An full all-county basketball date highlights this week’s Salem County high school schedule for the week of Jan. 1-6; send additions, deletions or alterations to al.muskewitz@gmail.com
Tuesday
BASKETBALL Girls Gloucester at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Boys Schalick at Cape May Tech, 5:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Woodstown at Bennett Center, Toms River
Wednesday
BASKETBALL Girls Pennsville at Kingsway
WRESTLING Sterling at Schalick, 4 p.m. Pitman at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
INDOOR TRACK Pennsville, Penns Grove, Schalick at SJCTA Meet, Toms River
Thursday
BASKETBALL Girls Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Salem, 5:30 p.m. Schalick at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m. Boys Penns Grove at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m. Pennsville at Schalick, 5:30 p.m. Salem at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m. WRESTLING Salem, Atlantic City at Oakcrest, 5 p.m.
SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Timber Creek at GCIT, 7 p.m. Schalick vs. Glassboro at GCIT, 8:30 p.m.
BOWLING Lindenwold vs. Salem Tech, Wood Lanes, 4 p.m.
Friday
BASKETBALL Boys Delsea at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
WRESTLING Absegami at Pennsville Penns Grove in Bohemia Manor (Md.) Tournament
Saturday
BASKETBALL Girls Salem at Gateway, 10 a.m. Delsea at Pennsville, 11:30 a.m. OLMA at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m.
Boys Pennsauken Tech at Schalick, 11:30 a.m.
WRESTLING Penns Grove in Bohemia Manor (Md.) Tournament, 9 a.m. Schalick, Mainland, Overbrook at Haddon Heights, 9 a.m. Pennsville at Hammonton Duals, 10 a.m. Woodstown in Collingswood Tournament
INDOOR TRACK Woodstown at Ocean Breeze Complex, Staten Island, N.Y.
Penns Grove skips halftime meeting to regain its stroke; it worked in second half, but Red Devils come up short
BOARDWALK CLASSIC Saturday’s Boys Games Tatnall 63, Pleasantville 50 Triton 54, Paulsboro 50 Brandywine (Del.) 66, St. Paul’s (Md.) 52 Ocean City 54, Shawnee 41 Kingsway 55, Glassboro 47 Lower Cape May 51, Penns Grove 38 Middle Twp. 63, Rancocas Valley 42
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – Damian Ware would have liked to have thought that fourth quarter slump his Penns Grove basketball team went through in its last game against Vineland was just an anomaly, a one-time thing that would disappear the next time the Red Devils took the floor.
Well, it didn’t disappear. It actually carried into the first half of their Boardwalk Classic game Saturday against Lower Cape May.
It took nearly 10 minutes of game clock for the Red Devils to hit their first field goal of the game and they had only three in the first half. The did find the range in the second half after a unique bit of strategy and got as close as three, but they couldn’t come back completely and eventually lost 51-38.
The shooting woes were such a concern that when the horn sounded to end the first half and the Caper Tigers (4-1) sprinted to their locker room, Ware – for the first time in his career – kept his team in the bench area and then rolled out the basketballs to get in some halftime shooting practice. Given the Red Devils would’ve had to walk halfway to the Crest to get to their dressing area, that might not have been such a bad an idea.
“That wasn’t it at all,” Ware said. “I just wanted to get some shots up because we couldn’t score the ball at all and that’s been part of our problem. I wanted them to shoot some extra shots to see the ball go through the net, especially in this gym. It’s a different feel, it’s a different acoustic in here, so I wanted them to get a better rhythm for the shots.
“I’m no genius. I figure you get more shots and get more repetitions, you get better looks at the basket. I didn’t feel we played bad in the first half. We got what we wanted. We just missed the shots and we missed free throws. That’s part of our problem all season. We get what we want on offense, it comes down to executing and finishing and making the shot.”
The slump actually started in the fourth quarter against Vineland at Delsea. The Red Devils rallied to take a lead in the third quarter of that game, then in the fourth quarter they went 1-for-10 from the floor, committed seven turnovers and were outscored 19-2.
They scored only four points in the first quarter against Lower Cape May and they all came from the free throw line, and even that could have been better. Lower’s deliberate style didn’t give the Red Devils many shots to begin with, but the ones they were getting they weren’t making. They were just 0-for-4 in the first quarter and 3-of-15 in the first half. On top of that, they were 4-for-10 from the foul line in the first quarter.
