Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the remainder of this week and the first full week of the new year
JAN. 2 BOWLING Salem vs. Lindenwold at 30 Strikes Salem Tech vs. Gloucester City at Wood Lanes
JAN. 3 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Woodstown Pennsville at Overbrook Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter Wildwood at Salem BOYS BASKETBALL Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech Overbrook at Pennsville Salem at Wildwood Schalick at Penns Grove Woodstown at Glassboro WRESTLING Penns Grove in Bohemia Manor (Md.) Tournament Schalick at Egg Harbor Twp. SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Timber Creek at GCIT, 7 p.m. Schalick vs. Glassboro at GCIT, 8:30 p.m.
JAN. 4 GIRLS BASKETBALL Pennsville at Cumberland, 11:30 a.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Cumberland at Pennsville, 11:30 a.m. Eastern at Penns Grove, 1 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville at Hammonton Duals Penns Grove, Paul VI, Willingboro at Audubon Haddon Heights, Mainland, Overbrook at Schalick Salem, Burlington City, St. Joe at Pitman Woodstown in Collingswood Duals INDOOR TRACK Salem, Woodstown at Ott Center, Philadelphia
JAN. 5 WRESTLING Schalick at Williamstown Tournament Pennsville girls at Williamstown Tournament JAN. 6 GIRLS BASKETBALL Penns Grove at Haddon Twp., 7 p.m. Pennsville at Woodstown, 7 p.m. Schalick at Buena BOYS BASKETBALL Buena at Schalick Camden Tech at Salem Tech Pennsville at Woodstown WRESTLING Paul VI at Pennsville SWIMMING Schalick vs. West Deptford at River Winds Woodstown vs. Lower Cape May
JAN. 7 GIRLS BASKETBALL Clayton at Salem Tech Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Salem at Pitman Schalick at Glassboro BOYS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Schalick Penns Grove at Overbrook Pitman at Salem Salem Tech at Clayton BOWLING Salem vs. Kingsway at Wood Lanes Salem Tech vs. Lindenwold MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Camden County at Salem CC, 7 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Camden County at Salem CC, 5 p.m. JAN. 8 WRESTLING Gloucester Catholic at Schalick Pennsville at Penns Grove Salem at Cumberland Woodstown at Deptford SWIMMING Salem at Lower Cape May TRACK Pennsville, Salem, Schalick at Bennett Center, Toms River JAN. 9 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Salem Penns Grove at Pitman, 4 p.m. Schalick at Salem Tech Triton at Pennsville Wildwood at Woodstown BOYS BASKETBALL Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic Pitman at Penns Grove Salem at Glassboro Salem Tech at Schalick Woodstown at Wildwood BOWLING Salem Tech vs. Kingsway at Wood Lanes SWIMMING Schalick at Camden County Tech Salem vs. Gloucester Catholic at GCIT, 8:30 p.m. Woodstown vs. Highland at GCIT TRACK Penns Grove at Cherokee WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Cumberland at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
JAN. 10 BOYS BASKETBALL LEAP at Salem Pennsville at Clayton WRESTLING Collingswood at Schalick
JAN. 11 GIRLS BASKETBALL Delsea at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Woodstown at Camden Catholic, 11:30 a.m. St. Joseph at Penns Grove, 1 p.m. Schalick at Collingswood WRESTLING Pennsville, Oakcrest, Overbrook at Millville Penns Grove at Deptford Salem at Cherokee Schalick, Cumberland, Timber Creek at Buena Woodstown in Cinnaminson Duals MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, noon WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Middlesex, noon
Woodstown girls suffer rare second straight loss, won’t use growing pains in new situation as an excuse, vow to work to improve
By Riverview Sports News
WESTMONT – Woodstown’s girls have two of the most dynamic scorers in South Jersey, but the Wolverines they needed to have more involved in the offense and were upset by Pennsauken 55-44 Tuesday in the consolation game of the Haddon Twp. Holiday Tournament.
Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson led all scorers with 17 points apiece, but the Wolverines (4-2) got only 10 points from three other scorers. Sianni Hill and Kimora Truitt scored 14 points apiece for Pennsauken, but the Lady Indians (3-2) had two players with at least eight.
The Wolverines also had a tough shooting day, going 2-for-25 from 3-point range that dropped their overall proficiency to 26 percent.
“Today was a tough battle for us,” Woodstown coach Matt Smart said. “Pennsauken was a physical team who rebounded the basketball very well. They pushed the ball in transition and made some big shots.
“We took some good shots today, but they just didn’t fall. At times we were trying to force things and playing tight. We must remember to play loose and have fun because when we do that, we play our best.”
Donelson and Kyia Leyman had 10 rebounds apiece for Woodstown, but Pennsauken grabbed 43 total rebounds and converted numerous third and fourth opportunities. Hill had 12 boards, while Mayeline Rodriguez and Aliza Allen had nine each.
After Tuesday, Battavio (1313) and Donelson (1280) now are both in the top 10 of Salem County’s all-time leading scorers in girls basketball.
The Wolverines have lost two in a row after opening the season 4-0. They lost two in a row in February last year then bounced back to reach the South Jersey Group I championship game.
They return to action Friday against Glassboro where they look to extend another streak – their winning streak in the TCC Diamond Division. They have won 33 straight against Diamond Division opponents (FYI, it’s 31 straight against Salem County foes).
“The last two games were tests for us that pointed out a lot of things that we need to work on,” Smart said. “People will call this growing pains, that we have a lot of girls who are playing varsity minutes for the first time or that a new system takes some time to get used to. We aren’t going to use that as an excuse.
“We are going to take this time to evaluate things that we are doing well and things that need to be improved. The great part about basketball is the season doesn’t end in December. While the days seem to be flying by, we still have a lot of season left.
“If we are the same team in February that we were at the beginning of the season, we wouldn’t be satisfied. We have said it all season: As a team we need to focus on being the best 2024-25 Woodstown girls basketball team we can be. Predictions, seeding and personal honors aren’t what this team is concerned with. We are concerned with getting better each and every day.”
