then wagging a disapproving finger and saying, “NaeNae, nay, not in my house.”
Through the first eight games of the season, NaeNae has returned a whopping 53 shots to sender. That includes a jaw-dropping 15 rejections in her first career triple-double against Oakcrest (10/11/15) in the Boardwalk Classic and five other games of five or more. She had 17 blocks in 11 games last year.
(UPDATE: Logan had six points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in the Rams’ 75-14 rout of Camden Academy Charter Friday night.)
“I’ve always had a passion for basketball, but, I don’t know, once I see that ball in my face I just go for it,” the 5-11 senior said. “It’s just a reflex for me.”
Rams coach Tiasia Tatem can’t remember a player with so many blocks and the body control not to foul.
The next closest player in the county to Logan’s numbers is Schalick’s Ava Scurry with 38 in seven games. Within the Tri-County Conference Classic and Diamond Divisions, the two divisions that house the Salem County teams, no one else comes close among those keeping that statistic.
“It’s like a gift,” Tatem said. “She’s one of those players you never really have to worry about being in foul trouble because she’s so clean on defense. I tell the girls all the time don’t worry about the shot block, keep your hands straight up, but with her it’s like her natural ability. It’s just amazing to watch. Her timing is there. It’s perfect to watch sometimes.”
It really is all natural. Logan hasn’t been to any camps or worked with any special coaches to perfect the skill and, frankly, if she was a little better on her feet she may even have more. Most of her blocks have come without her feet leaving the floor.
It probably would help her offensively as well. She’s scored only 43 points this season, but only one in the last three games and that was Thursday night against Schalick. But if one projects points to her blocks, she saved the Rams 30 points in those three games.
“Everybody’s been saying how I’m doing so good, but I’m feeling like I could do more,” she said. “When I’m in that (shot blocking) mode, I try to get as many as I can.”
She certainly was in the zone that night in Wildwood against Oakcrest. The Falcons kept trying to attack the basket and she kept turning them away. The more she denied them, the more they tried. When the coaches told her the final tally on her blocks she got “pretty excited.”
“I’ll be amazed at myself sometimes,” she said. “Sometimes in that moment I don’t think I can do it until it happens and afterwards I’ll be like, all right, the numbers are rolling in.”
Admittedly, there have been times when Logan’s confidence has been what she called “rocky,” and really was on the verge of taking off when she left the team last season for reasons unrelated to basketball. She credits Tatem with reigniting the fire and getting her excited about playing again and her support system is now really quite strong.
“It’s more than just basketball with her and I never heard that from my other coach, so when she said that, it made me focus more and gain my confidence back,” Logan said. “Having her as my coach has been really, really good for me.”
It was easy for Tatem to gravitate to Logan. The second-year coach was an “average defender” who could guard the post during her 1,000-point career at Salem, but she wasn’t nearly the shot blocker her best defender has become, but she recognized how special the developing post player could be.
“Nae had it,” Tatem said. “It was always there, it was just waiting for somebody to come pull it out of her.
“When I got here, she was one of the players I grappled to early on and I pushed her. Early on she kind of fought back with me because she didn’t understand why I cared so much or was on her so much and I think this year it finally clicked that my coach actually cares about me, she sees the potential and she wants me to reach it.”
The light bulb moment came early on. During the Rams’ last preseason scrimmage the team wasn’t playing together and Logan stepped up in the huddle and spoke up like a coach to get her teammates going.
And now she carries herself on and off with court with a quiet confidence that has the potential to bring big returns.
“I don’t think she’s reached her peak yet,” Tatem said. “There’s better to come from her.”
The Logan File
GAME
PTS
RBS
BKS
Glassboro (44-29 L)
7
6
6
Pitman (45-36 L)
9
8
4
Millville (42-27 L)
7
8
5
Oakcrest (52-25 W)
10
11
15
Salem Tech (45-19 W)
9
12
8
Gateway (48-34 L)
0
8
6
Wildwood (84-33 L)
0
13
6
Schalick (27-26 L)
1
14
3
Camden Acad. (75-14 W)
6
7
3
TOTALS
49
87
56
Friday’s Games
Salem 75, Camden Acad. Charter 14
SALEM – After being held to 26 points in a loss the night before, the Rams’ focus turned to offense and they enjoyed their highest-scoring game since before 2010-11, the last year records are available.
