Woodstown wrestlers start the new year with a win over Pitman that wasn’t as taxing as their post-Christmas gauntlet
WEDNESDAY WRESTLING Woodstown 46, Pitman 26 Schalick/Cumberland 58, Sterling 18
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The Woodstown wrestling team needed a breather.
After putting themselves through a gauntlet of nail biters in their three matches after Christmas, the Wolverines clinched their first match of the new year in the middle part of the proceedings Wednesday night and went on to put away Pitman 46-26.
POLK
It was a lot less stressful than their last three matches. In those exercises, they lost to Northern Burlington and Cinnaminson and beat Audubon, and all three matches went down to the final bout.
“We want to win matches, but I thought we wrestled well tonight,” Woodstown coach Adam Hyland said. “I thought over the weekend we didn’t wrestle up to our capabilities. We just didn’t wrestle well.
“I thought tonight our performance was better. That’s what we really focus on – how well are we performing, not necessarily if we win or lose. I thought we performed a lot better.”
Speaking of performing, Ryan Polk turned in one of the Wolverines’ better individual ones. With forfeits locked up in the final two weights on the night, Polk’s first pin of the season, over Ayden Epley at 132, provided the points to clinch the match.
Polk is somewhat a man on a mission, trying to earn a spot back in the varsity lineup. The junior wrestled with the varsity at 126 as a freshman, but was relegated to the JVs last year with the emergence of Alex Torres. He was getting his shot at 132 this winter with Torres injured and made the most of it.
“We need to get Polky going,” Hyland said. “He’s had some tough losses recently for us. Tonight he hit the technique we work on in practice. He did his job. I’m really proud of him.”
It was a breakthrough night for Polk. He pulled off a cross-face cradle he’d been working to perfect all season to set up his pin and second win of the season.
“It meant a lot,” Polk said. “Last year I only had one win on the varsity (in three matches).”
Polk’s pin made it impossible for Woodstown to lose, then Brett Rowand pinned Robert Graves in 1:14 at 150 to slam the door. The Wolverines also got a pin from Travis Balback (120) and a major decision from Paul Banff (190) to open the match.
“We’ve been working hard all season,” Hyland said. “I tell them we’re concerned with the end of the season, not the beginning of the season, so it’s a process and in terms of where we are in that process we’re about where we need to be. We’ve still got a ways to go, but we’re getting closer.
“We just need to get matches and get them in the groove. We just haven’t been competing very much, so I think as we progress through the season, get more matches under our belt, get more experience and get some guys back from being out, we’re going to get better as the year goes on.”
WOODSTOWN 46, PITMAN 26 190: Paul Banff maj. dec. over Dom Saffioti, 10-2 215: Aiden Milward (P) maj. dec. over Josiah Mejias, 9-1 285: Mateo Vinciguerro won by forfeit 106: Chase Blandino won by forfeit 113: Skylar Nicola (P) won by forfeit 120: Travis Balback pinned A.J. Starr, 0:12 126: Adriano Platt (P) maj. dec. over Carson Bradway, 10-0 132: Ryan Polk pinned Ayden Epley, 1:29 138: Jacob Lawrence (P) dec. Will Groom, 7-4 144: Jon Bruno (P) pinned Angel Hernandez, 3:01 150: Brett Rowand pinned Robert Graves, 1:14 157: Chase Rollins (P) dec. Zayden Donahue, 7-3 165: Zach Bevis won by forfeit 175: Greyson Highland won by forfeit
SCHALICK/CUMBERLAND 58, STERLING 18 120: Kamrin Johnson (S) pinned Gabriel McFeeley, 3:21 126: Luke Silva (SC) pinned Joseph Rogers, 0:37 132: Chase Williams (SC) pinned Alexander Mexica, 0:12 138: Daniel Lloyd (SC) pinned Jayden Williams 144: Declan Winters (S) dec. Riley Papiano, 6-3 150: Ayden Jenkins (SC) pinned Jermaine Stewart, 2:31 157: Ricky Watt (SC) maj. dec. over Brandon Rebecca, 17-7 165: Koen Martin (SC) pinned John Beasley, 3:23 175: Jake Magonagle (SC) pinned Rene Camacho, 2:43 190: Kenny McArdle (S) dec. Eric Sulick, SV-1 3-1 215: Ronald Piernikoski (SC) won by forfeit 285: Nick Gellien (S) pinned Logan Hancock, 1:33 106: Caleb Jenkins (SC) won by forfeit 113: DeAnthony Harden (SC) won by forfeit
WOODSTOWN — Whenever teams play the Woodstown girls the focus always has to be slowing down Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson and making the other three players on the floor beat you.