Woodstown’s boys indoor 4×800 relay sets Ott Center facility record in first trip around the track together
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PHILADELPHIA – When Woodstown’s celebrated boys 4×800 relay team walked into Penn’s brand-new Ott Center together as a team for the first time Saturday, all four runners had a feeling they were on the verge of something special.
They went in feeling great and came out feeling even better. They dashed around the track in a time of 8:32.30, setting a school, meet and facility record. They won the race by seven seconds.
The Wolverines had run in the facility once before, but the four mates on the 4×8 – Jacob Marino, Karson Chew, Cole Lucas and Josh Crawford – ran separate open events that first day and didn’t go as the collective.
“We went into today feeling great knowing that our first 4×800 of the season was finally here and all four of us were still together for it,” Chew said. “It was an exhilarating event for us and we’ve been waiting for the moment that we get to really show off again.”
And show out they did.
All four had run other events prior to the race and had to recover for the relay. Lucas and Chew both ran the mile and PR’d for the winter with Lucas setting the school record while finishing eighth (4:46.89). Crawford PR’d in the 55 and set the school record in the 200 while finishing Top 20 (23.30). And Marino set the school record in the 3200 while finishing 14th (10:35.15).
“We changed the order so Josh would lead off and I would run the third leg, and it proved well getting us far ahead of the competition right out of the gate,” Chew said. “Jacob kept Josh’s lead and I handed off to Cole for the anchor where he opened up our lead even more to make sure we would win.
“Around the anchor leg they said the standing meet record was 8:37 and change and we knew we were on pace to beat it. When they said Woodstown holds the new facility record for the Ott Center we were super happy. Coming into the race we had no clue about any records or what the other teams ran. We just walked onto the track knowing we had something to prove and we made it count.”
Woodstown’s girls 4×800 relay – Samantha Sterner, Anabel Schaal, Casey Gannon and Abby Marino – finished fifth in its race (11:21.41) and Kami Casiano placed sixth in the girls high jump (4-10).
NEW EGYPT – A new coach often means big changes to the program he takes over and one of the biggest benefactors of the changes new Woodstown basketball coach Ramon Roots brought into his program has been Blake Bialecki.
Roots recognized Bialecki’s value to the team early in the transition and green-lighted the junior as the prime shooter in his offense.
Bialecki justified the faith his coach placed in him with another big game Saturday, scoring a game-high 17 points and winning MVP honors as the Wolverines beat host New Egypt 65-49 to win the Warriors Holiday Classic for the second year in a row.
“It’s really just my coaches have a ton of confidence in me and they just want me to shoot the ball,” Bialecki said. “Them having that confidence in me just makes me have more confidence in myself. They trust me to hit shots and now I’m starting to trust myself more to hit shots.”
It was the second game in a row Bialecki led the Wolverines (2-2) in scoring, this one coming on top of the 23-point game he enjoyed in the tournament opener against Pinelands. It reminded him of a similar two-game stretch he had last January when he went for 23 and 29 against Pennsville and Salem Tech. But he went scoreless the next game.
He scored just 11 points in this tournament last year, seven in the title game win over New Egypt.
“Last year I had the ball in my hand more, playing the point guard more, having to set up the plays and make plays, get the ball to other people,” he explained. “Now, Alejandro (Vazquez) and M.J. (Hall) are having the ball more and I’m off the ball more, and they’re drawing up more and more plays for me where last year I didn’t have certain plays drawn up just for me to get a shot off.
“It’s definitely more fun to score the ball. I’m definitely hoping to continue this stretch and just be score the whole year. Last year I was very inconsistent, up and down. I’m hoping that this year I’ll be more consistent scoring wise.”
The Wolverines hope so, too. Before breaking out this weekend, Bialecki had scored just 17 points in the Wolverines’ first two games, losses to Salem and Penns Grove. Roots knew he could give them more with the right amount of encouragement.
“After the 0-2 start I basically told Blake for us to get where we want to go you have to shoot the ball 15-plus times,” Roots said. “I want you taking five-plus 3s a game. There were a lot of times he would have a good catch-and-shoot opportunity and he was hesitant to take it.
“I told him I’m living and dying with you shooting the ball. You’re our best shooter. Overall you’re our best scorer,. We need you to shoot the ball. These last two games he has been really aggressive.
“That was one of the reasons why I took this job. I knew his talent, I knew his skills, I knew what type player he could be, so I’m just trying to take his game to the next level. He has responded well.”
The Wolverines used a big second half to win their second game in a row. They trailed by four at halftime, then switched defenses and it led to them outscoring the Warriors 22-9 in the third quarter and 38-17 in the second half.
M.J. Hall had three straight transition layups in the third quarter out of the 2-3 that keyed the comeback. Hall finished with 15 points, 11 in the second half. Rocco String had 13 points, nine in the second half, and threatened a triple-double (17 rebounds, six blocked shots). He’s averaging 15 rebounds a game and has had 22 blocks over his last three games.
“The first half we had mixed in man and then made some adjustments to just go 2-3 and I think that helped us defensively and offensively,” Roots said. “The 2-3 gave them a lot of problems and it benefitted us. We had a lot of ball movement, a lot of points in transition spotting up shooting, and we just played better basketball.
“A lot of people played well today.”
WARRIOR HOLIDAY CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WOODSTOWN (2-2) – Eli Caesar 3 1-1 7, Blake Bialecki 6 3-3 17, Alejandro Vazquez 2 2-2 8, M.J. Hall 5 4-5 15, Garrett Leyman 2 0-0 5, Rocco String 6 1-4 13, Braydon Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-15 65. NEW EGYPT (2-3) – Nolan Arnold 2 10-12 14, Clyde Ferris 5 3-6 15, Evan Goldburg 0 2-2 2, Cameron Cassandra 0 0-0 0, Caleb Kowaleski 0 0-0 0, Dylan Harper 0 0-0 0, Paul Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Ryan Reynolds 4 1-2 12, Tommy Merlucci 2 0-0 4, Lucas Burgos 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 16-22 48.
