Pennsville girls basketball ends long title drought by clinching share of Diamond Division, plus the rest of Monday’s Salem County sports calendar

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pennsville 65, Penns Grove 25
Pitman 48, Salem Tech 26
Schalick 46, Woodstown 25
BOYS BASKETBALL
Penns Grove 80, Pennsville 16
Salem 60, Paulsboro 54
Pitman 52, Salem Tech 31
Woodstown 46, Schalick 33
INDOOR TRACK
Pennsville, Salem at Ocean Breeze

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE — Pennsville assistant coach Ryan Wood stood before the girls basketball team after the game and gave the day its historical context in a way uniquely his own.

The Eagles had just clinched a share of its first division title since 1988 Monday when they bashed Penns Grove 65-25 in Rudy Baric Gym and Wood let them know just how long ago that was.

“Forty years ago,” he said rubbing his hands over his thinning scalp, “I had a full head of hair.”

And if you don’t believe it, his daughter, senior guard Marley Wood, has the proof.

“I’ve seen pictures, him and my brother (Luke) look the exact same, which is really weird,” she said.

The Eagles’ sixth straight win — and fourth since the coaching change — left them 9-1 in the TCC Diamond Division and a share of their first division title since 1988 with Glassboro. The teams split in the regular season.

“We’ve all worked very hard for this,” senior forward Taylor Bass said. “A lot of sweat, blood and tears have gone into it.”

There’s a banner in the far left corner of Pennsville’s Salberg Gym that commemorates the team’s last division title. After the boys soccer team won its first division title in 32 years in October, it left girls basketball with the school’s longest championship drought among teams that have won a championship. The boys basketball program has never won one. The girls track team is now on the clock (2011).

“Every year we get reminded that it’s been a while, so getting to do with my team my senior year and my dad in the back with us is great,” Marley Wood said.

The Eagles (14-6) had control of this one from the start. They built a 33-15 halftime lead, then opened the third quarter with 16 straight points to put it out of reach.

Bass and Addie Johnston led the offense with 18 points apiece. Since the coaching change that elevated Robin Efelis to head coach and brought Ryan Wood back to the bench, Johnston has scored 52 points and hit eight 3-pointers. 

“It’s just been good games, good days,” the sophomore said. “My shooting’s been good, my confidence overall has been high. Just been coming out hot every day.”

Wood had six points, but grabbed 10 rebounds and dished 12 assists. Already the second-leading all-time girls scorer in school history, she needs one point for 1,300 and four assists for 500. That would put her in the 1300-500-500 Club since she already has 521 rebounds.

PENNSVILLE 65, PENNS GROVE 25
PENNSVILLE (14-6): Taylor Bass 8 1-5 18, Marley Wood 3 0-2 6, Addie Johnston 7 1-2 18, Izzy Saulin 4 2-2 10, Jaida Burns 3 0-0 6, Jaiden Wilson 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 1 0-0 2, Kylie Weist 1 0-0 3, Reagan Sipps 0 0-0 0, Makayla Griffith 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 4-11 65.
PENNS GROVE (2-18): Janiyah Cummings 6 3-4 16, Keziah Patterson 1 2-2 5, Yeichelyn Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Domari Torres 1 0-0 3, Yanet Cruz 0 0-0 0, Mikayla Washington 1 0-0 2, Armahni Blackston 0 0-0 0, Yasmin Cruz 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 5-6 26

SCHALICK 46, WOODSTOWN 25: The Cougars put together one of their best defensive efforts of the season in a year filled with big defensive efforts and ended a 13-game losing streak against the Wolverines. It was almost seven years to the day the last time they won in the series, Feb. 12, 2019.

“This one feels good,” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “The girls were ready for this game and they put together four full quarters of good basketball. It was a signature win as we come to the end of there egular season. It will be a great momentum builder as we head into the playoffs.”