The Wolverines know that going in and it’s their job to get the other three involved.
They did that Friday and it paid off in a 51-32 win over Group III Highland Regional to win the Wolverine Holiday Tournament title.
The Tartans did a nice job in their triangle-and-two on Battavio and Donelson, who went for 28 and 29 Thursday. And while they both ended up scoring in double figures — 15 and 13, respectively — it was the supporting cast that made all the difference.
“That’s how we won the game,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said. “I mean, Shannon Pierman stepped up. Alyssa Baber stepped up on offense. Gianna Maiorini was phenomenal on defense.
‘That’s what I tell them — it’s five of you; it’s not one or two. If they’re going to take one or two of them out of the game, OK, that’s why we have five on the floor. That’s why it’s so important that they’re all involved in the offense because in games like this I’m going to need two or three of the other ones to step up, and that’s exactly what they did today.”
Pierman had the biggest impact. The senior post kept the ball moving through the paint, she rebounded and she made almost every layup she took. She finished with 11 points, eight in the first quarter as the Wolverines (4-1) were trying to get the upper hand.
She scored Woodstown’s first and last baskets of the first quarter and battled Highland bigs London Sutton and Alonsa Thomas in the paint all day.
“She is such a fantastic person on their team,” Highland coach J.W. Senft said. “She’s willing to do all the hard stuff. She rebounds. She sets screens. She makes just about every layup. You’ve got to love a kid like that on your team.
“She doesn’t get as much of the press as Battavio and Donelson, and they deserve it, but I’ll tell you what, that team isn’t as good without (Pierman). She does a fantastic job.
“The other two kids do a nice job, too. They know their role and they’re fine with their role. As a basketball coach you love when you see kids who are willing to play their role and take the team glory instead of my own, so good for her.”
Shannon Pierman (32) pushed herself through illness to play a big role in Woodstown’s win over Highland Regional.
Actually, the Wolverines almost didn’t have her Friday.
Pierman called Straughn earlier in the morning complaining of a sore throat and just not feeling good. It wasn’t altogether certain if she was going to make it. She took some medicine and about 90 minutes before the noon tip she decided to give it a shot and wound up giving an MVP type performance.
She said she would have regretted not playing if she had stayed home.
“It feels so much better,” she said. “I felt like I had it in my mind like I don’t feel good; I’m just going to relax at home. But then around 10:30 I was like I can do this, I feel like I have it in me. I’m glad I was able to push myself and was able to come out.”
Battavio and Donelson both went for 20 in each of the Wolverines’ previous two games, but the Tartans locked onto them with Katie Punch on Battavio and Dacia Mack on Donelson and they just made it difficult for the two Woodstown aces to get comfortable. While they were doing other things to stay engaged, they only had one basket each in the first quarter and had 11 combined points at halftime.
“I thought they played really good defense, but I played tough and I think I did everything I could have done,” Battavio said. “When other teams face guard us we have three other players who can put the ball in the basket, so it’s pretty hard to defend us.”
It was a close game early with six ties and three lead changes, but things changed about two minutes into the second quarter when Battavio and Donelson started to recognize what had to happen as they were being covered up by the Tartans.
The Wolverines went on a 12-4 run the rest of the quarter to take a 26-18 halftime lead they never relinquished. They held the Tartans scoreless on 10 of their last 12 possessions of the half, forcing it into 2-of-7 shooting from the floor and four turnovers.
“I think we just figured out a more effective way to beat that triangle-and-two,” Straughn said. “That’s when I think Megan and Talia kind of clicked, like, OK, we’re not getting everything we’re used to getting, so let’s just hammer it home underneath. Those blocks were wide open and I think it finally started to settle with them.
“They were forcing it a little bit in the beginning and I told them be OK with the assist, be OK with the rebound, you don’t have to go, go, go all the time, and I think once they kind of settled into that it made a big difference. They like to just go. You don’t need to go all the time. Trust the other three and they did and we won the game.”
Bayonne Holiday Classic Consolation: Salem 60, West Orange 56 Championship: Charlestown (Mass.) 74, Bayonne 50
By Riverview Sports News
BAYONNE – Salem basketball coach Anthony Farmer knew his team’s holiday tournament trip to North Jersey would be good for a lot of reasons.
It didn’t necessarily start out in the best of ways, but the Rams learned a lot about themselves and dealing with adversity. They even got a win out of it, holding off West Orange 60-56 in the consolation game of the Bayonne Holiday Tournament to snap a three-game losing streak.
“I thought this holiday tournament we grew up,” Farmer said. “My young guys stepped up and we are looking to make a run in January.”
As much as the Rams (2-3) were looking forward to the program’s first overnight tournament trip, things started stacking up against them quickly.
