Category: SCHALICK

Bringing the 3

Girls basketball: Woodstown buried under barrage of Wildwood 3s; fourth quarter goes in opposite directions for Salem, Pennsville; Schalick rolls over Salem Tech

THURSDAY’S GIRLS SCORES
Clayton 67, Pennsville 50
Salem 62, Overbrook 44
Schalick 44, Salem Tech 8
Wildwood 84, Woodstown 57

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WILDWOOD – The Woodstown girls made the two-hour trip to the shore Thursday for one of their biggest basketball games of the season and when they got there a four-alarm fire broke out.

Now before anyone gets concerned, it wasn’t a physical fire. The venerable old school on Pacific Avenue is still standing. It’s just that the Wildwood team Woodstown played was on fire from behind the 3-point arc the likes of which the Wolverines had never seen before.

The Warriors, the No. 1 team in South Jersey Group I power points, busted 21 3-pointers in the first three quarters and ran past the Wolverines 84-57.

“Cudos to them, but, geez, they even had some of their fans saying we never shoot like that,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said. “They were like, yeah, we’re good shooters, but what the heck. I was like, what the heck.”

The Warriors (12-3) hit 13 of the deep balls in the first half – and their first eight buckets of the third quarter were 3s. At one point 16 straight of their baskets were 3s. They came from four players – Macie McCracken, Sophia Wilber, Angela Wilber and Rebecca Benichou.

Angela Wilber and McCracken each had seven and finished with 25 and 31 points, respectively. Benichou had six for all 18 of her points. Sophia Wilber hit the first one of the game and it was on. Woodstown hit two 3s in the game.

The Warriors took 42 3-pointers in the game and were hitting from everywhere. When Benichou banked one in from the top of the key early in the third quarter, if you didn’t know it then, you just felt they couldn’t miss. When they shot one and didn’t make, the crowd was disappointed. 

And it wasn’t like the Wolverines were just letting them shoot. They actually played good defense denying anything inside, the Warriors just worked it around until they got that outside shot.

“We went through five different defenses and nothing seemed to be it,” Straughn said. “If we guarded them up top, they would hit them on the baseline. If we guarded the baseline, they would hit them at the top of the key. They were just on fire.”

And the Wolverines got enough offense that would have won most of their games, they just couldn’t keep pace with the 3s. Talia Battavio led Woodstown with 18 points and made it a doiuble-double with 10 assists. Megan Donelson had 17 points and Shannon Pierman had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

It was the fifth time this year the Warriors had 10 or more 3s in a game. Their previous single-game high this season was 16 against Clayton. They topped that Thursday midway through the third quarter and showed no signs of stopping. They made it 20 when McCracken hit one from the top of the key with 1:12 left in the third.

The loss snapped Woodstown’s six-game winning streak. The Wolverines (11-3) were third in SJ-I power points entering the game. Curiously, by the end of the game, despite the loss, they had moved up to No. 2 in the power points, but after the results of some other games slipped back to No. 3 behind Woodbury. 

“I think they’re pretty accurate right now,” Straughn said. “We’ve beaten some really good teams and they continue to win, so I think that bumped us up. Pennsville and Clayton played tonight; if either one of those teams win we get points because we beat them.

“I would love the No. 1 seed. It would be possible, Wildwood has some tough games and we’ve got some big games coming up. It’s not out of the question, but it’s going to be tough. Either way, I think on February 10 I think it’s going to be Wildwood and us 1 and 2, whichever way it goes. That’s my 99.9 percent promise.”

WILDWOOD 84, WOODSTOWN 57
WOODSTOWN (11-3) – Talia Battavio 7 3-4 18, Megan Donelson 8 0-0 17, Alyssa Baber 2 2-2 6, Shannon Pierman 6 0-0 12, Lauren HEngel 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 5-6 57.
WILDWOOD (12-3) – Sophia Wilber 1 5-6 8, Angela Wilber 9 0-0 25, Macie McCracken 10 4-8 31, Kaliah Sumlin 1 0-0 2, Cydnee Kilian 0 0-0 0, Rebecca Benichou 6 0-0 18, Ashley Nagle 0 0-0 0, Mia Cripps 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 9-14 84.

Woodstown15121515 –57
Wildwood1934265 –84
3-point goals: Woodstown 2 (Battavio, Donelson); Wildwood 21 (S. Wilber, A. Wilber 7, McCracken 7, Benichou 6). Total fouls: Woodstown 13, Wildwood 8.

SALEM 62, OVERBROOK 44: The Rams erupted for an 18-4 fourth quarter to pull away from a game that was tight for three quarters.

They got six points each from Ryann Foote and Ava Rodgers in the quarter to fuel the flurry. Rogers had 14 points in the second half and led all scorers with 23. Foote finished with 19.

