Basketball: Glassboro beats Woodstown

By Phil Anastasia

Inquirer Staff Writer

A.J. Kittles was on the foul line, the basketball and the game in his hands.

His coach was on the sideline, savoring the poetic justice of the situation.

"I was smiling," Glassboro coach Steve Belh said. "I was smiling because he had put himself in that situation."

Kittles made both free throws with 0:10 on the clock to seal Glassboro's 53-48 victory over Woodstown in a Tri-County Diamond Division showdown Tuesday night before a large crowd in the Wolverines' gymnasium.

Kittles, a senior swingman, scored eight of his 13 in the fourth quarter and senior forward David Still scored 11 of his 13 after halftime as Glassboro (20-4 overall, 10-2 in the Diamond) clinched a share of the division title.

Senior guard Deonte Rowland added 11 for Glassboro, the No. 22 team in The Inquirer Top 25.

Sophomore forward Jawan Roane scored 19 and junior forward Kris Hackett added 10 points with 10 rebounds for No. 20 Woodstown (21-2, 9-2).

Woodstown can clinch a share of the division title with a victory Wednesday over Cumberland.

"I told these kids this is a 93-year-old program," Woodstown coach Jeff Podolski said. "If division titles were easy to get, there would be more than three on the banner. They still have the opportunity to get one."

It's been a season of redemption for Glassboro, a program that won a total of 23 games in the previous three seasons.

"We were tired of being the embarrassment of the school," Kittles said. "If you look up Glassboro, it was 'Football this and football that.'

"It's been on my list since fresman year to hang that banner."

Said Belh: "I'm just so happy for the seniors, with everything they went through the last three years, with all the hard work they put in to get this program to where it is now."

It was a night of personal redemption for Kittles. He had been kicking himself a bit after Glassboro's 58-55 loss to Woodstown on Jan. 14.

"He missed a couple foul shots late, made a couple turnovers," Belh said. "That's why I was so happy he got the chance to make the plays that were the difference tonight."

Glassboro's leading scorer with a 21-point average, Kittles had just five through the first three quarters.

"They were focusing a lot of their defense on me," Kittles said. "I was looking to get my teammates involved."

Belh said the fourth quarter was Kittles' time to shine.

"It's great to get your teammates involved," Belh said. "But you're our leading scorer, the best player on the floor, you have to make some plays when we need them and that's what he did."

Kittles broke a 46-46 tie with a driving bucket at the 2:29 mark. He added two free throws for a 50-46 lead at 2:08 and two more to make it 52-48 at the 0:10 mark.

"He's done that for us all year," Rowland said of Kittles. "No way we would be here without him."

Glassboro 15 13 9 16 -- 53

Woodstown 13 9 20 6 -- 48

G: David Still 13, Deonte Rowland 11, A.J. Kittles 13, Kim Speller 3, Anthony Mitchell 7, Isom Golden 6.

W: Jesse Oscar 7, Dee Hall 12, Andrew Blaszczyk 0, Kris Hackett 10, Jawan Roane 19.

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com

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