It was almost six years to the day they last scored 70 in a game – 72 against Camden Academy Charter in January 2018. All three times the Rams have put up 70 in the last 14 years it has come at the expense of the Cougars.
“It was one of those nights where all the girls had to prove that they could be involved and they all scored,” Rams coach Tiasia Tatem said. “This was a big game that we needed just to come back from a game where we only scored 26 points and then you come into a game like tonight where you score 27 in the second quarter.
“It was something we needed, the fire they needed.”
Eight players scored for the Rams, with four in double figures. Kaela Nichols is beginning to find her footing after academics and illness delayed her start and she led the offense with a career-high 17 points, three 3-pointers and eight assists. Ava Rodgers had a career-high 16 points (with 10 rebounds and five blocks), Ryann Foote had 14 and Ameriyona Hunter a career-tying 11.
“She is that kind of scorer,” Tatem said of Nichols. “She has some issues early on … but we’re hitting that point where things are starting to turn around and I feel like we should see a lot more of her.”
It also was their best defensive effort since holding Cherry Hill West to 14 points in December 2014. They held the Cougars (1-8) to one field goal in the second half, while coming up with 31 steals and 11 blocked shots.
3-point goals: Camden Academy Charter 1 (D. DeLaRosa); Salem 5 (Foote, Nichols 3, Hunter). Technical fouls: Waysome 2. Fouled out: Waysome (eject.), Y. DeLaRosa. Total fouls: Camden Academy Charter 14, Salem 11.
Pennsville 60, Bridgeton 30
BRIDGETON – Pennsville coach Sam Trapp is convinced when Nora Ausland and Marley Wood get going in the same game they can be as impactful as the best two-man tandem in the county that currently resides in Woodstown.
Ausland and Wood had one of the nights Friday, going for 21 and 25, respectively, as the Eagles (5-6) doubled up the Bulldogs to snap a three-game losing streak. They do the bulk of the Eagles’ scoring as it is, but when they do it together, much like Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson do for Woodstown, they make Pennsville even harder to handle.
“They just played really well, they just fed off each well tonight, just really looked for one another and were doing a great job just moving the ball around,” Trapp said. “Honestly, today was one of the better nights that they played really well off of each other.”
Wood got going right out of the gate, scoring seven points in the Eagles’ eight points in the first quarter. Ausland got going in the second quarter with seven as the Eagles pulled away. They were both on fire in the third quarter, evenly dividing Pennsville’s 18 points in the quarter.
Ausland also had eight rebounds and six assists. Wood had five rebounds.
It was the second time this year they both went for 20 in the same game and the Eagles won both games. They won another game when Wood went for 20 and Ausland 18. In fact, they’re 3-1 this year when Wood goes for 20 and 2-1 when Ausland does it.
In Ausland’s two years at Salem before joining the Eagles, the Rams were 3-0 when she went for 20, 6-1 when she scored at least 18.
“If they consistently play together, feeding off one another, working off one another’s strengths and weaknesses, those two could be just as powerful as a dynamic duo as Talia and Megan,” Trapp said. “I need them to consistently play off one another, continuously encourage one another and continuously support one another when one’s having a good game or vice versa.
“I felt like tonight was very unselfish in the shooting department and moving the ball well and that’s another thing I really need consistently coming out of the girls – an unselfish scoring effort and really just playing hard as a team as a whole.”
The Eagles are slowly getting back to full strength. Post Bella Farina returned from concussion protocol and played the entire game. Taylor Bass is the next one they’ll get back. She has her cast removed next Friday.
3-point goals: Pennsville 2 (N. Ausland, Wood); Bridgeton 2 (Wilks, Parker). Fouled out: Parker. Total fouls: Pennsville 15, Bridgeton 17.
Paulsboro 32, Schalick 21
PAULSBORO – The Cougars scored one point in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row, but this time it wasn’t helpful at all. Paulsboro outscored them 21-5 in the second half to pull out the victory.