“It was an intense game, back and forth, and they took all the fire and put their foot on their necks and never let go,” Salem coach Tiasia Tatem said. “We had a conversation at halftime and let them know it was going to be an intense game and it was going to come down to who wants it more. The third quarter I could see the fire coming.”

It was the second game in a row the Rams used a big fourth quarter to pull away. They outscored Pitman 17-6 in the fourth quarter of their last game – and 31-14 in the second half – to stretch a slim halftime lead.

“The last two games it’s been the team I’ve been waiting for and what we had,” Tatem said. “There’s been a lot of communication, a lot of holding each other accountable, a lot of coaching on the floor. They’re pushing each other. It’s beautiful to see we’re hitting that stride as a team.”

OVERBROOK (3-9) – Jael Presley 4 2-5 10, Sarah Evans 2 0-0 6, Lelani Knight 0 0-0 0, Ahlani White 0 0-0 0, Zahaisha Nevius 6 5-16 20, Gianna Simon 3 0-0 6, Nahia Smith 0 0-0 0, Taija Wiggins 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Burkhardt 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 7-21 44.
SALEM (6-8) – Ryann Foote 6 6-7 19, Ava Rodgers 8 7-10 23, Ameriyona Hunter 0 0-2 0, Carlysia Pierce 5 0-0 10, Dahkirah Grey 0 0-0 0, Kaela Nichols 0 0-0 0, Naveah Hickman 1 0-0 2, Marjziah Bundy 0 0-0 0, Madison Dixon 3 0-2 8. Totals 23 13-21 62.

Overbrook1512134 –44
Salem12181418 –62
3-point goals: Overbrook 5 (Evans 2, Nevius 3); Salem 3 (Foote, Dixon 2). Fouled out: Presley. Total fouls: Overbook 20, Salem 18.

SCHALICK 44, SALEM TECH 8: Carly Vicente scored a career-high 14 points and Schalick held the Chargers scoreless in two quarters on the way to their third win in the last four games. Vicente’s previous career high was 13 against LEAP Academy earlier this season.

“She was hitting shots all night,” Cougars coach John Whelan said. “It was really good to see her shoot the ball with confidence. She is growing towards her potential of being the scorer we know she can be and showing she can be a major piece of the team. I’m excited to watch her continue to grow.”

SCHALICK (5-7) – Cianna Gaines 2 0-2 4, Taylor Sparks 2 1-2 5, Carly Vicente 6 0-0 14, Abby Willoughby 2 0-0 6, Cali Fisler 4 1-2 9, Kyleigh Cutler 1 0-0 2, Olivia Lunemann 2 0-0 4, Victoria Basich 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 2-6 44.
SALEM TECH (1-11) – Drummond 1 0-0 2, Hanna DeWitt 1 1-4 3, Kaylin Beardsley 1 0-0 3. Totals 3 1-4 8.

Schalick814814 –44
Salem Tech0206 –8
3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Vicente 2, Willoughby 2); Salem Tech 1 (Beardsley).

CLAYTON 67, PENNSVILLE 50: The Eagles went shot for shot with the Clippers for three quarters, but ran out of gas in the fourth, had two key players foul out and were outscored 20-4. Taylor Bass had her best game since returning from an injury, leading the Eagles with a season-high 20 points.

Clayton’s Rainelle Blocker led all scorers with 32 points.

PENNSVILLE (6-8) – Taylor Bass 9 2-5 20, Karsen Cooksey 1 0-0 2, Bella Farina 3 0-2 6, Kylie Harris 1 0-0 2, Izzy Saulin 1 1-5 3, Marley Wood 7 2-2 17, Sofia Belitsas 0 0-0 0, Calli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Avery Watson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 5-14 50.
CLAYTON (7-8) – Jordyn Jones 5 0-1 10, Rainelle Blocker 12 7-12 32, Rosalina Pereira 1 0-0 2, Deondria Simon 2 4-4 8, Ava Delaney 4 1-5 11, India Williams 0 0-0 0, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, K. Guntner 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 12-22 67.
Pennsville1021154 –50
Clayton15171320 –67
3-point goals: Pennsville 1 (Wood); Clayton 2 (Blocker, Delaney). Technical fouls: Bass. Fouled out: Farina, Wood, Jones. Total fouls: Pennsville 17, Clayton 17.


Tuesday girls basketball

Here are the scores and box scores from Tuesday night’s Salem County girls basketball games; Woodstown wins sixth in a row, and more

TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Penns Grove at Glassboro, ppd.
Overbrook 42, Pennsville 34
Salem 49, Pitman 28
Gloucester Catholic 71, Salem Tech 10
Woodstown 69, Schalick 17

WOODSTOWN 69, SCHALICK 17
WOODSTOWN (11-2) — Talia Battavio 7 0-0 17, Megan Donelson 6 0-0 14, Gianna Mairoini 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Baber 3 0-0 9, Shannon Pieman 4 4-5 12, Lauren Hengel 4 0-2 8, Emma Perry 2 1-2 5, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Jala Thomas 1 0-0 2, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, K. Young 0 0-0 0, Talia Guardascione 0 0-0 0, Kailyn Kennedy 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 5-9 69.
SCHALICK (4-7) — Ava Scurry 3 0-0 6, Cianna Gaines 0 1-4 1, Taylor Sparks 1 0-0 2, Abby Willoughby 0 2-2 2, Victoria Basich 0 0-0 0, Olivia Lunemann 2 0-0 4, Kyleigh Cutler 0 0-0 0, Danae Woodson-Cain 1 0-0 2, E. O’Neill 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 3-6 17.

