High School Basketball: Pemberton Moves into S.J. Group 3 Semifinals Thursday, March 3, 2005 By Jerome Michaels SJSports Special Correspondent After cruising past Oakcrest in the opening round of their tournament run, the fourth seeded Hornets from Pemberton hosted the fifth seeded Pioneers from Clearview at home. Playing on back to back days didn’t slow down Pemberton’s quest to advance to the semifinals. The Hornets established the momentum very quickly and held on during the second half. The scoring did pick up during the third and fourth quarters but the Pemberton would stay one step ahead of Clearveiw. With their 77-72 victory, the Hornets will now travel to Camden to take on the Panthers. The team that is expected to be the toughest match-up of the bracket is usually the number one seed. The way Pemberton has been playing lately, their game against Camden would be another test to pass if they want to move into the finals. The Hornets defeated Oakcrest 59-43 in their first game of the South Jersey Group 3 tournament and were looking to gain an early advantage. The first quarter watched the home team take an early 17-12 lead to start the second quarter. The defense picked up during the next eight minutes but it would be the Hornets maintaining the lead and entered the half time break by a 32-26 margin. Clearview would begin the second half almost scoring their halftime total in one quarter. Pemberton would keep up with the Pioneers and maintain their slim lead for the remainder of the game. William Jones finished with a game high 27 points while William Jett and Shannon Lewis both ended the game with 15 points apiece. Anthony Cicchini’s 29 points and Steve Secula’s 22 points led the Pioneers’ scoring list. Photos by Mark Fletcher