Woodstown
10
17
22
16-
65
New Egypt
13
18
9
8-
48
3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki 2, Vazquez 2, Leyman, M. Hall); New Egypt 6 (Ferris 3, Reynolds 3). Rebounds: Woodstown 42 (String 17, Caesar 7). Fouled out: M. Hall, Merlucci. Total fouls: Woodstown 20, New Egypt 14.
ACIT CONSOLATION GAME GCIT 59, SALEM TECH 13: Ian Malgapo filled the box score as GCIT snapped a two-game losing streak to get back over .500 for the season. He had 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Milan Suarez (11) and Patrick Monaghan (10) also scored in double figures for GCIT.
Salem Tech (0-6)
3
2
6
2-
13
GCIT (3-2)
30
13
10
6-
59
SATURDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Audubon Tournament Consolation: Deptford 47, Cedar Creek 21 Championship: Audubon 43, Penns Grove 39
ACIT Holiday Tournament Consolation: Atlantic Tech 55, Salem Tech 15 Championship: Camden Tech vs. GCIT
AUDUBON CHAMPIONSHIP AUDUBON 43, PENNS GROVE 39: The Green Wave jumped out quickly and held off Penns Grove to win their holiday tournament and remain undefeated. Peyton Marrone scored 15 points and the Green Wave went 12-of-21 from the free throw line. Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson led all scorers with 17 points.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 4 (Wilson, Patterson, B. Robbins 2); Audubon 1 (Speyerer).
ACIT CONSOLATION GAME ATLANTIC TECH 55, SALEM TECH 15: ACIT closed out a dominating defensive performance by shutting out the Chargers in the fourth quarter. Shelby Drummond was Salem Tech’s leading scorer with eight points.
SALEM TECH (1-3) – Shelby Drummond 4 0-0 8, Shelby Liber 2 1-2 5, Lavae Scott 0 0-2 0, Payton Fitzpatrick 1 0-0 2. Totals 7 1-4 15. ATLANTIC TECH (3-3) – Brianna Casiano 2 0-0 4, Zion Stewart 3 1-2 7, Alani White 5 1-4 11, Trinitee McKellar 3 0-1 6, Jadyn Clinkscale 1 0-0 2, Imani Muhammad 4 0-0 8, Lydia Long 2 0-0 4, Joslyen Gomez 4 0-0 8, Kim Pierre 1 1-1 3, Hannah Schmidt 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 3-8 55.
Warrior Holiday Classic At New Egypt Woodstown 51, Pinelands 46 (OT) New Egypt 48, Steinert 46
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BUENA – There was so much to dissect from the game, Pennsville basketball coach Joe Mecholsky is going to need a day or two and a long session in the film room to get back to you on just what the heck happened.
The Eagles lost to Buena 72-70 in three overtimes Friday in a game that had as many moving parts as Mecholsky has ever been around. And he’s been in a triple overtime game before.
They were down 14 early in the fourth quarter and forced overtime. They were up five in each of the first two overtimes, but couldn’t close it out. They were down in the third overtime and got close before time ran out on them.
“I feel like we blew the game instead of we lost it,” Mecholsky said. “I think I stopped coaching offense at one point. We tried to take the air out of the ball and I think that really killed our offensive momentum, so I’ll go back and watch the game over again and see how I can get better.
“I’m not going to say my young players did or didn’t do anything. They’re a very young team and they did everything they were told today and I’ll just have to look at the film and see how I can get better in nailing down that win when we were up five in the second overtime.”
The Eagles were down 14 (38-24) with 6:30 left in regulation and put on a charge to force overtime. Mason O’Brien’s 3-point play with 34 seconds left tied it at 41. The Eagles had the final shot in regulation. Shiloh Jefferson’s initial shot hit off the rim and Jovanni Rios couldn’t get the tap to fall.
They had five-point leads in each of the first two overtimes, but never had the lead in the third.
They were up five with 2:35 left in the first overtime, but Buena’s Troy Gregory buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 49. It was the first trey Troy had made all season.
They were up five twice in the second overtime, with 2:43 and 2:20 left, but Buena got back-to-back left corner 3s from Nate Nieves and Carlo Spreng to take the lead, 57-56. Nieves finished with 12 points and Spreng had 10. Teammate Josue Cuadrado led all scorers with 23 points.
A free throw by David Knight with seven seconds left tied it at 59. Knight went to the line for two shots and the lead, but only hit one and it stayed that way despite the teams having three combined chances to get the game-winner. Knight came in off the bench as a substitute shooter after Logan Hitt was fouled hard after stealing the inbounds pass and had to leave the floor.
The Eagles got a chance to win it at the end when the Chiefs stepped on the line trying to put the ball in play. The Chiefs got the ball back when Pennsville turned it over and this time Knight stole the inbounds pass to end the session.
“I’ve been in some crazy basketball environments,” Pennsville sophomore guard C.J. McDevitt said, “but triple overtime? I’ve never been in a triple OT game, I’ll tell you that.”
“It was pretty crazy,” Chiefs coach James Bell said. “I just kept telling my kids to keep their minds straight and focus on what we need to do, play solid defense and hit the open shots when we have them. It was a crazy second half and three overtimes.”
Buena looked like it was finally going to put it away, leading by seven with 52 seconds left in the third overtime, pulling away with a 3-pointer by Nieves and three free throws by Cuadrado, but Pennsville battled back again. O’Brien hit a 3 to make it 70-66 with 28 seconds left and Knight and Jefferson wrapped putbacks around a pair of Buena free throws to make it 72-70 with eight seconds to go.
On the last play of the game the Eagles got the ball to O’Brien, who pushed a shot towards the basket at the buzzer that hit off the far iron. The Eagles were looking for a foul as O’Brien hit the deck, but there was no call and the game was over.
“I told my boys the outcome is the result of a thousand little things that happened in that game and that’s just the way it goes; we’ll learn from it,” Mecholsky said. “I’m disappointed we lost the game, but my boys didn’t disappointment me.”
O’Brien apologized to his coach for his play in the first three quarters, but he was a gamer in the fourth quarter and overtimes. He scored all 19 of his points after the third quarter, hitting three 3s and a three-point play in the fourth quarter comeback and seven points in the overtimes.