Woodstown2913234 —69
Schalick0944 —17
3-point goals: Woodstown 8 (Battavio 3, Donelson 2, Baber 3). Total fouls: Woodstown 6, Schalick 9. Notes: Woodstown, ranked No. 10 in the latest SJIBT rankings (its highest ever), has won six in a row. Donelson is now 106 points shy of 1,000, Battavio needs 111.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 71, SALEM TECH 10

Salem Tech (1-10)0352 —10
Gloucester Catholic (11-4)23122016 —71

Tri-County Conference

CLASSICALLDIVDIAMONDALLDIV
Wildwood11-35-0Woodstown11-25-0
Gloucester Cath.11-43-1Pennsville6-73-2
Pitman7-32-1Glassboro6-52-2
Clayton6-82-3Penns Grove6-52-2
Salem4-81-3Schalick4-71-4
Salem Tech1-100-5Overbrook3-81-4

Tuesday basketball

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

PITMAN 71, SALEM 60
SALEM (7-6) — Ramaji Bundy 1 0-0 3, Anthony Farmer 8 9-10 29, Jabez DeJesus 2 0-0 4, Paul Weathers 4 1-4 9, Tymear Lecator 4 4-4 15, Donavon Weathers 0 0-0 0, Antwone Rogers 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 14-18 60.
PITMAN (11-4) — Porter Kostiuk 2 3-4 7, Stephen Devanney 2 0-2 5, Hudson Rue 1 3-4 5, Elijah Crispin 10 14-16 36, Trey Tinges 0 0-0 0, Michael Fisicaro 5 1-2 13, Sonny Myers 2 1-2 5, Greg Peterson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 22-30 71.

Salem17171412 —60
Pitman16221419 —71
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.

Schalick (5-6)26157 —30
Woodstown (7-5)11101517 —53
3-point goals: Schalick 4 (Lis, Ny. Sutton 2, Siedlecki); Woodstown 5 (Bialecki 2, Vazquez, Hall 2).

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.

Glassboro13111918 —61
Penns Grove19121514 —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.

Pennsville71178 —33
Overbrook2291717 —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 Catholic19212210 —72
Salem Tech14111117 —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.

Tri-County Conference

CLASSICALLDIVDIAMONDALLDIV
Pitman11-45-0Overbrook11-45-1
Wildwood9-64-2Glassboro7-75-1
Gloucester Cath.8-54-3Penns Grove5-93-2
Salem7-63-3Woodstown7-53-3
Clayton3-111-4Pennsville5-91-5
Salem Tech1-110-5Schalick5-60-5

First-time winners

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.

CAMDEN TECH (5-8) – Frankie Clas 0 0-0 0, Sal Algeri 3 0-0 6, Isaiah Haynes 0 0-2 0, Alex Ojeda 1 0-0 2, Evan Brummel 5 0-1 11, Jamal Sosa 0 0-0 0, Xavier Figueroa 4 0-0 9, Mekhi Harper 4 1-3 9, Elijah Franks 1 0-0 2, Charles Barbour 0 0-0 0, Shareef Cox 3 0-0 6. Totals 21 1-6 45.
SALEM TECH (1-10) – Chase Wills 7 0-3 14, Haneef Frisby 4 3-4 11, Josh Muntz 3 3-6 10, Tyler Zampino 3 0-1 6, Antoine Robinson 6 2-4 14. Totals 23 8-18 55.

Camden Tech416196 –45
Salem Tech1014724 –55
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.

PENNS GROVE (5-8) – Roman Gipson 4 0-0 8, Giomar Conrad 5 0-0 10, Karon Ceaser 2 1-2 6, Willie Slocum 3 2-2 8, Mekhi Ballard 7 2-2 22, Mr Peterson 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 5-6 56.
CLEARVIEW (7-6) – Kaprice Stewart 6 4-6 18, Daulton Phalines 8 0-1 16, Michael Guy 1 1-2 3, Jake Slotter 2 0-0 5, Russ Manel 4 0-0 9, Jonah Turner 3 1-3 7. Totals 24 6-12 58.

Penns Grove11151416 –56
Clearview1813423 –58
3-point goals: Penns Grove 7 (Ceaser, Ballard 6); Clearview 4 (Stewart 2, Slotter, Manel).

