Salem CC men knock off No. 14 Northampton in OT behind four double-figure scorers, double-double by Spencer and several big 3s
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – Mike Green has done a really nice job getting the Salem CC basketball team to a point where it’s starting to get looked at in a national light. But to break through the glass ceiling you have to beat some of those teams on the other side.
The Mighty Oaks missed a chance to do that Tuesday night just a few hours after they received some votes in the national JUCO rankings but not enough to crack the top 15. But they had their breakthrough moment Saturday, beating No. 14 Northampton 91-83 in overtime for the biggest win in Green’s 40-game run here.
It is believed to be the Mighty Oaks’ first win over a nationally ranked opponent since restarting the program in 2019.
“This puts us on the board,” freshman guard Xavier Brewington said. “We were already on the board, but after beating them, we’re gonna really get looked at, because they were ranked and we were just iffy. Now, we’re just up there. After the setback from (No. 12) Union, we came out here and had to do what we had to do.”
“At some point you’re going to have to notice the job that’s being done here,” Green said. “(Four-year) college coaches are reaching out now. We had a vote (in the poll) last week. Hopefully people continue to watch and give Salem basketball a chance because it ain’t the Salem of old. There’s some good stuff going on here.”
If the Mighty Oaks (17-5) needed any more incentive to go after this one, all they had to do was look at the box score from last February’s 89-37 pasting Green used as motivation. It’s the only box score from a previous game he still has tacked up on his board.
Unlike their game at No. 12 Union Tuesday night, the Mighty Oaks were in this one start to finish. They may have gotten down by 12 in the first half, but they didn’t let the game get away from them.
They tied it in regulation on Tamir Powell’s 3-pointer with 20 seconds left, then held their breath for overtime as J.J. Kolumber’s long 3 at the buzzer drew iron. It was Powell’s only 3 of the game.
“I had a strong feeling it was coming to me, and I knew I was going to make it because I missed every other shot before,” Powell said. “But I knew I had it in me. I knew I could make the shot, so I felt when the time was the biggest I chose it and I shot it and I made it.”
The Spartans worked the clock down for the final shot of regulation and the Mighty Oaks forced the ball into Kolumber’s hands after shutting off Nasir Ruhani on the other side of the floor, which is exactly what their scouting report said they should do.
“I think that was Tivon (Woolford) who did that,” Green said. “I think Tivon was in his gap because 24 (Ruhani) wanted to go one-on-one. That’s the scouting report. We were talking about that at halftime, like, follow the scouting report, just follow it. We made a decision that (showed) they understood the scouting report.”
The 3-ball was big for the Mighty Oaks in overtime, too, as Brewington hit one with 3:30 left to break a 75-75 and give them the lead and then buried another with his next shot to make it 81-75 with 2:33 to go. Tivon Wollford hit one later for a nine-point lead and the Mighty Oaks closed it out with five free throws in the final 35 seconds.
They were 10-of-28 from 3-point range in the game, 7-of-17 in the second half and overtime, and were 19-of-22 from the foul line. Brewington was 4-of-8 from behind the arc.
“We’ve got four people (who can shoot it) and I’m going to find which one of them is going to make it today,” Green said. “I knew Brewington has been struggling, but I told him in the time out I don’t need you to dribble any more, I need you to shoot that damned ball, let it fly, and right after that he ran off about three of them.”
It looked like the Mighty Oaks might have missed their chance to take down the Spartans (17-3) early in the second half when they fought back from a seven-point deficit to have a chance to take the lead since 17-16 in the first half.
Jyheim Spencer was fouled trying to throw down a dunk that would have tied the game with 12:53 left. He made the first free throw, but missed the second. Akeem Taylor rebounded the miss, but his putback blocked by Ruhani.
The Spartans collected the loose ball and Sebastian Fermin hit two free throws at the other end and the Mighty Oaks were back to playing catch-up for the rest of the half.
“Deep back in your head you think, aw, man, it might be over,” Brewington said, “but at the same time when you have teammates and coaches looking you up … we all came together and were like we’ve got to dig down because it’s going to be a dogfight.
“They were nationally ranked, but it was all about heart. We kept saying on the bench, in the locker room, in the huddle, this game is all about heart. We had to go in there with the mentality that we have to be a dog.”
The Mighty Oaks placed four scorers in double figures and Jyheim Spencer had a double-double. Taylor led the offense with 23 points. Brewington had 21, Woolford 10 and Spencer 15 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
Spencer would be leading the nation (JUCO Division III) in rebounding if he had enough games to qualify. He’s now averaging 15.3 rpg in eight games since making his debut Jan. 7.
SALEM CC 91, NORTHAMPTON CC 83 (OT)
NORTHAMPTON CC (17-3) – Sebastian Fermin 6-12 2-3 17, J.J. Kolumber 1-4 0-0 2, Abdul Jackson 6-19 2-3 16, Ameer Herran 6-7 2-3 14, Lamaj Mapp 1-3 0-0 2, Ethan Ringenberger 1-1 0-0 2, Ethan Sakwa 0-0 0-0 0, Nasir Ruhani 8-13 5-7 21, Josh Washington 3-5 1-5 7. Totals 32-64 12-21 83.
SALEM CC (17-5) – Tamir Powell 2-8 2-2 7, Tyrese Fortune 3-7 2-2 8, Xavier Brewington 7-14 3-3 21, Akeem Taylor 7-18 7-9 23, Jyheim Spencer 6-6 3-4 15, Dontarius Jones 1-2 0-0 2, A.J. Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Tivon Woolford 3-5 2-2 10, Josh Ramos 1-5 0-0 3, Taje’e Jordan 1-1 0-0 2, Stefan Phillips 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-69 19-22 91.
| Northampton CC | 41 | 32 | 10- | 83 |
| Salem CC | 31 | 42 | 18- | 91 |
3-point goals: Northampton CC 5-14 (Fermin 3-8, Kolumber 0-2, Jackson 2-4); Salem CC 10-28 (Powell 1-6, Fortune 0-1, Brewington 4-8, Taylor 2-4, A. Jones 0-1, Woolford 2-3, Ramos 1-4, Phillips 0-1). Rebounds: Northampton CC 31 (Herran 10). Salem CC 39 (Spencer 19, Fortune 6). Total fouls: Northampton CC 18, Salem CC 18.
| REGION XIX MEN DIVISION III | REGION | ALL |
| Union | 12-0 | 16-3 |
| Montgomery | 10-1 | 13-2 |
| Philadelphia | 11-2 | 16-5 |
| Camden | 11-3 | 13-9 |
| Salem | 10-3 | 17-5 |
| Northampton | 10-3 | 17-3 |
| Brookdale | 10-5 | 14-6 |
| Atlantic Cape | 8-6 | 11-9 |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 7-6 | 9-12 |
| Ocean | 5-5 | 9-6 |
| Passaic | 6-7 | 10-10 |
| Lehigh-Carbon | 5-8 | 5-13 |
| Delaware County | 5-9 | 6-13 |
| Sussex | 5-9 | 6-15 |
| Harrisburg Area | 3-10 | 4-16 |
| Luzerne | 3-11 | 4-12 |
| Thaddeus Stevens | 2-11 | 3-14 |
| Bergen | 2-13 | 3-17 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 0-13 | 0-19 |
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