They were on the bus three hours getting there and caught a flat along the way. Then they had to play a strong team out of Boston in the opening round and lost by 20. And then their best player, senior guard Anthony Farmer, rolled an ankle in the game and didn’t play in Thursday’s consolation game.
But the Rams got through it. They put three scorers in double figures and held on down the stretch after the Mountaineers (1-6) had cut an 11-point Salem halftime lead to four going into the fourth quarter.
Seniors Paul Weathers and Jabez Dejesus led the Rams with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Freshman Tymear Lecator had 12.
Dejesus went 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 9-of-10 for the game. Weathers had nine points in the fourth quarter.
“To win without one of your best players (is encouraging),” Farmer agreed. “The other guys had to step up and they did. That’s what we have been missing the last few games.”
Warriors Classic
WOODSTOWN 50, NEW EGYPT 46: The undefeated Wolverines got on top early, then spent the rest of the game trying to stay there before finally putting the hosts away in the Warriors Classic title game.
Garrett Leyman, who’s three-point play in the final 10 seconds gave the Wolverines the lead in the semifinals, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final, scored 15 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Max Webb also made the all-tournament team.
Rocco String was Woodstown’s leading scorer with 17 points.
The Wolverines carried a three-point lead into the fourth quarter, then stretched their lead to eight with 1:26 to play.
WOODSTOWN 50, NEW EGYPT 46 WOODSTOWN (4-0) – Blake Bialecki 3-0-7, M.J. Hall 0-2-2, Garrett Leyman 5-3-15, Max Webb 3-1-7, Rocco String 8-1-17, Zyaire Caesar 0-2-2. Totals 19-9-50. NEW EGYPT (2-4) – Nolan Arnold 8-3-20, Jack Burr 1-0-3, Connor Fischer 2-0-5, Tommy Merlucci 1-0-3, Clyde Ferris 5-0-11, Evan Goldberg 1-0-2, Ryan Reynolds 1-0-2. Totals 19-3-46.
PENNSVILLE 73, BUENA 43: The Eagles would like to have a little better record heading into the new year, but a 3-3 they’re really not complaining. They got back on the winning track after being routed in the tournament opener by taking control early, spreading the wealth and opening it up with a 27-point third quarter.
“As a program I’m just happy we can be disappointed at 3-3,” Eagles coach Joe Mecholsky said. “I wanted to be 5-1, 4-2, maybe yesterday’s game is one I’d liked back if we started a little bit fresher, but (we’re) 3-3 heading into the conference schedule, so … moving forward. Good win today. Three wins in another year may have been the whole season, so three before the new year is good.”
Eight players scored for the Eagles, three in double figures. Luke Wood led the Eagles with 24 points and is now 82 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He was 10-of-15 from the free throw line.
Daniel Saulin had his third double-double in six games — 16 points (on 8-of-10 shooting) and 11 rebounds – and blocked five shots. Cohen Petrutz scored 10 points and Jayden Thomas had eight points and six assists.
“That’s what everything was today – balanced,” Mecholsky said. “We were just looking to execute on offense, we didn’t care who scored. We knew if we put the ball in the basket then the score would turn out the way it did. Everybody was looking for the extra pass and it worked today.”
VINELAND 41, PENNS GROVE 27: When the horn sounded to end the third quarter it was like a switch that flipped the script.
The Red Devils carried a three-point lead into the fourth quarter of their Marty Derer Showcase at Delsea and held their opponent to less than 20 percent shooting from the floor.
But in the fourth quarter everything that could go wrong for the young Red Devils did. They hit only one of 10 shots from the floor, committed seven turnovers and were outscored 19-2.
It was more a change in chemistry than strategy that did in the Red Devils. They played mostly freshmen Karon Ceaser, Neziah Spence and Will Roy in the third quarter with Luis Colon and Mr Peterson alongside senior Willie Slocum and the group got them the lead.
They reinserted veterans Giomar Conrad and Mekhi Ballard in the fourth quarter and it fell apart.
“I should have kept the young guys in because they were making it happen,” coach Damian Ware said.
Karon Ceaser scored the Red Devils’ only basket of the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Jack Baruffi and Ernie Bernhardt teamed up for 11 of their combined 16 points in the fourth quarter for Vineland.
It was Bernhardt’s bucket three minutes into the fourth quarter that gave Vineland the lead for good.
ATLANTIC TECH 67, SALEM TECH 44: The every-other-game pattern of Haneef Frisby and Antoine Robinson leading the Chargers in scoring was back in Frisby’s court Thursday.
