Made for this

No. 2 Salem CC makes it five in a row with hard-fought win over host Penn Highlands, Mighty Oaks show moxie pulling away in final six minutes

PENN HIGHLANDS TURKEY CLASSIC
Sunday’s Games
Sandhills 115, Bryant & Stratton 58
Salem CC 80, Penn Highlands 70

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – When Mike Green went looking to replace all the players who moved on from last year’s national tournament run – and there were a lot of them – he recruited for games just like this.

It was toughness the Salem CC coach went looking forward and the players he signed showed how much of it they had down the stretch Sunday to lift the second-ranked Mighty Oaks past Penn Highlands 80-70 in the Black Bears’ Turkey Classic.

The Mighty Oaks (5-0) lost an 11-point halftime lead in the second half and had their point guard foul out with 13 minutes left, but after getting back into the game they outscored their hosts 17-4 over the last five minutes to win going away.

“This team has a toughness about them,” Green said. “I think last year around this time they would have lost that game until we got Akeem (Taylor) and Jyheim (Spencer). This team has a lot of toughness, and it shows.”

Jerrell Little was particularly strong down the stretch. He had the bulk of the Mighty Oaks’ points in the closing run and finished with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Nasseem Wright had 17 points and 13 rebounds and made the all-tournament team. Saaid Lee had four points, but was big on hustle points (three rebounds, three assists, four steals) and Zyaire Gibson had nine points, three rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

“It was a collective (effort),” Green said. “They posed a threat to us and I said that coming here, and our guys stepped in there and battled. This team has a nastiness about them and it’s a good nastiness. We did a good job recruiting. We’ve got to see it through.”

Top photo: The Salem CC basketball team talks things over Sunday during a second-half timeout down by four with eight minutes to play

Salem CC 80, Penn Highlands 70

SALEM CC (5-0): Jahseir Sayles 1-3 0-0 2, Jerrell Little 8-16 7-10 23, Saaid Lee 1-3 2-2 4, Jaiayre Wright 0-2 0-0 0, