Mighty Oaks get back on track after loss to Union, avoid the pitfall of a game stuck between two nationally ranked region opponents
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – The game had all the earmarks of a trap, but the Salem CC basketball team refused to fall into it.
Sandwiched between games against two nationally ranked Region XIX rivals, the Mighty Oaks faced a non-region opponent Thursday they had already beaten once this season. It was the kind of matchup that, if they weren’t focused or still wallowing in their loss at No. 12 Union on Tuesday, could have been a disaster.
No worries here. The Mighty Oaks were as focused and dominant as they’d been in a game all season. They nearly broke the scoreboard and they did break Williamson School of Trades 99-59.
It was a good cleanse going into Saturday’s Black-Out home game with No. 14 Northampton (17-2), the team directly ahead of the fourth-place Mighty Oaks in the Region XIX standings.
“They (Williamson) gave us a hell of a game at their home, so we knew not to take them lightly,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “You have to respect your opponent, but also you have to respect yourselves, so you want to be at your best playing against anybody.
“It’s about having your guys prepared mentally. There ain’t no light games. You only have 56 games guaranteed here, you don’t have time to be taking any games off. And now we’re getting coaches in the stands, recruiters in the stands, so you want to be at your best at all times.”
They have another potential trap game next week when they play Luzerne (currently 4-11) between CC of Philadelphia, currently fifth in the Region XIX standings, and current region No. 2 Montgomery County CC.
Thursday’s game against the Mechanics (12-8) started with Jyheim Spencer throwing down an alley-oop pass from Xavier Brewington and the Mighty Oaks (16-5) were off and running.
They put four scorers in double figures, got everybody appreciable minutes and everybody who played scored. They scored from everywhere, hitting 10 3-pointers as a team and getting 48 points in the paint. They are currently tenth in the nation (JUCO Division III) in scoring and fourth in made 3-pointers per game.
“This is how we want to play, man,” Green said. “The numbers are exactly how we want to play.”
Tivon Woolford led the 3-point parade. He tied his career-high with three in the first half and finished going 4-for-6 from behind the arc in a 14-point game. His first 3 gave Salem its first 10-point lead, his second made it 31-18 and his third put them up 38-22 shortly before halftime.
His shooting percentage behind the arc is better this year than it was as a freshman, but he was only 1-for-8 in his previous four games and hadn’t hit more than one in the previous 10 (5-for-23).
“My time was to come,” Woolford said. “Lately my shot hasn’t been falling. I guess today was a lucky day for me to knock the shot down.
“Every day before a game I wake up thinking I’ll have a good game and thinking I’ll do great every shot I can. In warmups it wasn’t falling, but in the game it was falling, so I guess it worked out. I can’t wait for the next one to show I can keep shooting. I want to show everybody I can really shoot, for real.”
When the Mighty Oaks weren’t hitting from the outside, they were attacking the basket. Bigs Spencer, leading scorer Akeem Taylor (16), Stefan Phillips and Taje’e Jordan combined for 39 points and were 18-of-35 from the field.
“We’re much bigger than everybody else and we can all play inside-out so everybody just goes inside,” Spencer said. “Coach is like ‘Go inside.’ Every time we play team smaller than us we just go straight inside. That’s really the game plan – everything inside. Make them foul us, hit foul shots.”
SALEM CC 99, WILLIAMSON TRADES 59
WILLIAMSON TRADES (12-8): A’Jaad White 0-1 0-0 0, Robert Wiley 7-19 6-6 23, Ronald Johnson 6-11 3-4 15, Jordan Draine 4-6 0-0 9, Semaj Cherry 4-10 2-4 10, Amir McIntosh 0-1 0-0 0, Dakiah Barlow 0-2 0-0 0, Ahmad Garvin 0-0 0-0 0, Nadir Ali 1-4 0-1 2. Totals 22-54 11-15 59.
SALEM CC (16-5): Tyrese Fortune 2-6 2-4 7, Xavier Brewington 4-8 3-3 12, Akeem Taylor 8-15 0-0 16, Stefan Phillips 4-7 0-0 8, Jaheim Spencer 4-7 1-3 9, Dontarius Jones 4-7 1-2 10, Tamir Powell 0-5 0-0 0, A.J. Jones 3-4 2-3 9, Tivon Woolford 4-7 2-2 14, Josh Ramos 3-7 0-0 8, Taje’e Jordan 2-6 2-2 8. Totals 38-80 13-19 99.
| Williamson Trades | 25 | 34- | 59 |
| Salem CC | 40 | 59- | 99 |
Cover photo of Taje’e Jordan battling down low by John Holt
Riverview Sports News 