Eagles Demolish Schalick, Roll Toward Postseason

West Deptford boys basketball is hitting on all cylinders and they're doing it with the playoffs less than a week away.

The Eagles clobbered Schalick on the road in non-conference play on Monday night, defeating them 76-45 behind a season-high 27-point performance by junior Mike Gardner. The win was the fifth straight for West Deptford.

Schalick was never able to keep the game close as the Eagles ran out to a 28-8 lead after just the first quarter. The one-sided opening period really decided the game as the Cougars had no chance of making the game close again. Along with Gardner's 27 points, Justin Hansen scored 13 and Marquise Owens added 11.

Gardner in particular has been a scoring machine for the Eagles in February. He has scored double-digit points in six of his team's last seven games. His 27 points were tied for the second-most scored by any Eagle player in a single game this season.

The victory for the Eagles was also impressive considering Schalick entered the game with a 15-7 record and will begin the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs as the sixth seed, the same seed that West Deptford will be in Group 2. The Eagles have not lost a game since the NJSIAA playoff brackets were released on Feb. 8.

The Eagles have one final regular season game on Thursday at Palmyra. They will start their postseason at home against No. 11 Overbrook on Feb. 25.