Friday’s South Jersey Roundup: Millville upsets top-seeded Eastern on OT buzzer-beater to advance to South Group 4 final
Millville’s Aundrey Green hit a buzzer-beating layup in overtime to give the Thunderbolts a 61-60 road win, and Damian Smith and Anthony DiCaro each scored 13 points in Cherokee’s 53-47 win over Toms River North.
Millville’s Aundrey Green hit a buzzer-beating layup in overtime to give the No. 4 seed Thunderbolts a 61-60 road win over No. 1 Eastern in the South Group 4 boys’ basketball semifinals on Friday. Eastern missed two free throws with 5.3 seconds left before Green’s game-winning shot. Millville will face No. 2 Cherokee for the championship on Monday.
Green finished as Millville’s second-leading scorer with 17 points. Eddie Jamison led the Thunderbolts with 19 points.
Millville led by 15 points at halftime, but Eastern climbed back into the game by outscoring the Thunderbolts, 19-7, in the third quarter. Ryan Ems led the Vikings’ three double-figure scorers with 19 points.
Damian Smith and Anthony DiCaro each scored 13 points in Cherokee’s 53-47 win over Toms River North. Cherokee held a 10-point lead with three minutes to play. Toms River North’s Jakari Spence led all players with 22 points.
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Wildwood Catholic had three players score 20 or more points in its 85-47 win over Holy Spirit in the Non-Public B quarterfinals. Jahlil White led the Crusaders with 29 points, Taj Thweatt scored 23 points, and Jacob Hopping added 20. No. 1 Wildwood Catholic will face No. 4 Immaculata.
Jaden Honis scored 25 points to lead Immaculata in its 70-59 win over St. Joseph. The Wildcats outscored Immaculata in the first quarter, but Immaculata used an 18-8 third quarter to pull ahead. Marcellus Ross led the Wildcats with 25 points.
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Top-seeded Haddonfield will play for the South Group 2 championship after beating West Deptford, 51-30, in the semifinals. Ben Cerrato scored 13 points for the Bulldogs, while Dan Fleming added 11. They’ll face No. 2 Camden for the championship.
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Girls’ basketball
Cherokee beat Kingsway, 44-29, to advance to the South Group 4 final. Kennedy Wilburn led Cherokee with 14 points, while Ava Therien and Katie Fricker also finished in double figures. Cherokee will face No. 1 Lenape for the title.
Shannon Mulroy led all scorers with 18 points in Lenape’s 55-45 win over Toms River North. Nevaeh Sutton added 12 points, and Regan King chipped in 11. Jenna Paul led Toms River North with 15 points.
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Moorestown Friends fell, 70-58, to Rutgers Prep in the Non-Public B quarterfinals. Bella Runyan scored 30 points in the Foxes’ loss, and Veyoni Davis added 22. Rutgers Prep will face No. 2 Gloucester Catholic in the semifinals.
The Rams advanced by beating Roselle Catholic, 79-41. Azana Baines led all scorers with 29 points. Mycala Carney, Emily Leonhardt and Jada Williams each scored 12 points for Gloucester Catholic. The Rams started the game by outscoring Roselle Catholic, 25-6, in the first quarter.
Wildwood Catholic’s Marianna Papazoglou led all scorers with 29 points, including the 1,000th of her career, in the Crusaders’ 59-49 win over Gill St. Bernard’s. Papazoglou, a sophomore, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in the second quarter and has 1,016 career points. With the win, the Crusaders beat the all-time single-season record of 22 set by the 2016-17 squad. They advance to face No. 1 Trenton Catholic in the semifinals.
Trenton Catholic beat Holy Cross, 87-36, in its quarterfinal game. Maniya Custis led Trenton Catholic’s 10 scorers with 19 points.
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Haddonfield lost, 77-57, to Manchester Township in the South Group 2 semifinals. Manchester outscored Haddonfield by double digits in the first and third quarters. Manchester will face Middle Township in the title game.
No. 5 Middle Township lost its eight-point halftime lead, but it came back in the second half to beat top-seeded Sterling, 42-40. Imani Holloway led Sterling with 12 points.
Girls’ wrestling
The first state girls’ wrestling championships began with quarterfinal and semifinal matches.
Millville’s Diana Johnson had a first-round bye in the 161-pound bracket and advanced to the title match by beating Kingsway’s Katherine Bott, 12-3.
Rancocas Valley’s Kaila Mungo will wrestle Kittatinny’s Kiera Hubmaster for the 225-pound title. She earned a major-decision win in the first round and pinned Lower Cape May’s Joelle Klein, who had a first-round bye, to advance to the championship.
Pennsauken’s Anmarie Lebron pinned Secaucus’ Brianna Cervantes in 3:06 to win her 100-pound quarterfinal matchup to advance to face Parsippany’s Sydney Petzinger, who received a first-round bye. Petzinger pinned Lebron in 2:57 to advance to the final.
Rancocas Valley’s Madison Trotman beat Hunterdon Central’s Melanie Sancho, 2-1, to advance to the semifinal round of the 127-pound bracket. Jackson Memorial’s Kayla Gregory beat her to advance to the final.
Kingsway’s Olivia Heyer advanced to the 147-pound semifinals by beating Union’s Sarah Ilori, 7-1. North Bergen’s Amanda Pace pinned Heyer in 3:30 in the semifinal.