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.

PENNSVILLE (5-8) – Luke Wood 4 2-2 12, Peyton O’Brien 3 3-4 9, Malik Rehmer 1 1-1 3, Daniel Saulin 3 1-3 7, Cohen Petrutz 2 0-1 4, Jayden Thomas 5 2-2 12, Mason O’Brien 1 2-4 4, Cole Johnston 1 0-0 2, Connor Starn 0 1-2 0. Totals 20 12-19 54.
GLASSBORO (6-7) – Xavier Sabb 5 5-11 15, Charles Graves 6 8-8 22, Clinton Suggs 8 5-6 22, Michael Dougherty 2 1-2 7, Josh Buff 1 0-0 3, William Boggans 1 0-0 3, Jayce Grays 1 0-0 2, Aiden Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 19-27 74.

Pennsville141112 17 –54
Glassboro15182219 –74
3-point goals: Pennsville 2 (Wood 2); Glassboro 7 (Graves 2, Suggs, Dougherty 2, Buff, Boggans). Technical fouls: Saulin. Total fouls: Pennsville 16, Glassboro 14. 

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.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (7-5) – Carlos Mendez 4 4-6 13, Jack Mustaro 7 8-10 25, Trey Battle 4 1-1 9, Kyle Guldin 3 0-0 6, Ehthan Dugue 0 0-0 0, Billy Ginipro 0 0-0 0, Nick Calzonetti 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-17 53.
SALEM (7-5) – Anthony Farmer 5 2-3 15, Jabez DeJesus 6 4-7 19, Paul Weathers 4 1-2 9, Tymear Lecator 2 0-1 4, Donovan Weathers 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 7-13 50.

Gloucester Catholic1361420 –53
Salem11111315 –50
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.”

SCHALICK (4-6) – Ava Scurry 6 4-9 16, Cianna Gaines 3 1-4 7, Taylor Sparks 6 0-0 13, Abby Willoughby 2 3-6 8, Katie Little 1 0-0 2, Olivia Lunemann 0 0-0 0, Victoria Basich 0 0-0 0, Kyleigh Cutler 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-19 46.
PENNSAUKEN TECH (3-5) – Loreny Medina 7 0-0 16, Jannah Jalosjos 1 0-0 2, Xyaliyah Somers 5 0-2 10, Elizabeth Fernandez 0 0-0 0, Sarah Garner 2 0-2 4, Kayla Klotz 0 0-0 0, NaBry Jenkins 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 0-4 32.

Schalick1110169 – 46
Pennsauken Tech611411 –32
3-point goals: Schalick 2 (Sparks, Willoughby); Pennsauken Tech 2 (Medine 2). Total fouls: Schalick 8, Pennsauken Tech 12.

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. 

SALEM (4-8) – Ryann Foote 8 10-20 27, Ava Rodgers 3 2-8 8, Marissa Bower 4 1-8 10, Ameriyona Hunter 2 0-0 5, Zaniyah Freison 3 0-0 6, Madison Dixon 3 2-6 9, Marjziah Bundy 0-0-0, Kaela Nichols 0-0-0. Totals 23 15-42 65.
PAULSBORO (5-6) – Londyn Graham 3 0-0 6, Brookelyn Graham 13 12-19 38, Dasoni Scott 6 2-4 14, Ianna Veney 1 0-2 2, Deamya Bagby 3 0-4 7, Alaysia Bumpers 0 1-3 1, Kemea Tate 0 0-0 0, Briasya Johns 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 15-32 68.

Salem1211131739 –65
Paulsboro131218103 12 –68
3-point goals: Salem 4 (Foote, Bower, Hunter, Dixon); Paulsboro 1 (Bagby). Fouled out: Rodgers, Hunter, Fresion, Graham, Veney, Johns. Total fouls: Salem 27, Paulsboro 30.

Schalick at the Sixers

Cougars take the big stage at Wells Fargo Center, enjoy an NBA experience and pick up a win while doing it, then going back and watching Embiid put 70 on the Spurs

MONDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Schalick 42, Clayton 35
Clearview 58, Penns Grove 56
Glassboro 74, Pennsville 54
Salem Tech 55, Camden Tech 45
Gloucester Catholic 53, Salem 50

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PHILADELPHIA — Danny Lis wasn’t much good in school today for as long as it lasted for the players on the Schalick basketball team Monday. All the Cougars senior – and the rest of his teammates for that matter – could think about from the time the bell rang was what he was going to be doing later in the day.

Game days occupy a special realm in a player’s mind anyway, but this one was a much different game day entirely. For a high school basketball player with dreams of playing in the big time, it was the ultimate field trip.

Call it Ferris Bueller’s day off with basketball benefits. The Cougars had the good fortune to be invited to play their game with Clayton in the Wells Fargo Center, on the same floor the main tenant 76ers were going to play the San Antonio Spurs later that evening.