“The first three quarters were awful,” he said. “I didn’t know where I was. I was trying to find my game and they kept talking to me so I had to do something about it. I came out and matched their energy in the fourth quarter and overtimes.”
Rios added 14 points on his 17th birthday for Pennsville and McDevitt had 11. Both are career highs.
3-point goals: Pennsville 5 (Knight, O’Brien 4); Buena 9 (Cuadrado, Spreng 2, Nieves 3, Gregory, Alexander 2). Technical fouls: S. Rivera. Fouled out: S. Rivera, Alexander, Rios, McDevitt). Total fouls: Pennsville 22, Buena 25.
Pennsville’s Shiloh Jefferson (5) goes in for a potential game-winning layup at the end of regulation against Buena Friday. The bounced off the rim and the teams wound up playing three overtimes before Buena won 72-70.
DELSEA 53, PENNS GROVE 51: By Penns Grove coach Damian Ware’s best measure, his team had three chances to win the Marty Derer Showcase opener, but host Delsea kept coming up with clutch shots and eventually broke the Red Devils’ heart.
The Crusaders hit 3-pointers at the end of regulation and the first overtime to extend the game, then hit two free throws in the closing seconds of the second overtime to seal the victory. Jimmy Reardon hit the 3 at the end of regulation to force overtime, then Jelani Poles beat the buzzer with one at the end of the first extra period to keep it going and he hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left to win it.
Poles finished with 12 points. Reardon had nine. Luke VanAuken had a huge game for Delsea with 19 points and 20 rebounds. Brandin Robbins and Roman Gipson had 15 points apiece for Penns Grove.
The Red Devils had a chance to take the lead in the second overtime, but missed two free throws. Moments later they fouled Poles and he hit his two free throws. The Red Devils rallied from eight down in regulation to take a three-point lead into the closing seconds before Reardon hit his 3.
“We had a chance, we had three chances to win it – regulation, overtime and the second overtime,” Ware said. “That’s part of our growing pains. We’re young and we’re inexperienced so this is going to be a growing lesson for us. We’re going to be fine but this is just a lesson we had to learn of how to finish games.
“We did everything we were supposed to do, we made the plays, but down the stretch we just didn’t make the defensive plays and that’s kind of what we pride ourselves on. We’ve got to be better on defense at the end of the game and regulation and challenge shots better.”
PENNS GROVE (1-2) – Brandin Robbins 5 4-4 15, Roman Gipson 6 0-0 15, Karon Ceaser 2 1-2 6, Antoine Robinson 3 0-2 7, Haneef Frisbee 2 0-0 4, Jameel Horace 0 2-2 2, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, William Roy 0 0-0 0, Geonni Conrad 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-10 51. DELSEA (2-2) – Luke VanAuken 8 3-8 19, Jimmy Reardon 4 0-0 9, Jelani Poles 4 2-2 12, Blake Bottino 2 2-2 6, Jeadyn Greene 1 0-0 2, Dahmir Hart 1 0-0 2, Exodus DeJesus 1 0-0 3, Ryan Casiano 0 0-0 0, Mike Cunningham 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-12 53.
WOODSTOWN 51, PINELANDS 46: Blake Bialecki hit a season-high five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as the Wolverines held off Pinelands in the Warrior Holiday Classic in overtime to give new coach Ramon Roots his first victory as a varsity head coach.
“It’s exciting for me to get the first win in the standings, but I’m just really happy for the kids,” Roots said. “I’ve been waiting to get the win and knew it was going to come sooner or later. We definitely had a lot of chances in the Penns Grove game. It was good to see them believing that they actually can win and what it takes to win.”
The Wolverines (1-2) outscored Pinelands 9-4 in the extra session to win it. Garrett Leyman hit two free throws to put them up three and then Rocco String closed it out with a layup. String scored eight points and dominated the paint with 12 rebounds and nine blocked shots.
Woodstown led by eight in the second half, but Pinelands got back in it through a series of backdoor buckets. The Wildcats went up by three with two minutes to play, but Bialecki hit a 3 to retie the game.
Pinelands had a chance to retake the lead with 12 seconds left but missed two free throws. Bialecki had a shot to win it in regulation but his mid-range jumper went in and out.
“We were able to get a little breathing room, but it was close to the very end,” Roots said. “We just kept fighting. As you’ve seen the team never gives up. They’re always fighting through it.”
Bialecki’s 23 points matches the second-best game of his career. In addition to his outside shot, the junior also also got to the basket and went 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
The Wolverines will play host New Egypt for the championship 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Woodstown (1-2)
15
7
12
8
9-
51
Pinelands (2-2)
17
6
6
13
4-
46
WESTHAMPTON TECH 50, SALEM 45: West Tech used a big third quarter to take the lead and kept the Rams at arms length in the fourth quarter. Alexander Jeanty hit five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Panthers. Xavier McGriff led Salem with 14 points. Tymear Lecator filled the boxscore with 11 points, six assists and two steals.
3-point goals: West Tech 6 (Jeanty 5, Dickerson); Salem 6 (Lecator 2, McGriff 3, Tunis).
CAMDEN TECH 60, SALEM TECH 14: Salvatore Algeri scored 13 points and Shareef Cox had 10 to lead the Warriors in the ACIT Holiday Showcase. Salem Tech will play GCIT in the consolation game Saturday.
Haddon Twp. Tournament Cherry Hill East 57, Woodstown 45 Haddon Twp. 46, Pennsauken 39
Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Bridgeton 54, Salem 24
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BUENA – The Pennsville girls basketball team didn’t want to go to Buena Friday morning any more than the man in the moon. Bad things happen when the Eagles go there. Last year, they got three players hurt in the game.
Their angst was almost to the point where they wanted to play the game in their own gym if they could. But when this one was over they were glad they made the trip and made it out alive.
It was all good. The Eagles ran out to a 23-0 lead in the first quarter and hit a season-high 11 3-pointers in the game to bury the curse and the Chiefs, 69-20.