The Cougars (14-5) held their hosts to single digits in all four quarters. They led 10-8 after the first quarter, then took control in the second quarter. They closed Woodstown out with a 15-3 fourth quarter. They are averaging a shade under 24 points against in their 14 wins this season.

“As always we build off our defense,” Whelan said. “It was an outstanding defensive performance where the girls took pride in winning on that side of the court. That aggressiveness translated to playing downhill on the offensive end. Everyone played a part.”

Ava Scurry anchored the defense. She had 14 rebounds, including the 600th of her career, five steals and seven blocked shots. Cali Fisler had four steals and Olivia Vanacker had eight rebounds, a career-high nine assists and three steals.

Willow Davis led the offense with four 3-pointers and a career-high 18 points. Nevaeh Robinson had 10. Kendall Young was Woodstown’s leading scorer with 10 points.

The Wolverines, who once had a 39-game winning streaks against Salem County opponents, have now won lost two in a row to in-county foes.

SCHALICK (14-5): Ava Scurry 1 2-4 4, Cali Fisler 1 6-10 8, Olivia Vanacker 3 0-0 6, Nevaeh Robinson 3 3-6 10, Willow Davis 6 2-2 18. Totals 14 13-22 46.
WOODSTOWN (9-13): Lauren Hengel 3 0-0 8, Emma Perry 0 1-2 1, Kendall Young 4 0-0 10, Talia Guardascione 0 1-2 1, Gina Murray 2 0-0 5. Totals 9 2-4 25.

PITMAN 48, SALEM TECH 26: Audrey Duffield scored 19 points and three other players had at least eight as the Panthers snapped a six-game losing streak that followed their last win over the Chargers. Shelby Liber led Salem Tech with 13 points. Amora Delaine had seven points and eight rebounds.

PITMAN (4-13): Marlee Adams 4 1-4 9, Emery Sharpnack 4 0-0 8, Audrey Duffield 7 5-8 19, Bella Pramov 2 0-0 4, Jocelyn O’Brien 4 0-0 8. Totals 21 6-12 48.
SALEM TECH (2-13): Amora Delaine 3 1-6 7, Shelby Liber 5 0-4 13, Rachel Reed 0 0-0 0, Shelby Drummond 1 0-0 2, Evening Amedee 0 1-2 1, Olivia Lydon 0 0-0 0, Carmen Mott 0 0-0 0, Tiara Bazemore 1 1-2 3. Totals 10 3-14 26.

Boys games

PENNS GROVE 80, PENNSVILLE 16: The Red Devils went out 17-0 in the first five minutes and got scoring from 13 players.

Will Roy led the assault with 13 points, nine in the first quarter. Zane Thomas and Geonni Conrad had 11 apiece, and Jameel Horace had 10.

“That’s what we’re looking for,” Penns Grove coach Damien Ware said. “We have 10 to 12 guys who can play, contribute for us, so that’s really what we want to do on a night-in, night-out basis. If we can just play together. I tell them (to) play consistent.

“We’ve been playing good in stretches. We play good for five minutes and play bad for five minutes. Once we get to the point where we’re playing consistently good basketball we’re going to be tough to beat. We’re pretty deep. We have a lot of guys who can play, so we’ll be tough to deal with.”

PENNS GROVE (14-8): Roman Gipson 0 0-0 0, Carson Pearsall 4 0-0 9, Haneef Frisby 1 0-0 2, Will Roy 6 0-0 13, Mishawn Brantley 3 0-0 6, Geonni Conrad 5 0-0 11, Luis Colon 2 0-0 4, Jameel Horace 5 0-0 10, Jeremy Costacamps 1 0-0 2, Jerry Wooten 1 1-1 3, Ahkeen Edwards 1 0-0 2, Messiah Allah 0 2-2 2, Eli Pearsall 1 0-0 3, James Minor 0 2-2 2, Zane Thomas 4 3-3 11. Totals 34 8-8 80.
PENNSVILLE (3-17): Jake Layfield 0 0-0 0, Shamir Watkins 1 0-0 2, Gavin Spears 0 0-0 0, Danny Knight 1 0-0 3, Jake Farina 2 0-0 6, Trey Clevinger 2 0-0 5, Colin Keenan 0 0-0 0, Liam Crane 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 0-0 16.