They were going to play on the biggest stage in the biggest arena probably all of them will play in their life. They were playing in an NBA arena.

“It’s amazing, honestly,” Lis said. “It’s actually my first time on an NBA court. This is what I’ve been thinking about all day. I didn’t think about anything except just playing basketball on this court where the 76ers are playing.”

What made the trip even better is they beat the Clippers and the clock 42-35 pulling away in the fourth quarter for their fifth win of the year, more than they had the last two years combined.

It didn’t matter there weren’t a lot of people there, just the parents the scattered technical staff getting the arena set up for the NBA game scheduled for later in the evening, a game all of the players and their parents were going to attend.

It was a rather rushed experience that Cougars coach James Turner conceded detracted from making the memories last longer, but he’ll always remember the excitement of the players on an NBA and what it meant to them being in the arena.

The Cougars’ bus pulled in at 1:14 p.m. for the 2 p.m. tip, just a few minutes behind the Clayton bus and weren’t allowed in the arena until 1:30. It didn’t matter that they didn’t dress in one of the fancy locker rooms. Or they didn’t have any interaction with the players who call the place their office. And they had to be off the floor at 2:55 whether the game was over or not, so there wasn’t much of a halftime and they ran the fourth quarter with a running clock.

That was the trade off for being on the floor. That floor. That magnificent NBA floor many of them had only seen before on TV.

The anticipation had been building for weeks. It was all worth it when they magic walked through the tunnel from the concourse and finally stepped onto the court that has hosted Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and the NBA greats of their generation and later tonight Victor Wembanyama.

“Oh my gosh, it was amazing,” junior forward Nylan Sutton said. “I’m running down the court, I’m supposed to get back on defense, and I just look up and I’m like, wow. It was just unbelievable, a time to remember. I’m going to remember it the rest of my life.

“It was a mix of everything. The legends who play on this court. My dream is playing college basketball; me playing on this court in high school is just a dream come true. And just scoring on the court.

“I missed a couple shots, the nervousness in my body, but when I scored my first basket, I was like wow, I just scored where Joel Embiid, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan shot a basketball and it was like wow, I just did it. Me knowing that my sports career is not coming true yet, but I’m getting there, is making me happy.”

Schalick senior Danny Lis looks to get the ball past two Clayton defenders and into the front court in the Cougars’ game at the Wells Fargo Center Monday. (Photo by Brian Tortella)

As you might expect, between the nerves of the day and the depth perception in an empty arena, both teams had trouble hitting shots. There were times the players looked like they were trying to score like their favorite NBA stars, but many of them missed the mark.

There was one trip down the floor with about five minutes left in the first half Sutton looked like he was going to get a dunk in an NBA arena, but then pulled up and laid it in because he remembered the rules.

“They told us we couldn’t dunk,” he said. “I was feeling bouncy today, I was going to dunk it, but I didn’t want them to kick us out because I dunked it because I know they have a game later today. I was going to dunk, I really was.”

The arena staff might not have let them dunk, but they sure let them shoot the 3. Schalick’s Jordan Johnson had the honor of the first basket of the game and it was a 3 from the top of the key. The Cougars led most of the game after that.

Clayton took its only lead on a basket by A’Shaud Hine-Pope to open the fourth quarter, but it didn’t last.

Reggie Allen and Lis came up big down the stretch. Allen had two big steals and hit four straight free throws to put the Cougars back on top for good. He also took a shot above his left eye that took some doing to close. Lis had two buckets in the closing minutes to extend it to the final margin.

“It felt good to score on an NBA court where the professionals play, like Joel Embiid,” Allen said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day.”

The Cougars’ work was done when the game ended, but their day was far from over. After they were whisked off the concourse and the doors, the players headed out to a nearby Dave & Busters for a post-game meal and some revelry before returning to the arena to watch Embiid put 70 on the Spurs in a 133-123 win with the tickets they had to sell as part of the deal. Their seats were in the upper corner across the floor from the bench they occupied for the game.

“Our job is done,” Turner said. “As coaches and players our job is done. Now it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy.”

SCHALICK 42, CLAYTON 35
CLAYTON (3-11) — Dillon Jones 4 0-0 8, Nazir Davis 3 0-0 7, Demetris Williams 2 0-0 4, Jon Cox 1 0-1 2, Cristan Scott 2 0-0 4, A’Shaud Hine-Pope 1 0-0 2, Nasir Carter 0 1-2 1, Mason Gable 0 0-0 0, John Carter 1 0-0 3, Brian Marshall 2 0-0 4, Dean Madden 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Aviles 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 1-3 35.
SCHALICK (5-5) — Reggie Allen 4 5-6 14, Dan Lis 2 0-0 4, Jake Siedlecki 3 0-0 6, Jordan Johnson 3 0-0 7, Ryan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Nylan Sutton 3 0-2 6, Levi Mason 2 1-1 5, Jase Volovar 0 0-0 0, Nasir Sutton 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 6-9 42.

