After a cold first half, Ramos hits 5 3-pointers to spark run that lifts Salem CC past Delaware County CC for first season-opening win since 2021
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Mike Green doesn’t hold back when he says Josh Ramos could easily be the top 3-point shooter in the league, region or any other classification you want to put the Salem Community College basketball team in. And the sophomore shooter did nothing to dispel his coach’s confidence in Saturday’s season opener, especially in the second half.
Ramos nailed five straight 3-pointers – each farther out than the next – during a four and a half minute stretch midway through the second half that gave the Mighty Oaks control of their 81-73 win over Delaware County CC at the DuPont Fieldhouse.
It was their first win in a season opener since 2021-22 when they beat the Eastern University JV 67-56.
“He’s just like a little microwave,” Green said. “He’s a spark. He’s a big spark.
“Once you see one go through you’d better come back to him again. You probably have to come back to him for the next four minutes until he’s burnt up. He’s one of those type players you’ve got to go right there to him.”
And that’s exactly they did. Ramos was just 1-of-4 from behind the arc in the first half as teams battled to a 35-35 draw, but he got hot after halftime, going 5-for-5 during a 19-7 run that took the Oaks from 48-45 down to 64-55 with 9:45 to play. He finished with 18 points.
“The first half, I don’t know, I could tell it was long, but I came into the second half mentality-wise like I’m going to keep my head up, get in the game and if he started me for the second I came here (and started hitting),” Ramos said. “My teammates were finding me, I was just letting it go and the confidence just kept building. As the half went on … we won.”
He went bang-bang-bang on three straight possessions, tying the game, putting the Oaks up for good and extending the lead. The fourth came from out near the Salem logo.
“After I hit the first four it was no-brainer, I was just letting it go,” he said. “Shooters shoot, that’s all I can say.”
“He should have had more, he should’ve had eight,” Green said. “We need to do a better job of finding him.”
Ramos was one of the best 3-point shooters in the region last year, hitting 60 of 146 in 23 games (41.1 percent) and 42 of 96 in conference play (42.9). He was sixth in the league in number and top 10 in percentage playing six fewer games than the leader. He wants to be the No. 1 3-ball in the league.
He was 8-of-20 in six games before Green became the Oaks’ coach shortly before Christmas, but flourished in the role after the change. He had one three-game stretch in early February in which he went 18-of-31.
“Anytime Josh’s on the floor, we’re going to Josh,” Green said. “Everybody knows it. We had a meeting. I told them we only run plays for three people and really it’s only Josh. They know. The team knows.”
If Ramos’ goal is to be the No. 1 3-point shooter in the league, A.J. Jones’ goal is to be the No. 1 defensive player. He got off to a impressive start Saturday. He had 14 points – all in the first half – but also had several several steals, assists and rebounds and did what Green called a “wonderful” job on Delco’s Darrius Best, holding one of the region’s best guards to 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
It was his steal and layup in the final 10 seconds that earned the Oaks their 35-35 halftime draw.
“He didn’t play well in our last scrimmage and I challenged him,” Green said. “We challenged him big time and he responded.”
Saturday’s game kicked off a busy week for the Mighty Oaks. They play three games next week in doubleheaders with the women’s team and play their first seven games in their House of Pane.
“It can give great confidence, but it can give false confidence, too, because it’s a different game on the road and we saw that last year,” Green said. “It was tough on the road. But I’ll the other side of it, I’ll take the confidence.”
SALEM CC 81, DELAWARE CO. CC 73
DELAWARE CO. (1-1) – Cameron Daut 1 2-2 4, Jabree Martin 6 2-2 16, Omar Davis 5 3-5 13, Evan Vandelti Spahr 3 1-1 8, Jaquan Fisher 3 3-4 9, Darrius Best 5 2-2 14, Luke Bushra 0 0-0 0, Tahmeire Manning 1 2-4 7, Amir Wilson 0 0-0 0, Stephen Rosemin 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 15-20 72 71.
SALEM CC (1-0) – Dontarius Jones 1 1-2 3, Niame Scott 1 7-8 10, Tyrese Fortune 2 1-2 5, Tyrone Tolson 2 0-0 5, Rodney Shelton 1 1-2 3, Julien Jones 0 1-2 1, A.J. Jones 6 0-1 14, Josh Ramos 6 0-0 18, Xavier Brewington 4 3-4 12, Stefan Phillips 3 2-2 8, Sami Anderson 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 16-23 81.
| Delaware Co. CC | 35 | 38– | 73 |
| Salem CC | 35 | 46– | 81 |
3-point goals: DCCC 6 (Martin 2, Vandelti-Spahr, Best 2, Manning); Salem 11 (Tolson, Brewington, A. Jones 2, Ramos 6, Scott).
Cover photo: Josh Ramos puts up one of his five second-half 3-pointers in Salem CC’s season-opening win.
Riverview Sports News 