Basketball: Penns Grove beats Woodbury

By Phil Anastasia

Laqwin Stewart felt it was time to step up.

Penns Grove's diminutive senior guard rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 of his 22 points to lead the Red Devils to a 58-54 win over Woodbury Wednesday night in the second round of the South Jersey Group 1 boys' basketball tournament.

"It felt like I was getting away from us," Stewart said. "I felt like I had to make some plays for my team."

Junior forward Davon Davis added 15 points and 17 rebounds for second-seeded Penns Grove (19-6).

Penns Grove will host third-seeded Pitman in Friday's sectional semifinals at 5 p.m.

Penns Grove and Pitman split two games in the regular season.
"They beat us the last time so it feel like we need to get them back," Stewart said.

Senior guard Jeray Demby scored 20 points for seventh-seeded Woodbury (14-14).

The Thundering Herd were hurt by 19 turnovers, including 12 in the first half, and by 8-for-22 shooting from the foul line.

"We didn't value the ball," Woodbury coach Kenny Avent said. "This time of the year, every possession is important. We had too many unforced mistakes, we missed too many layups and we missed too many foul shots.

"There's no excuses. You can't do that this time of the year."

Penns Grove built a 27-12 lead late in the first half. Woodbury battled back to cut the margin down to three on a couple of occasions but the Thundering Herd could never get any closer.

"What I liked was that when they made a run, we answered," Penns Grove coach Damian Ware said. "We knew they were going to make a run. They're a scrappy team and Penns Grove-Woodbury has become such a big rivalry game."

The 5-foot-4 Stewart opened the fourth quarter with a pair of three-point jumpers. He also was 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final eight minutes, and converted three layups in transition.

"He's a big-time player and he stepped up when we needed him," Ware said.

Woodbury 5 9 15 25 -- 54

Penns Grove 11 16 6 25 -- 58

W: C.J. Rochester 8, Jeray Demby 20, Jamere Lynch 3, Elijah Grant 4, Trey Wilson 4, Will Harris 5, Darius Triplet 10.

PG: Jyle Goodson 2, Kylee Ridgeway 2, Tristan Lloyd 8, Allen Killebrew 4, Avery Killebrew 3, Laqwin Stewart 22, Eli Richardson 2, Davon Davis 15.

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