Salem CC unfurls four banners commemorating last season’s success on the court, then No. 2 Mighty Oaks crush Bergen CC in home opener
REGION XIX BASKETBALL
Thursday’s Games
Salem CC 102, Bergen 69
Chesapeake 92, Montgomery 58
Middlesex 76, LaGuardia 72
Union 67, Brookdale 53
Albright JV at Thaddeus Stevens
Ocean 89, Delaware County 55
RCSJ-Cumberland 87, Passaic 82
Cecil 71, Mercer 69
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — Stefan Phillips was standing off to the side as Salem Community College president Mike Gorman read off all the accomplishments of last year’s Mighty Oaks basketball team and it brought out a wave of emotions.
Then the president called for the big ripcord to be pulled and four banners unfurled over the second-floor railing above the entrance to the gym and the thought that struck Phillips was he wanted another.
The Mighty Oaks recognized last year’s Region XIX and North Atlantic District championships and top five finish in the JUCO Division III national tournament Thursday, then the current team, ranked second in the nation, went out and crushed Bergen in its home opener 102-69.
“It brought back a lot of memories,” Phillips said. “Winning our first championship, how enthused everybody was. It brought back the memory of going to the national tournament (and) winning that first game. It brought back the heartbreak of losing in the second round. But most impressively it brought back (memories of) teammates, the camaraderie, the brotherhood, we instilled in each other, the belief that we could win it all.
“I’m proud of what we accomplished. When I saw those banners go down I was like, man, that feels good, I want another one. This team here, we can do it again. I believe every day we can do it again.”
Phillips is the only player on the current Salem CC roster who played on that historic team, so it was understandable he was touched by the moment. But the banner raising did something to inspire the newcomers, too.
Nasseem Wright scored 19 points in the first half, hitting 9 of 10 shots from the field, and finished with a game-high 25 and seven rebounds. Saaid Lee had 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists. All five starters, including Phillips, scored in double figures. Jaiayre Wright had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) off the bench.
“Especially with the banner dropping today it was a big night,” Nasseem Wright said. “I pay a lot of respect to last year’s team, they paved the way for us this year ending up No. 5 in the nation. We’re chasing the same thing this year.
“We’ve got a huge circle on our back, so I’m not taking any game lightly. I wanted to come out aggressive because I know my energy is what’s going to get my team started.”
The Mighty Oaks (3-0) broke it open with a seven-minute stretch in the first half that was some of the best ball they played in coach Mike Green’s two and a half seasons at the helm. They outscored the Bulldogs 23-1 to take a two-point lead to 24 before the visitors stopped the run with a 3-pointer with 3:47 left in the half.
The spree started with a 3-pointer by Saaid Lee, but really got rolling coming out of the timeout Bergen called after the shot. There were rebounds, steals and a whole lot of running. The Mighty Oaks were 10-of-19 from the field in the run, while holding the Bulldogs to 0-for-10 shooting and seven turnovers.
“We just showed in those seven minutes to let everyone know in the nation we are No. 2 for a reason,” Phillips said.
“Once we lock into the game, get the pre-game jitters out, we get running and I’d definitely say it’s fun,” Wright said. “I definitely felt the energy. They came out kind of flat and wanted us to play at their speed, so once we sped them up and had them playing our style of basketball I think that’s when it started to go downhill for them and everything started clicking for us.”
“This is going to be really good team, a really fun team,” Green said. “We’ve got to get the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth man where they’re supposed to be. When they’re there, then we’ll be an even better team because we can run a lot of bodies at you. Once we get them in the right places it’s going to be really good.”
The only place the Mighty Oaks were lacking on this special night was beyond the arc. But they were so strong everywhere else, they shot only 7-of-37 from 3-point range — 4-of-34 before Zyaire Gibson hit three in a row over a one-minute span late in the second half — and still won by more than 30.
Green didn’t seem too worried about it. He said the same thing happened last year before the Mighty Oaks snapped out of it and starting hitting from everywhere.
“Don’t bother me at all; law of averages,” he said. “One of our better shooters went 0-for-10, our other best shot 5-for-16. I can’t imagine that happening again.”
Top photo: Salem CC president Mike Gorman presides over the raising of four banners commemorating the Mighty Oaks’ accomplishments last season.
Salem CC 102, Bergen 69
BERGEN (1-3): Kross Ford 0-1 0-0 0, Ezana Negusse 2-5 0-0 4, Jayden Rivera 5-12 6-6 16, Jeremy Polanco 8-20 3-3 25, Evan Meberg 2-6 1-2 5, Jaheim Best 0-4 0-0 0, Thomas Munoz 2-6 0-0 6, Din Kastrat 0-0 0-0 0, Xavier Townes 3-9 1-4 7, Jarris Bertram 1-5 2-2 4, Tyler Brown 0-3 0-1 0, Justin Price 1-3 0-0 2, Sean Peter-Akor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-72 13-18 69.
SALEM CC (3-0): Jarrell Little 5-18 0-0 10, Saaid Lee 6-10 3-4 17, Zyaire Gibson 6-17 0-0 17, Nasseem Wright 12-16 1-2 25, Stefan Phillips 4-7 2-2 10, Jaiayre Wright 4-5 2-2 10, Qua Smith 4-5 1-2 9, Lenar Anderson 0-5 2-4 2, Idris Rines 1-6 0-3 2, Michael Goodwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-89 11-16 102.
| Bergen | 26 | 43- | 69 |
| Salem CC | 44 | 58- | 102 |
3-point goals: Bergen 8-21 (Ford 0-1, Rivera 0-2, Polanco 6-9, Meberg 0-2, Munoz 2-4, Townes 0-2, Price 0-1); Salem CC 7-37 (Little 0-10, Lee 2-2, Gibson 5-16, Phillips 0-3, Anderson 0-3, Rines 0-3). Rebounds: Bergen 33 (Townes 8); Salem CC 59 (J. Wright 12, Phillips 9, N. Wright 7). Technical fouls: N. Wright. Total fouls: Bergen 16, Salem CC 18.
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| Camden | 3-0 | 3-0 | 2-0 |
| SALEM CC | 3-0 | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| Union | 3-0 | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| Northampton | 2-0 | 4-0 | |
| Montgomery | 1-0 | 1-1 | |
| Ocean | 2-1 | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Atlantic Cape | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 1-1 | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Brookdale | 2-2 | 2-4 | 0-2 |
| Delaware County | 1-2 | 1-2 | |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-2 |
| Bergen | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-1 |
| Passaic | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-2 |
| Luzerne | 0-0 | 1-1 | |
| Thaddeus Stevens | 0-1 | 1-2 | |
| Harrisburg Area | 0-1 | 0-3 | |
| Sussex | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-1 |
| Philadelphia | 0-3 | 1-3 |
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