Clayton71594 —35
Schalick1116510 —42
3-point goals: Clayton 2 (Davis, J. Carter); Schalick 2 (Allen, Johnson). Total fouls: Clayton 6, Schalick 11.

Cover photo: Schalick’s Reggie Allen drives to the basket during the Cougars’ win over Clayton in the Wells Fargo Center a few hours before the 76ers took the floor. (Photo by Brian Tortella).

This week’s schedule

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.

INDOOR TRACK
Tri-County Conference, Bennett Complex

Saturday

BASKETBALL
Girls
Schalick at Camden Tech, 11:30 a.m.

Boys
Pennsville at Triton Regional, 11:30 a.m.
Schalick at Pennsauken Tech, 12:30 p.m.

WRESTLING
Schalick, Holy Spirit at Cumberland, 8 a.m.
Penns Grove, Clayton, Millville at Woodstown, 9 a.m.
Salem at Overbrook

Saturday wrestling

County teams dig out of the snow and hit the mats Saturday

Collingswood Quad

COLLINGSWOOD – Pennsville fell behind early in both of its matches and couldn’t recover in either, falling to Vineland 50-25 and host Collingswood 54-27.

Travis Hagan stopped the runs of both teams with pins at 137. Sky Eppes (150) and Travis Waddington (285) also picked up two victories.

TEAMSPVLCOLLSTERVINE
PennsvilleXXX27-5425-50
Collingswood54-27XXX58-1853-28
Sterling18-58XXX24-55
Vineland50-2529-5355-24XXX

COLLINGSWOOD 54, PENNSVILLE 27
113: Mason Musciano (Co) pinned Vincent Ciccantelli, 0:23
120: Lino Bataloni (Co) pinned Christopher Daniels, 1:38
126: Nathaniel Plotts (Co) pinned Kameron Drummond, 4:27
132: Ezra Katz (Co) pinned Ayden Perez, 1:49
138: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Stewart Chang, 2:52
144: Matt Plotts (Co) pinned Maddox Efelis, 0:44
150: Sky Eppes (P) dec. Iasah Cruz, 6-1
157: Matt Malinowski (Co) pinned Robbie McDade, 1:37
165: Roman Florio (Co) pinned Cole Campbell, 1:30
175: Vincenzo Angelucci (Co) pinned Connor Ayars, 5:22
190: Elias Lussi (P) pinned Omarion Hollingsworth, 3:39
215: Nyeim Bennett (Co) pinned Daniel Emmons, 0:21
285: Trevor Waddington (P) won by forfeit
106: Lucas Thomas (P) pinned Dominic VanZandt, 4:09

VINELAND 50, PENNSVILLE 25
106: Josh Kinchen (V) won by forfeit
113: Deytin Pickett (V) pinned Lucas Thomas, 3:33
120: Chad Sciore (V) pinned Christopher Daniels, 5:14
126: Leland Cinkowski (V) maj. dec. over Kameron Drummond, 9-0
132: Jayden Cinkowski (V) pinned Ayden Perez, 5:39
138: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Alejandro Calderon, 1:51
144: Everett Cronk (V) maj. dec. over Esther Baptiste, 9-0
150: Sky Eppes (P) maj. dec. over Caden Barnes, 15-6
157: Lionel Powell (V) pinned Robbie McDade, 1:47
165: Matt Torres (V) pinned Cole Campbell, 2:12
175: Connor Ayars (P) won by forfeit
190: Justin Oldaker (P) won by forfeit
215: Gavin Gallo (V) pinned Daniel Emmons, 0:28
285: Trevor Waddington (P) dec. Donny Saint Jean, 3-2

Mainland Quad

TEAMSWOODEASTMAINMILL
WoodstownXXX30-4058-15
Eastern40-30XXX51-2445-27
Mainland15-5824-51XXX33-37
Millville27-4533-33XXX

EASTERN 40, WOODSTOWN 30
165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Cory Skroski, 2:44
175: Nikita Alcoba (E) maj. dec. over Greyson Hyland, 15-2
190: Jonathan Brennan (E) dec. Paul Banff, 4-3
215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Quinn Teismer, 1:31
285: Anthony Pryor (E) pinned Josiah Mejias, 0:33
106: Jacob Hoffmaster (E) pinned Chase Blandino, 0:58
113: Jayden Belonia (E) won by forfeit
120: Travis Balback (Wo) pinned Ryan Schmidt, 2:54
126: Carson Bradway (Wo) dec. Jayden Jardine, 15-11
132: Alex Torres (Wo) dec. Evan Melchiorre, 14-7
138: Chase Geller (E) pinned Ryan Polk, 3:04
144: Manuel Stevens (E) pinned Angel Hernandez, 3:24
150: Cole Pettet (E) dec. Laitton Roberts, 10-5
157: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Gavin Buniak, 3:38