Mr Peterson finally broke the ice with a short jumper in the lane with 6:09 left in the second quarter. Giomar Conrad hit a 3-pointer a minute later and Carmen Thompson scored with 35 seconds left in the half.
While the Red Devils were missing, Lower Cape May sophomore Josh Gretta was torching them from outside. Penns Grove had 11 points at halftime, Gretta had four 3s and 14 points for Lower Cape May.
“It was frustrating a little bit, but I always had in the back of my mind we could always come back,” Peterson said.
The shots were falling in the halftime shooting session and it continued in the second half. The Red Devils hit six of their first seven from the floor and had the deficit down to three with four minutes to go in the third quarter. KaRon Ceaser hit the first two buckets, Mekhi Ballard hit a pair of 3s and Conrad had a three-point play and a layup.
“I’m glad he did it,” Ballard said. “I was happy when he said that because in the first half we weren’t making any of our shots. I was kind of annoyed (with the first half), but I knew I had to keep shooting if we wanted to get back into the game.”
The Caper Tigers stretched the lead back out to a safe distance and with time now the enemy it forced the Red Devils to rush some shots in hopes of making one last push. They missed the four shots they got in the final 2:15 to finish 10-of-20 from the field in the half and 13-of-35 for the game.
3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Conrad, Ballard 2); Lower Cape May 6 (T. Bonner 2, Gretta 4). Total fouls: Penns Grove 14, Lower Cape May 17.
Cover photo: The Penns Grove basketball team spent its halftime Saturday getting in some extra shooting practice to break out of a slump that started in the fourth quarter of its previous game.
Denby questions team’s mental toughness and heart after Penns Grove girls drop their second straight at the Shore
BOARDWALK CLASSIC Saturday’s Girls Games Egg Harbor Two. 57, Newark Academy 28 Absegami 50, Timber Creek 28 Cumberland 34, Oakcrest 13 Ocean City 66, Penns Grove 34 Holy Spirit 47, Cheltenham (Pa.) 30 OLMA 45, Wildwood 43 Wildwood Catholic 60, Bishop Eustace 32
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WILDWOOD – The theme of this year’s Penns Grove girls basketball team is playing with mental toughness. It certainly faces its biggest challenge after this week’s trip to the Boardwalk Classic.
The Red Devils went into the Christmas break undefeated for the second year in a row and ranked No. 25 in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament poll, but find themselves spiraling into the New Year 4-2 after losing their second straight game in the Wildwood Convention Center 66-34 to Ocean City Saturday.
Their resolve was going to be tested Saturday as it was after the way their loss to St. Dominic went down Thursday night. It was strained even further after a listless showing against the Red Raiders (2-4).
“As a coach, you’ve got to have players who have heart – we ain’t got no heart, we ain’t going to win nothing,” Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby said. “We can’t just have one girl play the whole game. We need everybody on the bench.
“We’re lacking heart right now, to be honest. We need everybody to carry the heart. We can’t just rely on one person.”
Brianna Robbins was the only Penns Grove player to score in double figures and led all scorers in the game with 17 points. Most of those (13) came in the second half when the Red Devils’ two other main scorers all but disappeared. The junior made the biggest plays in the second-half comeback against St. Dominic that was thwarted by a no-call on a drive in the closing seconds of a two-point game.
The Red Devils’ two other big scorers – RiNiyah Wilson and Meely Horace – had seven and five points, respectively, Saturday. Wilson, who averaged 17.6 ppg entering the game, had two points in the second half – on a pair of third-quarter free throws. Horace, who averaged 18.5 before Christmas and is on track to reach the 1,000-point plateau later this season, didn’t score in the second half.
“For you to be ranked and not put any points up and take your own self out of the game because mentally (you weren’t in it in, is not a good look),” Denby said. “Mentally is emotions. If you can’t control your emotions because your shot’s not falling, you get mad, you get upset, and instead of turning that negative energy to positive, you wind up on the bench because it’s too late. As coaches, we’re going to go to our freshmen and put them in the game.”
This one was easy to dissect and it goes directly to heart. The Red Devils committed too many turnovers and were outplayed on the boards. They didn’t get their first offensive rebound until RiNiyah Wilson banged a ball off an Ocean City defender under the basket; the Red Devils promptly turned over the inbounds play. The Red Raiders, meanwhile had 21 offensive boards off which they scored 26 points.