SALEM 60, PAULSBORO 54: Tymear Lecator scored 21 points to inch closer to 1,000 career points and hit two free throws in a one-point game to keep the Red Raiders at arm’s length. The junior guard needs 22 points to hit the milestone going into Tuesday’s game with Penns Grove. He also had eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Deshaan Williams and BJ Robbins added nine points apiece for the Rams (17-4), the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings and No. 2 seed in the upcoming Tri-County Conference Tournament. Marshall Stephens and Donnie Weathers both grabbed 10 rebounds Stephens also blocked three shots.

The Rams came from eight down at halftime to take a four-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Red Raiders got within 54-53, then Lecator hit two free throws to stretch the lead and the Rams (17-4) closed it out from the line. They were 18-of-27 from the line in the game as a team, Lecator was 8-for-10.

When the milestone comes, he’ll be the 18th Salem player on the Salem County boys 1,000-point list.

“I’m not anxious, I know what work I put in and that never lies,” he said. “I’m just looking at it like another game and it’ll definitely be a blessing to hopefully reach the milestone tomorrow.”

SALEM (17-4): Donnie Weathers 2 1-2 5, Xavier McGriff 1 0-0 2, Neziah Spence 0 2-4 2, Tymear Lecator 5 8-10 21, Fatah Paige 1 0-0 2, Deshaan Williams 3 3-4 9, BJ Robbins 4 0-0 9, Marshall Stephens 3 0-1 6, Darrelle Johnson 0 4-6 4. Totals 19 18-27 60.
PAULSBORO (9-10): Malakai McKenzie 4 11-14 21, Jeremiah Carr 3 4-9 10, Jeff Taylor 2 0-0 6, LaShawn Clay 2 0-0 5, Dayvon Kersey 1 1-2 4, Jamal Robinson 1 1-2 3, Khalil Streater 1 1-2 3, Jakai Bennett 0 2-4 2. Totals 14 20-33 54.

WOODSTOWN 46, SCHALICK 33: The teams played even for a half, but Woodstown came out of the break in a strong defensive posture and pulled away. The Wolverines held them hosts to two points in the third quarter to pull ahead, then kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter.

“No special adjustment,” Woodstown coach Ramon Roots said. “We just played harder in the second (half),.”

Elijah Caesar led Woodstown’s offense with 14 points. Blake Bialecki added 12, including his 194th career 3-pointer, and went over 200 career assists. Kade Macom led the Cougars with a career-tying 16 points.

WOODSTOWN (14-8): Elijah Caesar 7 0-0 14, Blake Bialecki 4 2-2 12, Lucas Fulmer 0 2-2 2, Andrew White 2 2-4 7, Frank Hoerst 0 0-0 0, Alejandro Vazquez 2 0-2 5, Josh King 3 0-0 6, Jalen Markward 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-10 46.
SCHALICK (9-11): Julian Dickerson 4 0-0 10, Orion Baldwin 1 0-0 3, Dylan Sheehan 1 0-0 2, Kade Macom 6 2-2 16, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 2-2 33.

PITMAN 52, SALEM TECH 31: The Panthers controlled the game by dominating the first and third quarters. Peter DeChristopher led the effort with 16 points, four 3-pointers and six rebounds. Lucas Razze had six points, seven assists and five steals. Aiden Bobo led the Chargers’ offense with 10 points.