“I was a little nervous because every time we come to Buena something bad happens,” junior guard Marley Wood said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries here, but I think we broke our curse today.”
In the team’s trip to the Battle at Buena last year, Wood broke her foot, Annika Macalino tore her knee and Taylor Bass broke her finger and the Eagles spent the next couple weeks bringing up JV players to have enough players to remain competitive.
But their misfortunes extended beyond the basketball court. Bass broke her collarbone in a soccer game here. And Wood has a vague recollection of something else happening to her as a freshman.
The Eagles didn’t get out of this one completely unscathed. Tatianna DePina banged her hand in the game, but at least everyone walked out under their own power this time.
“They warned me about that,” Eagles coach Steve Merritt said. “They didn’t want to come here. They were trying to talk me out of coming here. They were telling me to reschedule the game, make it a home game. Now, they’re saying we broke the curse.” If the y play like they did Friday, they may think about scheduling games here every week.
It was 23-0 before Buena got to the board with a 3-pointer by Athena Bradley with 21 seconds left in the quarter. The Eagles hit 8 of 15 shots in the run while denying the Chiefs on 16 straight possessions with seven steals among their 12 turnovers.
“We were looking the way I want them to look all the time,” Merritt said. “I asked them what’s the definition of a perfect quarter defensively and they said zero. I said, well, you’ve got two quarters, see if you can’t do that. When they scored I saw a couple of them slump down like we didn’t get it. But they stepped up.”
After the Chiefs scored their first points, Wood answered with 3 right before the buzzer. Wood hit six 3s in the game – two in each of the first three quarters when the regulars played – and finished with 22 points. Nora Ausland hit four 3s, scored 12 points in the Eagles’ opening salvo, and led all scorers with 24 points.
The six were the most she had hit in a game since nailing seven against Woodstown in January. She had only two this season before Friday.
“This was the first game my shot has actually been good, so hopefully it carries on into the rest of the season,” she said. “I was a little bit worried, but I think I’m going to keep shooting more and working and getting better.”
The Eagles hit only one 3 in their last game against Washington Twp. The 11 they hit Friday were the most in a game since hitting 11 against Overbrook in the second game of the year last season. They hit 10 in their season opener against Wildwood this year.
Three of their first five buckets Friday were from behind the arc. In addition to the 11, they had at least seven other baskets that from far away looked like a 3 but were either on or just inside the line.
“We shot the ball pretty well at Glassboro (eight 3s),” Merritt said. “You go out and shoot well, look what happens, you win. And we’ve been working on it. Yesterday we worked on it extensively, not necessarily the 3s, but just shooting the ball under pressure of a clock.
“That was really nice to see. So much better than Washington Twp. where they were hitting the rim and going God knows where. Today they were falling in.”
3-point goals: Pennsville 11 (Wood 6, N. Ausland 4, Johnston); Buena 2 (Bradley, Nicole). Rebounds: Pennsville 39 (Burns 8, N. Ausland 7, Wood 6). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Buena 9.
CHERRY HILL EAST 57, WOODSTOWN 45: Some days you play good and other days you learn good. The Wolverines are hoping to learn a lot from their first loss of the season.
After playing Cherry Hill East tough in the first quarter and grabbing the lead, they ran into a buzzsaw in the second quarter that changed the game. The Cougars nearly posted a shutout in the quarter, outscoring Woodstown 21-2 to open a 17-point halftime lead.
The Wolverines (4-1) made what coach Matt Smart called some “great” defensive adjustments at halftime and outscored the Cougars 28-23 in the second half, 22-14 in the third quarter.
“I was very proud of the way we battled until the very end,” Smart said. “Cherry Hill East was very well coached and very tough. They have a very talented group who can knock down shots. Unfortunately, they got the best of us today.
“It was a great test for us. Basketball is a long season and the girls are excited to work tomorrow to try and get better. After every game this year the girls haven’t been satisfied with our performance. We aren’t going to let this game define our season, but we are going to look at some things and figure out way we can improve.”
The Cougars held Woodstown’s two 1,200-point scorers, Megan Donelson and Talia Battavio, to 20 points combined. They held Donelson to nine, her first game in single digits since Jan. 24, 2023 (46 games).
Lauren Hengel was Woodstown’s leading scorer with a career-high 12 points. Kyia Leyman had eight points and eight rebounds.
3-point goals: Cherry Hill East 5 (Atlas, Le, Kratchman, Chhabria 2); Woodstown 4 (Donelson, Battavio 2, Hengel). Rebounds: Woodstown 45 (Leyman 8). Fouled out: Donelson, Maiorini. Total fouls: Cherry Hill East 13, Woodstown 18.
BRIDGETON 54, SALEM 24: The Rams played Bridgeton tough for a quarter in the Wildwood Convention Center and actually held the lead, but the Bulldogs came to life in the second quarter and pulled away. Carlysia Pierce led Salem with 12 points. Bridgeton’s Sharena Parker led all scorers with 14. BRIDGETON (4-1) – Amani Santiago 3 1-2 8, Ciani Money 1 2-6 4, Tyjhore Jamison 1 1-2 3, DeNia Dairsow 2 3-4 7, Ayianna Ridgeway 0 0-2 2, Anyse Maddrey 1 0-0 2Adelina Wilks 3 2-2 9, Sharena Parker 6 2-2 14, Kahmya Johnson 2 1-3 5, Alannie Ramos 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 12-23 54. SALEM (0-4) – Shyla Parsons 0 0-2 0, Zaniyah Frieson 1 0-0 2, Nevaeh Hickman 2 0-0 5, Carlysia Pierce 4 4-8 12, Dakirah Gray 1 0-0 2, Raniyah Parsons-Smith 0 0-2 0, Madison Dixon 0 0-0 0, Amariah Frye 1 0-0 3, Jania Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-12 24.
Bridgeton
11
14
20
9–
54
Salem
12
3
6
3–
24
3-point goals: Bridgeton 2 (Santiago, Wilks); Salem 2 (Hickman, Frye).