WOODSTOWN 58, MAINLAND 15
175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) dec. Chase Hoag, 4-0
190: Paul Banff (Wo) won by forfeit
215: Josiah Mejias (Wo) won by forfeit
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Oswaldo Mendoza, 1:07
106: Chase Blandino (Wo) won by forfeit
113: Justin Mazur (M) won by forfeit
120: Travis Balback (Wo) pinned Garrett Chew, 0:43
126: Anthony Marinelli (M) pinned Carson Bradway, 1:09
132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Cole Cayanan, 1:59
138: Carson Endicott (M) dec. Ryan Polk, 4-2
144: Angel Hernandez (Wo) pinned Yeshua Martinez, 4:38
150: Laitton Roberts (Wo) maj. dec. over Trevor Dill, 9-1
157: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Tyler Waters, 0:57
165: Zach Bevis (Wo) dec. Gary Williams, 7-3

Haddon Twp. Quad

HADDON TWP. – Schalick/Cumberland won seven straight bouts from 138 through 190 to erase an early deficit and had enough points in the bank to offset being pinned in the final two bouts and beat Haddon Twp. 39-34.

SC Wrestling trailed 22-0 after the first five bouts, then started clicking off wins. Daniel Lloyd (138), Riley Papiano (150) Jake Magonagle (165), Eric Sulik (175) and Evan Elliott (190) all scored pins, Ayden Jenkins (144) scored a major decision and Ricky Watt (157) earned a technical fall to give their team a match-clinching 39-22 lead.

SCHALICK/CUMBERLAND 39, HADDON TWP. 34
106: Andrew Marshall (H) maj. dec. over Caleb Jenkins, 10-0
113: Owen Ziegler (H) pinned DeAnthony Harden, 1:54
120: Thomas Andrews (H) pinned Gabriel McFeeley, 1:41
126: Gabe Slafman (H) dec. Luke Silva, 7-4
132: Justin Capri (H) dec. Chase Williams, 6-0
138: Daniel Lloyd (SC) pinned Jake Andrews, 0:40
144: Ayden Jenkins (SC) maj. dec. over Damian Shepherd, 15-2
150: Riley Papiano (SC) pinned Julian Craft, 3:41
157: Ricky Watt (SC) tech fall over Antonio Reyes, 19-4 (5:58)
165: Jake Magonagle (SC) pinned Richard Poblano Benito, 4:20
175: Eric Sulik (SC) pinned Joseph Sum, 1:03
190: Evan Elliott (SC) pinned Elijah Borowicz, 0:34
215: Chris Broderick (H) pinned Gabriel Rodriguez, 1:54
285: Willem Conover (H) pinned Hoval Jenkins, 4:36

Overtime thriller

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.

PENNSVILLE 63, PENNS GROVE 60 (OT)
PENNSVILLE (6-6) – Nora Ausland 8 1-3 17, Sofia Belitsas 0 0-0 0, Karsen Cooksey 1 0-1 3, Bella Farina 3 1-4 7, Kylie Harris 2 0-0 4, Izzy Saulin 5 0-1 10, Marley Wood 6 9-10 22. Totals 25 11-19 63.
PENNS GROVE (6-5) – Meely Horace 4 1-2 9, JaNiyah Cummings 6 1-4 13, RaNiyah Wilson 5 6-11 17, Brianna Robbins 1 0-0 2, Amani Taylor 0 0-0 0, Arianna Dowe 6 0-0 15, Zoe Caesar 2 0-1 4, Rolande Delva 0 0-0 0, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, Semijah Hines 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-18 60.

Pennsville161415135 –63
Penns Grove81318192 –60
3-point goals: Pennsville 2 (Cooksey, Wood); Penns Grove 4 (Wilson, Dowe 3). Fouled out: Cooksey. Total fouls: Pennsville 16, Penns Grove 18.

WOODSTOWN 60, GLASSBORO 36
WOODSTOWN (9-2) – Talia Battavio 7 1-2 19, Megan Donelson 8 2-2 20, Gianna Maiorini 3 0-0 6, Alyssa Baber 1 1-3 4, Shannon Pierman 3 1-2 7, Lauren Hengel 2 0-0 4, Emma Perry 0 0-0 0, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Jala Thomas 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, Kendall Young 0 0-0 0, Talia Guardascione 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 5-9 60.
GLASSBORO (6-4) – Tamia Smith 3 4-4 12, Kezia Brackett 4 1-2 9, Kimora Miles 3 0-0 7, Anye Davis 1 0-0 2, Sianna Wedderburn 3 0-0 6, Sanaa Thomas 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-6 36.

Woodstown1016277 –60
Glassboro1074 11 –36
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.