The Cougars scored one point in the fourth quarter Thursday against Salem and it was the difference in their 27-26 win.
Brookelyn Graham led Paulsboro with 18 points. She also grabbed five rebounds and had five of the Red Raiders’ 20 steals. Dasoni Scott (10) and Ianna Veney (13) both had double figures in rebounds.
Pennsville gets off to solid start, but bad fourth quarter sends it to third straight loss, Lecator lighting it up for Salem
THURSDAY’S BOYS SCORES Clearview 56, Pennsville 39 Salem 77, LEAP 64
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – There were so many games within the game between Pennsville and Clearview Thursday night, you needed a Broadway-like Playbill program instead of a scorecard to keep them all straight.
Were the Pioneers going to be emotionally drained after the night before playing their first game back on the floor after losing their best player to a broken collarbone on a dirty play over the weekend?
How would the Eagles hold up in the post with Danny Saulin out of the lineup after undergoing previously scheduled oral surgery earlier in the day?
Would Peyton and Mason O’Brien hold their own against the Pioneers two best remaining players while the rest of the starters held each of their assignments to six points or less?
And how much closer would Eagles guard Luke Wood get to the 1,000-point mark or would he bust out with a big game to reach the milestone?
The Eagles checked all the boxes in the first quarter and led by 10 early in the second, but a disastrous fourth quarter doomed them to their third straight loss, 56-39.
“I just think we got tired; I think the grapes went to raisins tonight,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “With the guys we had on the floor tonight I think we got gassed in the fourth quarter. Clearview picked it up and they dominated the game in the second half.
“Once they took the lead we could not get it back. They played a nice game, they ran nice plays and they deserved to win tonight.”
The Eagles (4-6) had everything going their way in the first quarter and opened a 10-2 lead before the Pioneers (5-5) scored their first field goal. They led 17-7 early in the second quarter, but in a preview of what would come later, they got careless with the ball against an increasingly aggressive Clearview defense and stopped making shots.
They were outscored 17-2 in the final seven minutes of the quarter and trailed by five at halftime.
They picked it back up in the third quarter and regained the lead. Then it all collapsed.
From the time Wood gave them a 36-35 lead with 1:45 left in the third to the time Mason O’Brien hit a 3 from in front of the Pennsville bench with 57 seconds left in the game, the Eagles went 0-for-10 from the field with five turnovers and two missed free throws.
The Pioneers scored 21 straight points during Pennsville’s second-half drought to decide the game.
After hitting seven of their first 14 shots to open their 17-7 lead, the Eagles finished 15-of-43 from the field, 4-of-17 from 3-point range
“”We were fresh and we then we dropped off,” Mecholsky said. “Whether I should have rotated more off of my bench, trusted the guys on the back of the bench more, that’s on me.
“I definitely think the starting five tonight played too much and I should have had a little bit more trust in the back end of the bench.”
The plan was to have Peyton O’Brien clamp down on 6-4 Clearview sophomore Daulton Phalines and Mason O’Brien shadow Kaprice Stewart, and it worked early. Phalines had five points in the first quarter and Stewart was scoreless, but they finished with 18 and 16, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Eagles wanted to hold the other Clearview starters to six points or less. They did that with two, but Jonah Turner wound up with 10.
Wood, meanwhile, led Pennsville with 15 points. It brought him within 26 points of becoming the second player in his household to reach the 1,000-point mark.
His first chance to get it comes Monday in a late-scheduled game at Haddon Twp. If it doesn’t happen there, the Eagles play at Glassboro on Tuesday.
“I’m definitely excited to get it,” the junior said. “It’s definitely at the top of the bucket list, score 1,000 points. It’s a really cool thing to do in high school. But I think the most important thing for me is coming out and helping my team win, just trying to make sure I do everything I can on the court.”
3-point goals: Clearview 4 (Stewart, Phalines, Manel, Guy); Pennsville 4-17 (Wood 1-6, P. O’Brien 1-1, Thomas 0-4, Rehmer 0-2, Petrutz 0-2, M. O’Brien 2-2). Total fouls: Clearview 7, Pennsville 13.