CAMDEN TECH 40, SALEM TECH 16: Camden Tech couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in the ACIT Holiday Tournament. The Warriors held Salem Tech scoreless in the first quarter and rolled into the championship game. Camden’s Ryan Jones scored 19 points. All four Salem Tech scorers had four points apiece.
Rebuilding Pennsville takes a step forward near end of third quarter, pulls away from Salem Tech in Monday matinee; Battavio now third on Woodstown girls’ all-time scoring list as Wolverines rally to beat Holy Spirit
MONDAY BASKETBALL BOYS GAME Pennsville 54, Salem Tech 35 GIRLS GAMES Washington Twp. 41, Pennsville 30 Boardwalk Classic, Wildwood Woodstown 46, Holy Spirit 37
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Having a team that suddenly finds itself trying to find its way instead of having the road mapped out for it, Pennsville basketball coach Joe Mecholsky takes small pockets of growth where he can find them.
The Eagles aren’t quite the team Mecholsky expected to have when school started, so they’re going to be a work in progress for a while. That means there are some ups and there are going to be some downs.
They played arguably their best three minutes of the young season late in the third quarter Monday and the stretch helped them put away Salem Tech 54-35 for their first win of the season.
“Apple trees don’t give you oranges,” Mecholsky said. “We are who we are. Success isn’t on the scoreboard. Success is how we approach each game, how we rebound, how we pass, how we pick each other when we’re down, how we communicate, how we handle adversity.
“We’ve got to build something now again. We’re back to rebuilding, so that’s fine, but it’s important that we learn the lessons this year and carry them back to next year. Rebuilding means to keep building up to something. As a coach I’ve left the gym the last three nights feeling that we got the most we could out of them. Couldn’t get any more juice out of the orange. We squeezed it every night.”
The Eagles were expected to have a veteran team coming back to challenge for a winning record and an elusive playoff win. But when the senior baseball players who made up a prime part of the lineup decided not to play to focus on their spring sport, it left the cagers with a roster of sophomores and juniors that’s learning as it goes.
They opened the season with a home loss to Wildwood and did some things better in a loss to Glassboro. They go on the road for the first time Dec. 27 at Buena.
“We’re really young,” said sophomore guard Mason O’Brien, their most experienced player with 29 varsity games under his belt. “It’s not about winning right now. It’s a lot about building up and if we win games, we win games. No one expects us to win games right now, but hopefully in the next two years they do expect us to win.”
The light bulb moment Monday came when they were already winning by 14. From there they slid into a 1-3-1, three-quarters court trap and put the game away. It created a number of steals, which they turned into transition layups and by the end of the quarter the lead had grown to 47-24.
The trap created six turnovers in seven possessions, off which the Eagles scored 11 points. The emotional spark may have been the charge Cole Johnston drew, but the run started with Logan Hitt’s steal and three-point play. O’Brien scored three buckets, two off steals, and Shiloh Jefferson finished it off with a steal and scooping layup right before the buzzer.
The Eagles scored 20 points off the Chargers’ turnovers.
“We just wanted to put pressure on them,” Mecholsky said. “On tape it didn’t look like they could handle the ball under pressure. We were trying to find the right mix. We went man first and we dropped back, then we found the three-quarter court gave them some confusion and it let me use the one thing we do have and that’s athleticism in bunches.
“We’re the same team players 1 to 8. You can interchange anybody out, it’s just the name on the back of jersey (that’s different). We’re all 6-foot guards. When our big guy, Perry Meranti, goes 6-1 ¾, it’s about getting to the spot. We’ve got to hit on all cylinders to win. If we don’t hit on a cylinder one night then we don’t give ourselves the best chance to win.”
O’Brien led all scorers with 20 points, 10 in the third quarter and 12 in the second half. Jovanni Rios helped get them off to a good start with eight of his nine points in the first quarter.
“We’re not a finished product on Dec. 23,” Mecholsky said. “We going to look to be peaking end of January, beginning of February, hope to stay in the playoff mix. Every game is going to be competitive where we’ve got to find ourselves. We’ve got to show up and play. We’re a bunch of sophomores and juniors finding our way.”
Salem Tech is a team finding its way, too. The Chargers (0-4) lost two of their top returning players to the transfer portal and Penns Grove. Daviontae Russell and J.R. Reed had eight points apiece Monday.
PENNSVILLE 54, SALEM TECH 35 SALEM TECH (0-4) – Daviontae Russell 4 0-0 8, Alex Thomas 2 0-0 4, Joseph Hayes 2 0-0 5, Connor Dougan 0 0-0 0, Keidyn Robinson 0 0-0 0, Larry Pompper 2 0-0 4, Aiden Bobo 0 1-2 1, Raphael Busch 2 1-2 5, Charlie Brown 0 0-0 0, J.R. Reed 3 2-3 8. Totals 15 4-4-7 35. PENNSVILLE (1-2) – C.J. McDevitt 2-4 2-3 6, Jovanni Rios 4-11 1-2 9, Cole Johnston 1-5 0-2 2, Mason O’Brien 9-16 2-2 20, Shiloh Jefferson 4-12 1-2 9, Danny Knight 0-4 0-0 0, Perry Meranti 1-1 0-0 2, Logan Hitt 1-4 1-1 3, Noah Owen 1-2 1-1 3, Jacob Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Griffin Hern 0-0 0-2 0, Gavin Spears 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Farina 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Regner 0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 8-15 54.
Salem Tech
8
7
9
11-
35
Pennsville
15
11
21
7-
54
3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Hayes). Rebounds: Salem Tech 31 (Russell 7); Pennsville 28 (Rios 7). Total fouls: Salem Tech 20, Pennsville 17.
Woodstown girls overcome adversity to remain unbeaten
WILDWOOD – Talia Battavio scored 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and helped Woodstown put together a strong second-half defensive effort that helped them turn back Holy Spirit 46-37 in a Boardwalk Classic showcase game in the Convention Center.
It’s the first time since 2021 the Wolverines (4-0) go into the Christmas break undefeated. They were 1-0 that season before the holiday. They were 2-0 before Christmas in 2015.