SALEM TECH (2-16): Chase Pompper 2 1-2 5, Luke Kroll 2 0-0 6, Ayden Myers 1 0-0 3, Raphael Busch 2 0-0 4, Sterling Lewis 1 1-2 3. Totals 12 3-6 31.
PITMAN (9-13): Lucas Razze 2 1-2 6, Parker DeChristopher 6 0-0 16, Joey Zubert 4 0-0 9, Jake Bowen-Ashwin 1 1-2 3, Jay Craig 4 0-0 8, Oliver Spier 3 0-0 8, Micah Frost 0 0-0 0, Michael Aubrey 0 0-0 0, Kiernan Clark 0 0-0 0, Liam Etter 1 0-0 2, Brady Green 0 0-0 0, Brayden Geary 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 2-4 52.

Indoor track

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Salem’s Amiyah Jones and Pennsville’s Aubrey Manorowitz both posted Top 10 finishes in jumping events to headline the Salem County performers at the SJTCA Meet at the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Facility.

Jones was fourth in the girls long jump (15-7) and eighth in the girls triple jump (30-9.75). Manorowitz placed fifth in the girls high jump (4-10).

Salem, Schalick girls battle in preview of county’s rising stars, Lecator shows out in Metro Classic, Salem Tech bowlers win school’s first-ever girls division title, and more

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Pennsville 64, Salem Tech 20
Schalick 37, Salem 33
Woodstown 65, Clayton 52
BOYS BASKETBALL
Rutgers Prep 67, Salem 55
Woodstown 86, Clayton 63
Pennsville 43, Salem Tech 40
Penns Grove 57, Wildwood 47
BOWLING
Boys: Lindenwold 4, Salem Tech 0
Girls: Salem Tech 4, Lindenwold 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News


SALEM – In a battle of the two up-and-coming girls basketball teams in Salem County, the one with the most experience prevailed.

With the number of quality young players in prominent roles for both teams, Salem and Schalick appear to be the next big thing on the county girls basketball scene. 

Schalick has more veterans sharing the floor with its rising stars and the Cougars used that mix to their advantage Thursday in turning back the Rams for their fifth straight win, 37-33.

“In tight games like this it comes down to experience,” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “Experience and confidence. That’s the two main thing we relied on tonight. 

“We have our five starters who were all here last year. Our bench consists of very young players new to the program so they’re getting their experience at both the JV and varsity level. (Against) Paulsboro, we were forced to call on some them and they came up big. In this moment today, we just relied on our starters, so it kind of flip flops back and forth based on the game and how the game’s going.”

Usually, the Cougars (10-3) are driven by the play of sophomores Nevaeh Robinson and Willow Davis, but Salem did a good job of bottling them up, so they turned to senior starters Ava Scurry and Cali Fisler to see them through.

The Rams (6-7) held Robinson and Davis to a combined 15 points. Scurry scored only six points, but she was a force inside, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking six shots. Fisler scored 10 points, her season high.

“Ava all season has been our anchor defensively, for sure,” Whelan said. “Offensively, she helped us out today early. We kind of spread the love around with the points today, as good basketball teams can.”

The Rams’ fortunes, meanwhile, run through Dyaira Anderson and juniors Maddie Dixon and Carlysia Pierce. Dixon scored only three points, but she does so much more. Anderson had 10 points, eight in the fourth quarter. Pierce was their leading scorer with 11 points. 

While some on their roster have varsity experience, they’re all learning to play a different way under coach Kemp Carr.

“We played so hard, I’m proud to be these girls’ coach,” Carr said. “I’m just super proud of the identity (they’re forming) and how we are getting better. You can see it in spurts, we just need to put a 32-minute game together that we haven’t done yet.“But where they are from the beginning of the year to now … those things are happening, so eventually your experience will start catching up with those things . I think the future’s very bright for this program.”

“The future for both these programs is bright,” Whelan concurred.

Salem broke out a new defense for the first time – a 1-3-1 zone – in hope of handling Robinson and Davis and Carr thought it was “pretty efficient.”

They first rolled it out right after scoring their first points of the game midway through the first quarter. Scurry got behind it to score right away, but after that the Rams held to Cougars to one point and forced seven turnovers the rest of the quarter to grab a 9-7 lead.