Penns Grove didn’t get its first putback basket until about two minutes left in the third quarter when Robbins followed her missed and-one free throw
The Red Devils have no time for a pity party. Their first game after the new year is an early Diamond Division showdown with Woodstown Jan. 4.
“Hopefully it will put some fire up their (rear ends),” Denby said. “Moving forward, these last two losses, when they get in practice they’re going to feel it. They’re going to feel it. And hopefully mentally they’ll get back by themselves.”
“It’s going to make us play harder,” Robbins promised.
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.”
Pennsville’s Lussi win his first career tournament title at Overbrook; Schalick/Cumberland wins Clipper Classic, Penns Grove’s Brown voted Most Oustanding Wrestler
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PINE HILL – Elias Lussi’s rise from a tagalong who knew next to nothing about the sport when he first walked into the wrestling room to becoming the face of a program moved to another level Thursday when he won his weight division in an in-season tournament for the first time.
The Pennsville senior added “tournament champion” next to his name when he took a 7-2 decision from Timber Creek’s Amir Reason-Dallas, an aggressive returning regional qualifier, to win at 190 in the Overbrook Holiday Tournament.
He’s the first Pennsville wrestler to win an in-season tournament title since Mikey Lapalomento took the 138 title in last year’s Gateway holiday tournament. He also had a bye and two pins on the road to his crown.
“I’m proud; I’m pumped, man,” Lussi said. “This is something I was looking forward to, especially after the Howdy Duncan tournament (in Delaware) where I got sixth. I wanted to bounce back after some tough losses. This was my opportunity to make some noise and prove myself.”
Lussi arrived in the Pennsville wrestling room three years ago at the urging of one of his friends knowing absolutely nothing about the sport and has evolved into a leader in that room and captain of the team.
“It’s all a testament to the time he put in during the season, in the offseason, after practice,” Pennsville coach John Starcevich said. “There have been times he’s stayed after practice and asked me to drill extra. That’s like music to any coach’s ear. I’ll leave the light on for anyone who wants to work.”
Lussi was one of four Eagles to place in the tournament. Travis Hagan finished third at 138. Lucas Thomas (106) and Robbie McDade (157) finished fourth in their weight classes. The Eagles finished seventh as a team. Timber Creek won it.
“Actually, it was a pretty tough day,” Starcevich said. “There were a lot of Region 8 teams there we’ll see come the post-season.
“We’re in the grind of the season here. We are entering January. We have been tested in some sense and we have guys who are really figuring out what it means to be competitive. We need to continue to work hard in the room and get after it.”
OVERBROOK HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT TEAM SCORES: Timber Creek 169, Hammonton 146, Burlington Twp. 133, Barnegat 119, Mainland 83, Deptford 77, Pennsville 67, Millville 61, Cherry Hill East 56, Winslow 56, Overbrook 44, St. Joe’s 17.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES 106: Ryan Pancoast, Timber Creek dec. Tyler Police, Hammonton, 6-4 113: Eoin Curran, Deptford pinned Matthew Steele, Timber Creek, 5:54 120: Gavin Morris, Hammonton pinned Devin Karge, Timber Creek, 4:04 126: Ethan Christmas, Deptford dec. Patrick Tull, Millville, 6-5 132: Anthony Cook, Burlington Twp. pinned Michael Rosano, Overbrook, 0:34 138: Trey DeMeo, Barnegat dec. Jaylen Huertas, Deptford, 7-2 144: Aiden O’Halloran, Barnegat dec. Nicholas Davis, Burlington Twp., 10-3 150: Logan Kahrs, Burlington Twp. pinned Ryan Kuriger, Timber Creek, 2:55 157: Gavin Bates, Timber Creek dec. Vincent Palermo, Hammonton, 5-3 (OT) 165: Nakeem Powell, Winslow pinned Gary Williams, Mainland, 2:46 175: Chase Hoag, Mainland dec. Jacob Davis, Burlington Twp., 5-3 190: Elias Lussi, Pennsville, def. Amir Reason-Dallas, Timber Creek, 7-2 215: Mark Hartley, Hammonton maj. dec. over Raymere Mahadeo, Barnegat, 16-5 285: Jayson Ross, Timber Creek pinned Camryn Broadnax, Hammonton, 1:54
Penns Grove wrestlers Anthony Brown (L) and Devine Arce show off their brackets after winning their weight classes in the Clipper Classic. Brown also was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler, the Red Devils’ first since 2019.