“It’s definitely a good feeling,” Wolverines coach Matt Smart said. “It was a tough Holy Spirit team today – they were physical, well coached, very skilled and talented – and it was nice to come out on top. It was nice to see the girls battle adversity for the first time all year really being down in the game.”
The Wolverines led by nine in the first quarter, but they didn’t value the ball in the second quarter and trailed by one at halftime. They were down by nine in the third quarter.
But they rallied to retake the lead by the end of the quarter and then outscored the Spartans 14-4 in the fourth to secure the victory. They held the Spartans to one field goal in the fourth.
“Our fourth quarter was very good defensively,” Smart said. “It starts with those two girls up top, Megan (Donelson) and Talia; they do a great job pressuring the ball, making the point guard make difficult passes. And then our wings tonight – Lauren Hengel, Emma Perry, Gianna Maiorini – they were awesome in communication. They knew where everybody was and closed out.
“And we had a force in the middle in that fourth quarter, Kyia Leyman. She stood tall. She stepped out of the paint to attack drivers, make them take difficult shots without fouling and then was a terrific rebounder.
“They battled back and never got too down on themselves. It was great to see them battle through adversity. We knew it was a tough matchup, we knew things weren’t going to go like they had the last three games for us, but we stayed positive, stayed as a team.”
Donelson added 13 points for Woodstown, 11 in the second half. Sabrina Little led Holy Spirit (2-2) with 16 points. Lauren Cella had 11, including 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
Battavio is now seventh on the Salem County girls’ all-time scoring list (1285 points) and third in Woodstown girls’ history. Donelson is now fifth on Woodstown’s all-time list.
“That’s awesome,” Smart said. “My favorite part about those stats is those girls don’t care about those stats at all. I mentioned to them about the scoring record and they both said they don’t care about the scoring record, they’d rather win every game and not score a point. It’s very special to watch both of them play.”
Woodstown, Pennsville compete in tournaments in Delaware over the weekend
By Riverview Sports News
NEWARK, Del. – Woodstown heavyweight Mateo Vinciguerra reached the quarterfinals of the main draw and then finished seventh in the Beast of the East Tournament that concluded Sunday.
Vinciguerra had an opening-round bye, then won by pin and a decision before losing in a technical fall (23-7) to Mark Effendian of team champion Faith Christian Academy in the quarterfinals.
He won by decision and was pinned in his first two consolation round matches, then pinned Dante Donaldson of The Hill School in 2:21 in the seventh-place match.
Travis Balback (126) and Greyson Hyland (175) both went 1-2 in the tournament.
Howdy Duncan Classic
NEW CASTLE, Del. – Gabe Supernavage was the highest placing Pennsville wrestler in the Howdy Duncan Classic when he finished sixth at 138 in the weekend tournament.
Supernavage went 3-3 in the tournament with two pins in the consolation rounds. He lost a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match.
Pennsville wrestlers won 15 matches in the tournament. Nathaniel Mason (132), Joseph Halstead (190) and Jacob Hand (285) also won three matches in the tournament. Brett Land (113), Travis Hagan (144) and Halstead all reached the quarterfinals of the championship bracket.
Woodstown girls turn 32 steals into 39 points, rout Highland Regional in SJIBT opener; Wolverines have eye-popping 87 steals in their three wins
SJIBT FIRST-ROUND Woodstown 77, Highland 38
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – When the Woodstown girls basketball team posted 43 steals in their season opener last week folks might have thought it was some anomaly or miscount. Even new coach Matt Smart had to do a double-take and then double-checked that. It’s gotta be some kind of record, right?
There was no mistake. That’s just how the Wolverines have been playing.
They’ve been picking opponents’ pockets all season, and even more impressively, usually without drawing a reaching foul.
They did have 43 steals in that opener against Salem and they had 32 more Saturday on their way to a 77-38 rout of Highland Regional in their South Jersey Invitational (SJIBT) opener. They now host the winner of the Jan. 11 Shawnee-Medford Tech game in the second round to be completed by Jan. 25.
Unofficially, the Wolverines (3-0) had 29 steals over 61 possessions for 39 points in the three quarters the regulars played against Highland. Megan Donelson was credited with 11 (she had 10 in the Salem game). Talia Battavio and Lauren Hengel each had five. Eight players had at least one.
The Women of Steal now have 87 in their first three games, nearly a third of the number they had in 28 games last season (265).
“It definitely is very impressive,” Smart said. “Those girls just have a knack for the ball. It’s just natural instinct for some of them.”
The Wolverines were good at it out of the 2-3 last year and now it’s translating to their man. Even when they called off the press they still got steals off the trap and front-court defense. They had 18 steals in the first half, then came out of the break and turned over the Tartans on 12 of their first 14 possessions with nine more steals, scoring 19 points.
“We don’t specifically practice it, it’s just the way we play our game,” said senior Gianna Miorini, who added four to the steal total. “We are a fast-motion, quick point team. Megan and Talia are there for the layups and we’re there to make those steals and send them up the court.”
“We wouldn’t be able to get the (number of) steals without everyone else on the team, the shifting and everything,” Battavio said. “I think we’re amazing at it and we attack it well.”
Battavio and Donelson led the offense with 26 and 19 points, respectively, with a lot of layups between them, but they’re in there mixing it up on the defensive end, too. There are plenty of frames on the highlight reel where one will tip the ball away and then get out on a 2-on-1 break with the other and no one can tell who’s going to finish off the play.
“They’re really good at attacking loose balls,” Smart said. “If they tip it, they have that mindset that ball’s mine. My favorite part of this is like one girl will make a steal and they’ll be running with her and she passes the ball off for a layup, giving up a shot for a better shot.”
Of course, the Wolverines know there are some risks associated with such an aggressive approach. If the officials want to call a less physical game they might be in trouble, but it hasn’t been an issue so far.
The Wolverines have picked it and gotten clean away.