Robinson finally got loose in the second half. She scored eight of her 10 points after halftime, with six of those coming on two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that kept giving the Cougars separation.

“You have to hand it to Salem,” Whelan said. “They fought to the very end. They never gave in. They gave us a really good basketball game. Our girls, they withstood all the pressure. Salem was relentless. We handled that pretty well.”

SCHALICK 37, SALEM 33
SCHALICK (10-3): Nevaeh Robinson 4 0-4 10, Willow Davis 1 2-2 5, Jaelynn Jarmon 0 0-0 0, Ava Scurry 3 0-0 6, Cali Fisler 4 2-3 10, Emmalyn Weir 0 0-0 0, Olivia Vanacker 1 4-8 6. Totals 13 8-17 37.
SALEM (6-7): Carlysia Pierce 4 3-4 11, Timmiyah Simmons 0 0-0 0, Samiyah Moore 0 0-0 0, Kaliyah Taylor 2 0-0 4, Triscia Wilson 0 0-0 0, Jaryn Weathers 2 1-2 5, Dyaira Anderson 5 0-2 10, Maddie Dixon 1 0-2 3. Totals 14 4-10 33.

PENNSVILLE 64, SALEM TECH 20: Sophomore Addie Johnston led all scorers with 16 points and Marley Wood filled the box score with six points, six rebounds and 10 assists as the Eagles completed a sweep of their first wave through the other five Salem County teams. Taylor Bass contributed 12 points and eight assists to the win. Izzy Saulin had 10 points and seven boards. Shelby Drummond led the Chargers with 13 points.

PENNSVILLE (9-6): Taylor Bass 5 1-1 12, Marley Wood 2 1-2 6, Jaiden Wilson 3 0-0 8, Addie Johnston 7 0-0 16, Izzy Saulin 4 2-4 10, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Jada Burns 4 0-0 8, Reagan Sipps 0 0-0 0, Makayla Griffith 0 0-0 0, Addison Hill 2 0-0 4, Polina Wright 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 4-7 64.
SALEM TECH (2-10): Shelby Liber 1 0-0 3, Amora Delaine 2 0-2 4, Shelby Drummond 5 0-0 13, Rachel Reed 0 0-0 0, Tiara Bazemore 0 0-0 0, Evening Amedee 0 0-0 0, Olivia Lydon 0 0-0 0, Carmen Mott 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 0-2 20.

WOODSTOWN 65, CLAYTON 52: The Wolverines jumped out to a big lead, let the Clippers back into it at halftime, then steadily pulled away in the second half. Kendall Young and Emma Perry led four Woodstown scorers in double figures with career-highs 19 and 18, respectively. Lauren Hengel and Kyia Leyman added 12 points apiece.

Young also had six rebounds, four assists and six steals. Hengel had nine rebounds and three steals. Leyman blocked six shots. Talia Guardascione had six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

CLAYTON (5-9): Deondria Simon 4 3-4 11, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, India Bryant 4 5-7 13, India Williams 2 0-0 5, Isabella Wiseburn 0 0-0 0, Alivia Howey 0 0-0 0, Gabrielle Searle 2 2-2 7, LaNaya Carr-Archie 3 2-2 10, Kennedy Eaddy 1 2-2 4. Totals 17 14-17 52.
WOODSTOWN (8-9): Lauren Hengel 5 2-4 12, Kyia Leyman 6 0-2 12, Emma Perry 7 4-6 18, Kendall Young 19, Talia Guardascione 0 2-4 2, Kailyn Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Gina Murray 0 0-0 0, Autumn Paleschic 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 8-18 65.

Boys games

PENNSVILLE 43, SALEM TECH 40: The Eagles have their first winning streak of the season as they won their second straight behind 16 points from Mason O’Brien and a team 14-of-16 from the free throw line. Danny Knight and Jake Layfield added 10 points apiece. It’s the first time Pennsville has won back to back games since Jan. 29-30, 2024.