Dan Allen Clipper Classic
CLAYTON – The Schalick/Cumberland cooperative won the first team title in the recent memory of either school and Penns Grove’s Anthony Brown was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler as Salem County wrestlers dominated the day.
Schalick/Cumberland won the 10-team event with 158 points. They had 13 wrestlers place, including five weight-division winners and two runner-ups.
Caleb Jenkins (106), Luke Silva (126), Ricky Watt (157) Jake Magonagle (175) and Ronald Piernikoski (215) all won their weight classes.
Brown was one of two Red Devil champions at the tournament. He won the 150 class title that got away from him last year with a dramatic 11-10 double-overtime victory over Eduardo Oliveira of Riverside. He is 7-0 this season. He’s the Red Devils’ first MOW since Tyreke Brown (220) in the 2019 Region 8 Tournament.
Devine Arce pinned his way to his second title of the season, with both coming in less than 30 seconds. He is 8-0 this year at 120.
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)
Both Pennsville teams lost their Battle at Buena tournament openers, girls after blowing big lead, boys in a blowout
BATTLE AT BUENA Girls games Pemberton 50, Pennsville 47 Buena 48, Camden Academy Charter 20 Boys games Camden Academy Charter 98, Pennsville 58 LEAP 68, Buena 31
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
BUENA – The first game of the post-Christmas segment of their schedule couldn’t have started any better for the Pennsville girls basketball team Wednesday. It couldn’t have ended any worse.
Quimia Wilkins hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to give Pemberton a three-point lead, then made one of two with one second left to complete a second-half comeback that sent the Eagles to a 50-47 loss in the opening round of the Battle at Buena.
The Eagles led until the final 75 seconds of the game. They led by 15 in the second quarter (23-8) and 11 (35-24) after Nora Ausland’s 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the third quarter. Pemberton took the lead for the first time when Aniah Rodgers hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 1:15 to play and never lost it.
Foul trouble and turnovers were the biggest conspirators against the Eagles. Their starters were strapped to the bench the majority of the second half and the team was charged with 19 turnovers in the last quarter and a half.
“We don’t take care of the basketball; the turnovers are absolutely killing us,” Eagles coach Sam Trapp said. “People are afraid to be in tough positions. There are about two girls who are confident with the basketball when the game gets tough and I need more kids on the court who are ready for those tough situations.”
The Hornets struggled from the free throw line the first three quarters of the game, but found the range in the fourth. They were 6-of-17 from the line in the first three quarters, but went 9-of-12 in the fourth and at one point hit eight in a row.
Wilkins’ final free throw came after Marley Wood purposely missed the second of her two free throws with nine seconds left in an effort to get Pennsville a game-tying shot. Ausland corralled the rebound to give the Eagles a shot to tie, but Wilkins stepped in to steal the entry pass back into Wood and was fouled.
As if the foul trouble wasn’t unnerving enough, the Eagles held their breath momentarily late in the first half when Wood collapsed under the basket with an apparent ankle. She made her way to the training table for treatment, but was back in the game after only 15 seconds elapsed from the game clock and played until the final seconds.
Wood led the Eagles with 12 points.
“That kid is just built different; she’s tough as nails,” Trapp said. “She’s just got that competitive nature in her. She knew her team needed her and she hobbled right back out there. She knew how bad her foot was hurting and she played through it.
“You could see she couldn’t drive to the basket anymore, but to continue to get out there and fight and lead your team, tells you a lot about her.”
One of the biggest plays of the game turned out to be the reversal of a Wood jumper with 3:19 left in the game. The shot, which came right after Pemberton tied the game at 42, initially was ruled a 3, but after an officials’ huddle was changed to a 2. That point and not having to miss the free throw on purpose with nine seconds left could have sent the game to overtime.
The Eagles played strong defense at the outset to open their big early lead. At the point of their 23-8 lead in the second quarter, they held the Hornets to 3-of-15 shooting and created 10 turnovers.
“My bigs were dominant that first half and then in the second half there was just no presence there anymore,” Trapp said. “They beat us up. The kids kept getting fouls called on them and they were afraid to work. It was a shame the foul count forces the kids to be afraid to keep working for the rebounds.”