Salem 77, LEAP 64
CAMDEN – Every time Tymear Lecator steps on the court he gets more and more comfortable with his varsity surroundings.
The freshman transfer from Winslow scored a career-high 25 points for his fifth straight game in double figures, which coincides with the Rams’ five-game winning streak. It was the second time in three games he’s gone for 20 points or more and he’s averaging 16.8 in his last five games.
“Tymear in my eyes is the best freshman in South Jersey and plays well beyond his years,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said.
Anthony Farmer scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half as the Rams (6-3) opened a 16-point halftime lead. Lecator scored 17 points in the second half. Jabez DeJesus also scored in double figures for Salem, going for 14 points.
Willoughby’s FT breaks tie, then Schalick’s defense holds firm in win over Salem; McCracken’s fourth straight double-double leads Wildwood over Penns Grove
THURSDAY’S GIRLS SCORES Wildwood 64, Penns Grove 53 Schalick 27, Salem 26
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Mother Nature knocked out the lights on the Schalick-Salem girls basketball game Wednesday night and the 24 hours later Schalick’s Abby Willoughby turned the lights out on the Rams.
Willoughby broke a tie with a free throw with about 90 seconds left and the Schalick defense made it stand to produce a 27-26 win Thursday that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Willoughby’s free throw was the only point the Cougars (2-5) scored in the fourth quarter, but it made all the difference in the game.
“We went into halftime with a small lead (17-16),” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “We talked about they’re an aggressive team that wants to create chaos so it’s all about controlling tempo of the game and keeping our composure. If we can do that offensively and rebound defensively, that was our second half goal, and I’d say we did that.
“After the game we talked about how difficult it is to close out a basketball game. As young as we are, that’s something you have to learn how to do. I’m very proud of the fact they were able to do that.”
Willoughby was playing in her second game back from an injury. The game was tied at 26 when she was fouled on the floor and since Salem was over the limit she went to the line for two shots.
The sophomore missed the first shot, but hit the second and Schalick had the lead – for good, as it turned out.
“She as always did a great job,” Whelan said. “She’s tough handling the ball and brings a lot of energy defensively, but if you want to say an ultimate team win, this was it. Everybody did their part. We had five girls score and they were all pretty even. Defensively everybody got hands on passes, were playing aggressive.”
The Rams had the ball with four seconds left for a last shot, but the Cougars got a hand on it to tip it away.
“We had plenty of opportunities to win the game, we couldn’t finish around the basket; shots weren’t falling for us,” Salem coach Tiasia Tatem said. “It was a back-and-forth low-scoring game and the odds fell in their favor.”
Defense was the key to the game. After Salem took a 10-5 lead, Whelan asked the players if they wanted to continue in the defense they were playing, go man-to-man or their 3-2 matchup. The Cougars went with a variation of their 3-2 and went that way the rest of the game.
“There was a timeout with about 52 seconds left and we just talked about at this point it’s a one-point game, 52 seconds (left), it’s who wants it more,” Whelan said. “Both teams battled, but we did what we had to do to make stops on defense and came out where we wanted.”
The game was a matchup between two of the best shot-blockers in Salem County. Schalick’s Ava Scurry had 14 blocks to lead the Cougars’ defense effort. Salem’s NaeNae Logan came into the game with 50 blocks, but was bothered by a nagging hip throughout the game and had only three.
3-point goals: Salem 1 (Nichols), Schalick 1 (Vicente). Total fouls: Salem 16, Schalick 14.
Wildwood 64, Penns Grove 53
WILDWOOD – Meely Horace moved a step closer to becoming Penns Grove’s next 1,000-point scorer with 24 points, but Wildwood junior Macie McCracken continued her dominance and the Warriors turned back the visiting Red Devils’ threat.
McCracken led the Warriors with a career-high 36 points and 13 rebounds. It was her fourth straight double-double and eighth in 10 games this season. She’s averaging 31.8 points and 12 rebounds in the double-double streak.
The Red Devils got within eight late in the third quarter, but were denied a chance to get closer when they missed a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final three seconds of the quarter.