Salem Tech’s Luke Kroll led all scorers with 18 points and Raphael Busch had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds). Aiden Bobo had eight points and eight boards.

SALEM TECH (2-11): Chase Pompper 1 1-2 3, Brody Kroll 0 0-0 0, Ayden Myers 0 0-0 0, Aiden Bobo 3 1-3 8, Luke Kroll 6 2-5 18, Raphael Busch 5 0-2 10, Sterling Lewis 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 5-14 40
PENNSVILLE (3-13): jake Layfield 2 5-5 10, Jacob Farina 1 2-2 4, Gavin Spears 0 0-0 0, Danny Knight 3 1-2 10, Aidan Clark 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 4 6-7 16. Totals 11 14-16 43.

PENNS GROVE 57, WILDWOOD 47: Penns Grove’s defense ruled the floor in the first half, then the offense took over in the second half.

The Red Devils held Wildwood to 10 points in a low-scoring first half, then their offense erupted for 22 points in each of the final two quarters to secure their fourth straight win.

Roman Gipson was the catalyst in the second half. In the third quarter, Geonni Conrad hit his two 3-pointers and Mishawn Brantley had two three-point plays.

Roman Gipson scored a team-high 12 points, Brantley had 11 and four other Red Devils scored at least seven points. Wildwood’s Nolan Mawhinney led all scorers with 24 points.

WILDWOOD (7-9): Owen Bannon 1-0-3, Gianni Troiano 1-1-3, Trevor Troiano 2-2-8, Nolan Mawhinney 10-4-24, Jeff Knight 2-2-6, Vinny Sweeney 0-3-3. Totals 16-12-47.
PENNS GROVE (11-6): Roman Gipson 4-3-12, Carson Pearsall 3-0-8, Haneef Frisby 2-3-7, Will Roy 4-1-9, Geonni Conrad 2-2-8, Luis Colon 0-0-0, Messiah Allah 0-0-0, Jameel Horace 1-0-2. Totals 20-12-57.

RUTGERS PREP 67, SALEM 55: The Rams came out of the gate slow in the Metro Classic, but they came to life in the second half to make a game of it.

They got into the event at the last minute and trailed 36-14 at halftime. They made an impression in the second half, though, outscoring the Argonauts 41-33.

Tymear Lecator found the rims at Stockton University friendly. He hit six 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 31 points to lead all scorers. He also had five rebounds and five assists. Deshaan Williams had 11 points and five rebounds. Marshall Stephens grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots.

SALEM (12-3): Deshaan Williams 11, Marshall Stephens 4, BJ Robbins 4, Neziah Spence 3, Tymear Lecator 31, Darelle Johnson 2. Totals 23-2-55.
RUTGERS PREP (13-6): Logan Franz 3 2-2 9, Nicolas Nsenkyire 3 0-0 6, Rocco Loomis 6 4-4 18, Bryce Williams 3 0-0 8, William Brunson 7 2-4 18, Julian Ceberio 1 0-0 3, Morgan Duncan 1 0-0 2, Oliver Cohen 1 0-0 3. Totals 25 8-10 67.

WOODSTOWN 86, CLAYTON 63: Blake Bialecki has been on a tear. On this night the Wolverines senior tied his career-high with seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points. Over his last four games he has scored 85 points and hit 17 3-pointers. He is now 36 points away from 1,000 and 10 away from setting the Wolverines’ all-time records for 3s.

Andrew White had a career-high 19 points for the Wolverines. Twelve players scored for the Wolverines in all.

Bowling: First-time champs

SALEM TECH GIRLS 4, LINDENWOLD 0: Naomi Hess rolled the Chargers’ high game (146) and high series (446) as the Chargers clinched the TCC Classic Division title, the first girls team in Salem Tech history to win a division crown. Casey Zaluske rolled a 146 in Game 2 and Candyce Cooper rolled three consecutive 143s. The boys lost 4-0. Rosario Torres rolled their high game (190) and series (521).