Frisby scored 18 points in the consolation game of the tournament to led the Chargers in scoring. Curiously, he has been leading them in scoring in all the even-numbered games, while Antoine Robinson has led them in the odd-numbered games. When they come through together consistently, coach Bryan Riley knows he’ll have something special.
“They’re sophomores,” he said. “They’ll figure it out.”
The Chargers were in the game in the first half, trailing by only three at the break with Frisby scoring 14 points. But ACIT outscored them 20-7 in the third quarter and continued to pull away in the fourth.
Tyler Zampino scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for Salem Tech.
Battavio, Donelson never far apart in the box score, combine for 57 as Woodstown opens its tournament with easy win; Pennsville bounces back in Buena and more
THURSDAY’S GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES Battle at Buena Pennsville 49, Camden Academy 33
Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center St. Dominic 53, Penns Grove 51
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson are two of the most dynamic scorers on any one team in any type of geography you want to name – county, conference, section, state.
Woodstown coach Kara Straughn would put them up against anyone anywhere. And when she does, they usually dominate the box score.
When they’re are on – and often when they’re not – they’re capable of outscoring any team they play by themselves. They came thisclose to scoring 30 points in the same game for the first time in their career Thursday, but settled for 28 and 29, respectively, and it was plenty as the Wolverines routed winless Bridgeton 75-41 in the opening round of the Wolverine Holiday Tournament.
They had plenty of time to get it, but they were lifted to play another day with 2:20 left in the game and the win safely tucked away.
“Mainland I believe has a set of twins this year that are seniors who are very good, Megan and Talia caliber, but I don’t know of anybody in Tri-County or maybe South Jersey,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said. “Gloucester Catholic has a couple, but they’re not Megan and Talia.
“The big thing is there’s no competition (between them). You have some teams who have two really great players, but it’s a constant competition. But with those two, they’re feeding each other. Together, the two of them, I don’t think there are anybody (like them).”
Battavio agreed the combination gives the Wolverines “something different.”
Donelson said “it’s like a power move for us. We just work really well together because we’ve been playing with each other a lot time. We’re like just locked in together.”
The two juniors are a lot closer than what you see in the scoring column. Sure, it might look like they’re locked in some friendly competition to see who gets scoring honors for the night, but they’re close friends that extend beyond the high school basketball court and genuinely want to see the other succeed.
In the 59 games Woodstown has played during their varsity careers, Battavio has been the higher scorer of the two 27 times, Donelson has had the better of it 26 times and they’ve wound up even six times. Their final line has been within three points of each other 32 times and only three times in the last 26 games has the difference between them been more than six points.
While they were so close to going for 30 in the same game for the first time Thursday, they’ve both gone for 20 in the same game five times and in four of the last eight games going back to last season, including the last two. Their previous best combined effort before Thursday was a 56-point night against Penns Grove (Donelson went for 31) in last year’s South Jersey Group I semifinals.
“I think we share a chemistry over the three years and also being really good friends helps,” Battavio said. “We like to push the ball and get it up to each other and I think we’re both not selfish about it. I’m willing to give up the ball to get her a layup any day. If she has 20 and I have 10, if we win, it’s a win. We’re heavy on that.”
Of course, the biggest beneficiary of it all is the team and the program.
“I think it sets the tone for not just now but the future as well,” Straughn said. “I have a lot of sophomores who are looking to those two and saying, ‘OK, I want to be the Megan and Talia in two years when I’m a junior and senior and they’re gone.’ So they’ve set a great example and a great tone for the young girls and the program overall.
“We have youth programs coming out to watch both of them. And they’re both involved in the youth program, they both help out. So, I think it doesn’t just help on the court, it helps the future of Woodstown basketball as well.”
They played a big part in the Wolverines putting this one away early. Bridgeton stayed with them early, even leading 9-8, but then the avalanche came. The Wolverines went on a 15-3 run to the end of the quarter that turned into a 27-5 spree before the Bulldogs called time with 4:21 left in the first half.
The Dynamic Duo had 25 of the Wolverines’ first 35 points and 29 points in the first half. Donelson had 11 in the first quarter.
While there is no pact for making it happen, everyone involve – Battavio, Donelson and Straughn – all agree it would be “really cool” if they both hit their 1,000th career point on the same night.
After Thursday, Donelson stands are 753 career points and Battavio is at 741. They’re projected to be the 10th and 11th members of the school’s girls 1,000-Point Club sometime around the Tri-County Tournament.