Pennsville’s Peyton O’Brien (15) pulls a rebound away from Camden Academy Charter’s Julius Dominquez in the second quarter of their Battle at Buena tournament game Wednesday.
Boys
CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 98, PENNSVILLE 58: At least the Eagles didn’t get 100 hung on them, and that might be the best thing to come out of it for them.
The Cougars had every chance to break the scoreboard. They had 98 points with 95 seconds to play, but put up four bad 3-pointers and had a last chance to do it with two seconds left but missed a pair of free throws. It would have been the first time an opponent put 100 or more on the Eagles since Clayton and Wildwood did it in back-to-back games in February 2021.
“We talked about that in each of the last three timeouts; that was our main thing in the fourth quarter,” Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky said. “That’s what we said. Boys, they’ve got 85. You’ve got to keep it to under 100. You’ve got to play with a little pride out there today.
“A hundred is the magic number. It’s bad enough to lose by 40 and then have that other taboo of having 100 on us … It just shows we didn’t compete today. We didn’t have any answer defensively.”
Turnovers, transition – “the killer T’s” – and rebounding all conspired to do in the Eagles. They led 8-5 after back-to-back baskets by Daniel Saulin, then the Cougars got rolling. They went on a 26-3 run to take control of the game. Pennsville had 33 rebounds and 21 turnovers in the game. Camden Academy Charter had 23 offensive rebounds.
“You’ve got to be a little bit more competitive,” Mecholsky said. “We got killed on the boards, by far. Too many second-chance points. We just didn’t take care of the ball and they turned it into transition points and that was it. We lost to a better team today.”
The drama in the game was saved for how long it would take Cougars senior Julius Dominguez to hit the 1,000-point plateau. He needed 13 points and reached the milestone on a hard drive to the basket 3:27 before halftime after five wild attempts to make it happen earlier in the quarter. He finished with 17 points and now has 1,004 for his career.
Daniel Casasola led the Cougars with a career-high 32 points.
Pennsville’s Luke Wood moved 16 points closer to the 1,000-point plateau. He now has 894.
3-point goals: Pemberton 0; Pennsville 2 (Wood, N. Ausland). Fouled out: Farina, Wood. Total fouls: Pemberton 10, Pennsville 19.
BOYS GAME Camden Academy Charter 98, Pennsville 48 CAMDEN ACADEMY (4-1) – Michael Morton 6 1-1 14, Kamar Goodhall 5 0-0 12, Julius Dominquez 6 5-6 17, Omar Quinones 2 0-0 5, Aaron Figueroa 2 0-0 6, Joseph Devine 2 0-0 5, Zyare Roberts 0 0-2 0, Yasir Logan 0 0-0 0, Marcus Smith 0 0-0 0, Kensworth Clarke 0 2-2 2, Daniel Casasola 13 6-6 32, Jenar Carmichael 2 0-2 5. Totals 38 14-19 98. PENNSVILLE (2-3) – Luke Wood 6 3-6 16, Peyton O’Brien 5 0-2 10, Daniel Saulin 6 0-2 12, Jayden Thomas 6 2-3 15, Malik Rehmer 0 0-0 0, Cohen Petrutz 0 1-2 1, Mason O’Brien 1 0-0 2, Conner Starn 0 0-0 0, Logan Hitt 0 0-0 0, Carlo Merindino 0 0-0 0, Cole Johnston 1 0-0 2, Totals 25 6-15 58.
Camden Academy
20
22
31
25 –
98
Pennsville
11
11
26
10 –
58
3-point goals: Camden Academy 8 (Morton, Goodhall 2, Quinones, Figueroa 2, Devine, Carmichael); Pennsville 2 (Wood, Thomas). Technical fouls: Camden Academy (admin), Wood, Rehmer. Total fouls: Camden Academy 12, Pennsville 17.
Cover photo: Pennsville’s Marley Wood (4) and Kylie Harris apply pressure to Pemberton’s Eniola Oluwagbemi in the final minute in hopes of giving the Eagles another shot to regain the lead.
Thursday’s schedule Girls games Consolation: Pennsville vs. Camden Academy Charter, 11 a.m. Championship: Pemberton vs. Buena, 3 p.m. Boys games Consolation: Pennsville vs. Buena, 1 p.m. Championship: Camden Academy Charter vs. LEAP, 5 p.m.
maj. dec. over Brendan Goldmacher, 10-1
Riverview Sports News 