Penns Grove turns back several Woodstown rallies, wins a thriller; Salem remains unbeaten, Pennsville, Schalick fall
FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES Penns Grove 63, Woodstown 55 Salem 67, Salem Tech 27 Glassboro 65, Pennsville 51 Overbrook 75, Schalick 41
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Without an experienced senior who plays appreciative minutes, several new players to incorporate into its style of play and an otherwise athletic but young roster, the Penns Grove basketball team is “learning on the fly” this early portion of the season.
Last year with a senior-laden team it took a while to find the right combination and coach Damian Ware’s lineups changed virtually every game. What the Red Devils learned Friday night was how to handle business down the stretch in a close game of a high-intensity rivalry.
Penns Grove withstood several charges from Woodstown, including a stretch in which the Wolverines took a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter down to two with a little more than two minutes to play, before finally putting them away 63-55 for its first win of the season.
“That’s just the maturation process of a team that’s learning how to play varsity basketball on the fly,” Ware said. “Only two of my guys have played varsity minutes so we’re learning on the fly.
“We grew up a little bit tonight. What I learned (about his team) tonight is we can make some clutch plays down the stretch.”
The Red Devils (1-1) built leads in every quarter with fast starts on the restarts, but each time the Wolverines (0-2) came back.
Penns Grove scored the first seven points of the game, but it was tied 13-all at quarter’s end and was only 26-25 at halftime. The Red Devils opened the second half with a 13-2 run, but by the end of the third quarter led only 45-44.
They had a 10-point lead after Robbins’ flying follow with 6:02 to play, but Woodstown chipped away again and got it back to 56-54 with two minutes left when Blake Bialecki hit two technical free throws after Ware was teed up for being out on the floor all because the officials couldn’t/didn’t hear his frantic pleas for a time out.
The tech got Woodstown with a bucket and it had a shot on the ensuing possession, but it also fired up the Red Devils. They outscored the Wolverines 7-1 the rest of the way.
“When our coach got the tech, that’s when everything started getting fired up,” Ceaser said. “We started getting our coach’s back because we’re a family, a brotherhood. It put more fire in the team to get the win. As a team we back each other’s play.”
“I’m not going to make that a habit,” Ware said of his T as a tool of motivation.
Brandin Robbins led Penns Grove with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Roman Gipson had 12, including a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left that put the Red Devils up six. KaRon Ceaser had nine points and led the Red Devils’ defensive effort down the stretch.
In every case the Red Devils used the press, a smothering trap and quick hands to create turnovers that they turned into baskets.
“My defense was great,” Ware said. “I don’t know what the numbers were, but I know we didn’t give up many shots. We let (Rocco) String get some putbacks, but he’s 6-7, he’s a big, strong kid, so he’s going to get that. What I told my guys was we wanted to limit that as much as possible.”
String did everything he could to bring the Wolverines back when they fell behind. He finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots. He blocked back-to-back shots, grabbed a rebound off a missed Penns Grove free throw and had a putback basket all in the space of about 30 seconds late in the third quarter rally.
Braydon Hall had 16 points and hit four big 3-pointers during the Wolverines’ various rallies.
“We played hard, we just didn’t make enough plays in the end,” said Woodstown coach Ramon Roots, still looking for his first win as a head coach. “If we made just a few more plays we would have won the game today, but we played tough. We played very tough today.”
PENNS GROVE (1-1) – Brandin Robbins 6 0-0 15, Roman Gipson 4 3-4 12, KaRon Ceaser 4 1-2 9, Will Roy 1 0-0 2, Jameel Horace 3 2-6 9, Geonni Conrad 1 0-0 3, Antoine Robinson 1 0-2 2, Haneef Frisbee 5 1-2 11. Totals 25 7-14 63. WOODSTOWN (0-2) – Garrett Leyman 0 2-2 2, Eli Caesar 4 0-1 8, Rocco String 9 0-0 18, Blake Bialecki 3 2-2 9, Braydon Hall 6 0-0 16, M.J. Hall 0 0-0 0, Alejandro Vazquez 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-12 55.
Penns Grove
13
13
19
18-
63
Woodstown
13
12
18
11-
55
3-point goals: Penns Grove 6 (Robbins 3, Gipson, Conrad, Horace); Woodstown 5 (Bialecki, B. Hall 4). Rebounds: Woodstown 55 (String 15). Technical fouls: Horace, B. Hall, PG coach Ware. Fouled out: Frisbee, B. Hall. Total fouls: Penns Grove 18, Woodstown 21.
SALEM 67, SALEM TECH 27: Tymere Lecator and Neziah Spence each scored 15 points and dished seven assists as the Rams won their third straight game. Deshaan Williams added 10 points and Antwuan Rogers grabbed 10 rebounds.
3-point goals: Salem Tech (Dougan); Salem 3 (Lecator, Spence 2). Rebounds: Salem 34 (Rogers 10). Total fouls: Salem Tech 10, Salem 12.
GLASSBORO 65, PENNSVILLE 51: Xavier Sabb scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter, highlighted by three spectacular dunks, to stake the Bulldogs to a lead they maintained the rest of the game. Glassboro’s Maurice Davis led all scorers with 20 points. After trailing by 10 at halftime, the Eagles cut their deficit to seven with four minutes to play. Giovanni Rios led Pennsville with 13 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
GLASSBORO (1-2) – Hakim Theresa 1 0-0 2, Xavier Sabb 8 2-4 18, Aiden Harris 4 3-4 11, Maurice Davis 10 0-2 20, Davon Barr 2 4-6 8, Alex Adeleye 2 0-0 4, Marley Crowl 1 2-2 4. Totals 28 11-18 65. PENNSVILLE (0-2) – Giovanni Rios 6 1-2 13, Perry Meranti 3 1-2 7, Cole Johnston 3 1-3 8, Logan Hitt 1 0-0 3, Mason O’Brien 2 2-3 7, Daniel Knight 2 0-0 5, Shiloh Jefferson 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 5-10 51.
OVERBROOK 75, SCHALICK 41: Lamar Little led three Overbrook scorers in double figures with 15 points as the Rams picked up their first win of the season. Zair Green added 14 and Xavier Wright 12. Sherrod Jones led Schalick with 14 points.
Riverview Sports News 