“I think that would really be the icing on the cake,” Straughn said. “I can’t even imagine that celebration.” WOODSTOWN 75, BRIDGETON 41 BRIDGETON (0-6) – Adelina Wilks 10 3-7 25, Ayianna Ridgeway 0 0-0 0, Diara McGriff 1 0-0 2, Imara James 4 0-0 8, Jayla Bowman 2 0-2 4, Sarena Parker 1 0-0 2, Kahmya Johnson 0 0-0 0, Karina Perez 0 0-0 0, TaMiyah Russell 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 3-9 41. WOODSTOWN (3-1) – Talia Battavio 11 4-8 28, Megan Donelson 13 0-0 29, Alyssa Baber 1 1-1 4, Gianna Maiorini 0 0-0 0, Shannon Pierman 4 2-2 10, Lauren Hengel 1 0-0 2, Emma Perry 1 0-0 2, Jala Thomas 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Kendall Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 7-11 75.
Cover photo: Megan Donelson (20) and Talia Battavio lead the Woodstown girls basketball team out of timeout Thursday just as they usually do in the scoring column. (Photo by Collin Groom)
Battle at Buena
PENNSVILLE 49, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 33: After having what coach Sam Trapp called “a big honest conversation” about how their opening-round loss to Pemberton went down, the Eagles got back on the winning road in the consolation game, but an even bigger issue emerged.
The Eagles played through two injured and endured another during the game.
Point guard Marley Wood played through an ankle injury she sustained the day before, Taylor Bass didn’t play because of a broken finger on her left hand and Annika Macalino suffered a knee injury during the game.
“It’s just so frustrating, it feels like a curse this year,” Trapp said. “I struggled with a lot of injuries with soccer and here we are with Round 2 in basketball. The best thing I can do is just keep coaching the other girls through it and working our team strength at this point and hoping the girls will be able to recover and get back on the court quickly.”
Even with all that going on, the Eagles had enough to get past the winless Cougars. They placed three scorers in double figures and led wire-to-wire, even with a hiccup in the third quarter. Nora Ausland led the offense with 17 points, Wood came through with 12 and Bella Farina had 11.
They built a 14-point halftime lead and never lost it, unlike the day before when Pemberton rallied in the second half. The third quarter was a little interesting, though, as they were outscored 16-14. The Eagles have been outscored in the third quarter in four of their five games this season.
“I was just very honest with the girls,” Trapp said. “I just told them we’ve got to take better care of the basketball. You have to step up when you’re playing in the game. You have to do your best when you’re on the court at all times.
“It’s taking accountability for their mistakes and what they can do better moving forward. Thankfully, the girls responded to what I said. We changed our gameplan a little bit with the injuries that we had, so it all ended up shaking out all right at the end.”
3-point goals: Camden Academy 7 (Y. DeLaRosa, Rodriguez 2, D. DeLaRosa 4); Pennsville 6 (N. Ausland 3, Macalino, Wood 2). Total fouls: Camden Academy 6, Pennsville 7.
Penns Grove’s Brianna Robbins (2) prepares to drive the line during Thursday’s Boardwalk Classic game against St. Dominic. (Tournament photo)
Boardwalk Classic
ST. DOMINIC 53, PENNS GROVE 51: The Red Devils staged a furious fourth-quarter rallying from double digits to tie the game, but just came up short. RaNiyah Wilson scored 15 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to help Penns Grove come back from a nine-point deficit.
The Red Devils rallied from 12 down to tie the game, but St. Dominic went back ahead when leading scorer Alyssa Stridiron hit a pair of technical foul shots. In the final five seconds Brianna Robbins drove the length of the floor and got to the basket with contact, but didn’t get a call they thought was warranted.
Robbins, who tied the game twice in the fourth quarter, finished with 15 points.
Stridiron was 6-of-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and finished with 28 points.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, B. Robbins); St. Dominic 1 (Capers). Fouled out: Taylor, Wilson. Technical fouls: Wilson. Total fouls: Penns Grove 17, St. Dominic 13.
ACIT Holiday Tech Tournament
GCIT 51, SALEM TECH 15 SALEM TECH (0-4) – Demajae White 1-0-2, Hanna DeWitt 0-1-1, Morgan VanDover 3-0-7, Drummond 1-0-2, Amedee 1-0-2, Reed 0-1-1. Totals 6-2-15. GLOUCESTER TECH (4-3) – Sophia Molinari 1-0-3, Maggie Duer 4-0-12, Leanne Riddick 3-2-8, Ava Friel 1-0-2, Savanna Shute 2-0-4, Reis Hartman 3-0-6, Gina Sheehan 0-1-1, Averie Clement 3-0-8, Sofia McKay 1-0-2, Octavia Adkins 5-0-13. Totals 23-5-51.
NEW EGYPT – Woodstown hasn’t rolled out the press much before Wednesday this season because, quite frankly, coach Phil Campbell wasn’t sure they were comfortable enough to make it work.