PITMAN 56, SALEM TECH 32
PITMAN (7-2) – Anna Fisicaro 14 2-6 32, Miya Villari 1 3-4 6, Evelyn Wisely 0 0-0 0, Audrey Duffield 6 0-2 12, Colette Rollins 1 0-0 3, Adriana Collman 1 1-4 3. Totals 23 6-16 56.
SALEM TECH (0-9) – Hanna DeWitt 2 1-3 5, Demajae White 3 1-2 7, Kaylin Beardsley 5 0-0 12, Drummond 1 1-6 3, Rylee Doerr 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 3-11 31.

Pitman5181716 –56
Salem Tech431114 –32
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.

SCHALICK 38, OVERBROOK 33
OVERBROOK (2-8) – Jael Pressley 2 1-6 5, Kaylee Burkhart 0 0-0 0, Sarah Evans 1 0-0 3, Leiani Knight 0 0-0 0, Alani White 0 0-0 0, Zahaisha Nevius 10 0-3 23, Gianna Simon 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 1-9 33.
SCHALICK (3-6) – Ava Scurry 1 1-2 3, Cali Fisler 1 0-1 2, Carly Vicente 0 0-0 0, Cianna Gaines 5 3-4 13, Taylor Sparks 3 4-4 12, Abby Willoughby 2 0-0 6, Katie Little 1 0-1 2. Totals 13 8-12 38.

Overbrook112164 –33
Schalick144614 – 38
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.

A lot to take in

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.”

PENNS GROVE 75, PENNSVILLE 65
PENNSVILLE (5-7) – Luke Wood 11-25 2-3 28, Peyton O’Brien 7-9 2-5 18, Daniel Saulin 2-3 0-0 4, Jayden Thomas 3-8 1-2 7, Malik Rehmer 1-4 0-0 2, Cohen Petrutz 1-3 1-2 3, Mason O’Brien 1-2 1-2 3, Logan Hitt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 7-14 65.
PENNS GROVE (5-6) – Brandon Robbins 0 0-0 0, Giomar Conrad 7 2-4 18, Karon Ceaser 5 8-10 20, Willie Slocum 3 3-4 9, Mehki Ballard 5 2-4 14, Camron Thompson 2 0-0 5, Khiry Higgs 0 0-0 0, Mr Peterson 0 0-0 0, Dameon Wilson 3 0-1 6, Neziah Spence 1 0-2 3, Will Roy 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 15-25 75.

Pennsville17121412 –65
Penns Grove24162213 –75
3-point goals: Pennsville 6-18 (Wood 4-10, P. O’Brien 2-3, Thomas 0-1, Rehmer 0-2, Petrutz 0-2); Penns Grove 8 (Conrad 2, Ceaser 2, Ballard 2, Thompson, Spence). Technical fouls: Wood. Total fouls: Pennsville 17, Penns Grove 13. Officials: Dumas, Jackson, Carter.

SALEM 90, CLAYTON 52
SALEM (7-4) – Jabez DeJesus 18 0-0 41, Paul Weathers 5 0-0 10, Tymear Lecator 4 2-2 10, Donovan Weathers 2 2-2 6, Xavier McGriff 2 1-2 5, Antwan Rodgers 5 0-0 10, Cole Sayers 1 0-0 2, Joseph Tunis 2 0-0 6, Anthony Farmer 0 0-0 0. Totals 39 5-6 90.
CLAYTON (3-10) – Dillon Jones 2 1-2 5, Princeton Sackor 6 3-4 17, Nazir Davis 5 0-0 11, Demetris Williams 1 2-4 4, Jon Cox 1 3-4 5, Cristan Scott 1 0-0 2, Ashaud Hines 4 0-0 8. Totals 20 9-14 52.

Salem21252222 –90
Clayton8141218 –52
3-point goals: Salem 7 (DeJesus 5, Tunis 2); Clayton 3 (Sackor 2, Davis).
NOTES: DeJesus smashed his career high by 15 points. 

GLASSBORO 55, WOODSTOWN 47
GLASSBORO (5-7) – Charles Graves 5 12-13 22, Xavier Sabb 5 4-8 14, Clinton Suggs 4 2-3 11, Jayce Grays 1 0-0 2, Josh Buff 1 1-1 3, Michael Dougherty 1 0-2 3. Totals 17 19-27 55.
WOODSTOWN (6-5) – Blake Bialecki 4 0-0 11, M.J. Hall 3 0-0 9, Max Webb 3 3-4 10, Garrett Leyman 2 0-0 5, Rocco String 3 0-2 6, Alejandro Vazquez 1 0-0 3, Anthony Bokolas 1 0-0 2, Manny Ortega 0 0-0 0, Elijah Caesar 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 4-8 47.

Glassboro1642113 –55
Woodstown1561115 –47
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.

Schalick5014 12 –31
Overbrook267916 –58
3-point goals: Overbrook 6 (Little 3, Kee, Mills, Green).

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.

Pitman34232816 –101
Salem Tech121412 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.


Friendly rivalry

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.