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Salem CC wins district basketball title, headed to JUCO Division III nationals for first time in school history; Taylor named tournament MVP

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News 

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Salem CC basketball team has been a second-half club all season long. So why should things be any different in its biggest game in school history.

The Mighty Oaks already had a six-point lead when they went into halftime Saturday, then they opened the second on a 12-0 run to take complete control of their Region XIX North Atlantic District B championship game on the way to a 74-66 win over second-seeded Montgomery County CC to earn their first ever trip to the JUCO national Tournament.

“It’s a great feeling, a feeling I’ve never felt before,” freshman swingman Tamir Powell said. “I’ve never won anything in high school, ever before. This is my first championship. It feels great.”

Now they’re headed to Herikmer (N.Y.) College to play for the Division III national title March 11-15. EIght district champions and four at-large selections will make up the field. The bracket will be announced at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Union (Region XIX/North Atlantic A) and Dallas College-Mountain View (South Central) also have locked up tournament bids. The remaining automatic bids should be filled Sunday.

“It feels good just to give these guys another chance to get looked at, to get seen,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “I told them all year long the nationals is where you want to be. You’ll have a bunch of coaches there and they only want winners, man, and we’re a winner, so I’m just happy I got a chance to deliver on my promise.

“They (Montco) were the defending champs and we came in and took care of business.” 

And it wasn’t that close.

It’s not so much that the Mighty Oaks (23-7) pulled away in the second half to win their first district title – they only outscored the Mustangs 40-38 – but rather the way they did it and the smoothness with which they maintained the lead.

The run out in the first four minutes of the second half gave them an 18-point lead that never fell back into single digits until the final two minutes.

“It was all motivation,” Powell said. “We took what we had the last game and we brought the energy, we brought the fight and the grit. We knew we were the better team so we went out and played like it.”

Sophomore Akeem Taylor, who wasn’t even considered for the All-Region XIX Team because he joined the team at mid-season, was clearly the difference in the game. He went for 27 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots and was named MVP of the District B tournament, basically the Mighty Oaks’ half of the Region XIX bracket.

He had 18 points, four rebounds and six assists in the Might Oaks’ tournament opening win at CC of Philadelphia. Both teams they took down in the tournament beat them in one-possession games during the regular season.

“I feel like the last time they got us because of me,” Taylor said. “I think I went out in the first half with three fouls. I wasn’t playing at 100 percent. It was just all about revenge. That’s what I think motivated me today. There was a lot of extra motivation.”

Green, who orchestrated the best turnaround in the league in his first full season at the helm, was named District Coach of the Year as the coach of Saturday’s winning team.

Powell started the Mighty Oaks’ second-half run with a bucket and 3-pointer. He had 11 points in the half and finished with 19; he’s been averaging 15 over his last five games. Xavier Brewington had 10 points and Jyheim Spencer had another double-double (11/10).

Montco had three scorers in double figures but none of its other four scorers had more than five points.

“Our bench played well; that’s the difference,” Green said. “That’s why everybody says why do you play 12 players – because you can wear teams down.

“They had a short bench. Our bench came and gave us minutes and gave our starters a rest and when they got in they were much stronger. It worked out how we planned it, man.”

And now they’re making plans for an even bigger tournament.

SALEM CC 74, MONTGOMERY COUNTY CC 66
SALEM CC (23-7) – Tamir Powell 7-12 1-1 19, Tyrese Fortune 1-8 1-2 3, Xavier Brewington 2-8 6-11 10, Akeem Taylor 8-18 11-12 27, Jyheim Spencer 5-6 1-2 11, Dontarius Jones 1-2 0-0 2, A.J. Jones 1-1 0-1 2, Tivon Woolford 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Ramos 0-2 0-0 0, Rodney Shelton 0-2 0-0 0, Tajee Jordan 0-1 0-0 0, Stefan Phillips 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 20-29 74.
MONTGOMERY CO. (21-6) – Matthew Williams 6-14 6-9 18, Sean Emfinger 9-18 3-4 22, Baasil Sanders 5-14 5-7 16, Jaylon Williams 1-3 2-2 5, John Dinolfi 0-5 2-3 2, Jonathan Brooks 0-0 1-2 1, Steven Hill 0-2 0-0 0, Darrius Gaeta 0-7 0-0 0, Emmanuel Rodriguez 0-2 0-0 0, Isaac Martin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-66 19-27 66.

Salem CC	34	40-	74
Montgomery County CC	28	38-	66