The Wolverines pulled it out late in their Warrior Classic opener against Steinert when they absolutely had to make something happen and ran it just like the coach remembers doing it during his high school playing days back in Texas.
The press helped them rally from 12 down with four minutes left and eight down two to go for an unlikely 53-52 victory to remain undefeated. They’ll play host New Egypt for the tournament title today.
Garrett Leyman’s putback and one with eight seconds left gave the Wolverines (3-0) their first lead of the game and Rocco String sealed it when he stole a skip pass with 1.5 seconds to go.
“It kind of reminded me of our opening game last year where we were down like that against Pitman and came back and beat them by one to start the season,” Campbell said. “I think this is a little bit better one.”
It was all about the adjustment they made at halftime to set up the man press and the way everyone who got on the floor played a part in making it work. They plugged it in with about four minutes left trailing 52-40 and it was so suffocating the Spartans (0-5) never scored again.
“I had a lot of faith,” Leyman said. “We just started being really aggressive, got some turnovers, started hitting our shots, doing what we knew we could. We just kept saying keep fighting. We know with our brand of basketball we know we could come back, and we did.”
It produced a couple steals right off the bat and Blake Bialecki, Alejandro Vazquez and Leyman all hit 3s to make it even more effective.
With time running out and his team down 2, Leyman picked up a loose rebound just outside the lane and confidently hit a short jumper and was fouled. His and-one gave Woodstown the lead.
The Wolverines still had two fouls to give and took them. The Spartans tried to get the ball in but couldn’t find an opening and String stepped in make the game-sealing steal.
“We pressed some last year and got away from it because the guys just were struggling to understand exactly how I wanted it to go and it got a little sloppy,” Campbell said. “This year we waited to reimplement the press. For the last week or so we’ve been slowly putting it back in, talking about we might need to press some people.
“I talked to (senior captain) Max Webb about it towards the end of the third quarter and it was like we weren’t quite there yet and I was like I agree, I’m thinking about when we need to put it in. There were about three or four minutes left and he looked over at me and I was like, yeah, it’s time. We put it in and they (Steinert) just didn’t know what to do with it.”
When Campbell was playing high school ball in Texas, his Abilene High School team pressed from the minute it got off the bus and regularly scored 100 points in a game. Even as well as Woodstown’s version worked against the Spartans, the Wolverines won’t use it that much going forward, but when they do find the ‘opportune moments’ to put it in motion Campbell will expect it to be run properly and productively.
Their defense this year has been strong without it. They didn’t press against Schalick and had 19 steals. They didn’t press Cumberland and won the turnover and rebounding battle while holding their opponent to an ice-cold percentage from the field.
Leyman was Woodstown’s leading scorer with 13 points, but the Wolverines spread the wealth. Vazquez, with three 3s, and M.J. Hall each scored nine points. Webb and String had eight apiece. String also had five blocked shots and three steals. One of Vazquez’ 3s was a half-court bomb that beat the second-quarter horn and sent the Wolverines into the half down seven instead of 10.
“Garrett had a great game overall, with 13 points he’s definitely the X factor,” Campbell said. “But everybody contributed … If it wasn’t for some great plays from Max, great shots from guys like Blake and Alejandro and M.J., some great defensive plays from M.J. and Rocco, we don’t get that win. It was definitely a team effort. Everybody who hit the court made a positive contribution towards getting that team win.”
WOODSTOWN 53, STEINERT 52 STEINERT (0-5) – Avery Cannato 4 1-2 11, Joseph Lee 2 0-0 5, Logan Kaboski 0 0-0 0, Mert Yilmaz 3 0-2 6, Ryan Leach 1 0-0 2, Walter Connor 1 0-0 2, Joseph Ditta 4 0-0 11, Jon Weaver 0 0-0 0, Cameron Popso 5 4-4 15. Totals 20 5-8 52. WOODSTOWN (3-0) – Blake Bialecki 1 1-2 4, Alejandro Vazquez 3 0-2 9, M.J. Hall 3 2-5 9, Garrett Leyman 5 2-3 13, Anthony Bokolas 1 0-0 2, Max Webb 3 2-3 8, Rocco String 4 0-0 8, Elijah Caesar 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-15 53.
CAMDEN TECH 48, SALEM TECH 42: The Chargers cut an seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to one with two minutes to go, but Camden Tech came back down and scored and Salem Tech didn’t have an answer. When the Chargers started fouling to stop the clock, the Warriors made their free throws down the stretch.
Evan Brummel hit three 3-pointers and led Camden Tech with 15 points. Salem Tech’s Antoine Robinson led all scorers with 18 points.
3-point goals: Camden Tech 6 (Sosa, Brummel 3, Ojeda, Algeri); Salem Tech 3 (Robinson 2, Muntz). Fouled out: Wills, Muntz. Total fouls: Camden Tech 12, Salem Tech 21.
Girls Games
Boardwalk Classic
SALEM 52, OAKCREST 25: QwenNasha Logan had a triple double–10 points, 11 rebounds and 15 blocked shots –.to help the Rams collect their first win of the season. She had 15 blocked shots in the first three games of the season.
WOODSTOWN – Woodstown split two wrestling matches in its first competition after Christmas Wednesday and both came down to the final bout.
The Wolverines fell to Northern Burlington 39-35 when Hayden Joyce pinned Brett Rowand in 3:38 at 150. Willem Groom turned it into a winner-take-all bout when he put Woodstown up 35-33 with an 8-6 decision at 144.
They salvaged the day with a 42-37 victory over Audubon when Zach Bevis pinned Gabriel McCracken in 4:29 at 165.
Greyson Hyland (175), Paul Banff (190), Mateo Vinciguerra (285) all scored a pair of pins for the Wolverines. Bevis and Travis Balback (120) both scored a pin and a major decision.
In the other match of the day, Northern Burlington defeated Audubon 36-31, with a pin in the final bout.
NORTHERN BURLINGTON 39, WOODSTOWN 35 157: Jayden Donohue (NB) pinned Joseph Gervasi, 5:23 165: Zach Bevis maj. dec. over Brendan Goldmacher, 10-1 175: Greyson Hyland pinned Andrew Hanson, 3:42 190: Paul Banff pinned Griffin Goldmacher, 1:03 215: Michael Milewski (NB) pinned Josiah Mejias, 4:33 285: Mateo Vinciguerra pinned Manuel Saenz, 3:00 106: Drew Campbell (NB) pinned Chase Blandino, 5:57 113: Landen Knox (NB) won by forfeit 120: Travis Balback maj. dec. over Michael McGarigle, 13-0 126: Nicholas Bruno (NB) dec. Carson Bradway, 5-1 132: Justin Marcello (NB) pinned Ryan Polk, 2:52 138: Galiano Zeppadoro (NB) won by forfeit 144: Willem Groom dec. Trent Villabon, 8-6 150: Hayden Joyce (NB) pinned Brett Rowand, 3:38
WOODSTOWN 42, AUDUBON 37 175: Greyson Hyland pinned Georgios Kappatos, 0:31 190: Paul Banff pinned Christian Burton, 0:21 215: Sam Myers (A) pinned Josiah Mejias, 1:01 285: Mateo Vinciguerra pinned Jacob Dutill, 0:53 106: Chase Blandino pinned Josephine Albanese, 3:48 113: Nicholas Sassany (A) won by forfeit 120: Travis Balback pinned Rocco Monteferrante, 4:19 126: Lucas Stinger (A) pinned Carson Bradway, 1:25 132: Blaise LaFrance (A) pinned Ryan Polk, 1:46 138: Tyler Perrozi (A) pinned Willem Groom, 5:35 144: Brett Roland pinned Noah Battillo, 0:26 150: Pedro Marte (A) maj. dec. over Laitton Roberts, 10-2 157: David Borodziuk (A) dec. Jayden Donohue, 1-0 165: Zach Bevis pinned Gabriel McCracken, 4:29
Cover photo: Travis Balback puts the finishing touches on his pin against Audubon. (Photo by Ellen Sickler)
Holiday tournaments highlight the schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Dec. 25-30
DEC. 26 BASKETBALL Girls Battle of the Boards Wildwood Convention Center Salem vs. Millville, 1 p.m.
DEC. 27 BASKETBALL Girls Battle at Buena Pennsville vs. Pemberton, 11 a.m.
Battle of the Boards Wildwood Convention Center Salem vs. Oakcrest, 11:30 a.m.
ACIT Tournament Salem Tech vs. Camden Tech, 10 a.m. GCIT vs. ACIT, 1 p.m.
Boys Battle at Buena Pennsville vs. Camden Academy Charter, 1 p.m.
ACIT Tournament Salem Tech vs. Camden Tech, 11:30 a.m. GCIT vs. ACIT, 3:30 p.m.
Bayonne Tournament Salem vs. Charlestown, 4 p.m. West Orange at Bayonne, 5:30 p.m.
Warrior Classic, New Egypt Pinelands at New Egypt, 3:30 p.m. Woodstown vs. Steinert, 5:30 p.m. WRESTLING Audubon, Northern Burlington at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
INDOOR TRACK Woodstown at Ocean Breeze Complex, Staten Island, N.Y.
DEC. 28 BASKETBALL Girls Battle at Buena Pemberton vs. Buena Pennsville vs. Camden Academy
ACIT Tournament Consolation: Salem Tech vs. GCIT, 10 a.m. Championship: Camden Tech vs. ACIT, 1 p.m.
Wolverine Holiday Tournament at Woodstown Highland vs. Paulsboro, 10 a.m. Bridgeton vs. Woodstown, noon
Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. St. Dominic, 5:45 p.m.
Boys Penns Grove vs. Vineland at Delsea, 4 p.m. Battle at Buena Pennsville vs. Buena Camden Academy vs. LEAP
Warrior Classic, New Egypt Pinelands vs. Steinert Woodstown vs. New Egypt
ACIT Tournament Consolation: Salem Tech vs. ACIT, 11:30 a.m. Championship: Camden Tech vs. GCIT, 3:30 p.m.
Salem in Bayonne Tournament Consolation: Salem vs. West Orange, 2 p.m. Championship: Charlestown (Mass.) vs. Bayonne, 3:30 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville in Overbrook Tournament Schalick in Clayton Classic
DEC. 29 BASKETBALL Girls Wolverine Holiday Tournament at Woodstown Consolation game, 10 a.m. Championship game, noon WRESTLING Pennsville vs. Barnegat
DEC. 30 BASKETBALL Girls Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. Ocean City, 2:30 p.m. Boys Boardwalk Classic Wildwood Convention Center Penns Grove vs. Lower Cape May, 5:45 p.m.
Girls roundup: Sophomore-laden Schalick uses big second half to take down LEAP; Woodstown, Pennsville, Penns Grove all win with big second halves or fourth quarters
THURSDAY GIRLS SCORES Salem County Schalick 51, LEAP 28 Penns Grove 52, Cloucester Co. Christian 36 Pennsville 47, GCIT 35 Woodstown 57, Clearview 54
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – John Whalen saw the future of Schalick girls basketball in the second half of Thursday night’s game and he had to admit it looked pretty good.
The Cougars have a young team, but they played like veterans on this night. They already led by five at halftime, but outscored LEAP Academy 33-15 in the second half to earn their first win of the season 51-28.
“That showed the potential this group has,” Whalen said. “They pretty much are all sophomores. They’re very young so I think that highlights the potential this team can have.”
Their 33 second-half points were more than the Cougars (1-2) had scored in their first two games of the season combined.
“The talk at halftime was just picking up some aggression and communication on defense and looking to get the ball inside on offense,” Whalen said. “We came out the second half and the girls did an excellent job jumping passing lanes, getting a lot of steals, some fast-break layups. We started to transition a lot more, get the ball up the floor, and find Ava (Scurry) and Cianna (Gaines) inside for some layups.”
Scully and Cali Fisler shared team scoring honors with 14 points each. Scully scored 10 of her points in the second half and Fisler had nine. Carly Vicente had 13.
“The future is bright,” Whalen said. “I think if the girls stick with it … the next couple years down the road could be where we are back to our competitive years where we have been in the past.”
WOODSTOWN 57, CLEARVIEW 54: Talia Battavio hit two free throws with less than five seconds left on the clock to seal the Wolverines’ second straight victory in a game that had more ups and downs than an elevator.
The Wolverines trailed by 10 at halftime, but opened the third quarter with a 16-0 run and took a nine-point lead into the fourth. The Pioneers rallied to tie the game at 50, but the Wolverines made the last push.
Leading scorers Battavio (26 points) and Megan Donelson (20) both hit field goals to move the Red Devils out front and then they hit three of four free throws to lock it down.
Shannon Pierman kept the ball alive with an offensive rebound on the missed free throw with five seconds left and the Wolverines up by a point. The ball got to Battavio, who was fouled and went to the line for the free throws that sealed the game.
PENNS GROVE 52, GLOUCESTER CHRISTIAN 36: The teams were locked in a tight battle for three quarters, but the Red Devils pulled away by outscoring the Conquerors 21-2 in the fourth quarter for their fourth straight win to remain undefeated.
The Red Devils got 45 points from their three big weapons. RaNiyah Wilson led the way with 17 points, Brianna Robbins had 16 and Meely Horace had 12 (all in the second half). They combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter.
3-point goals: GCC 2 (Karamisakis 2); Penns Grove (Wilson 2, Robbins). Total fouls: GCC 9, Penns Grove 8
PENNSVILLE 47, GCIT 35: The Eagles got off to a fast start, then survived a scare in the third quarter before pulling away.
Nora Ausland led three Pennsville scorers in double figures with 17 points. Marley Wood had 15 and Bella Farina, scoring for the first time this season, had 10. Ausland had eight of her points in the fourth quarter.
maj. dec. over Dom Saffioti, 10-2
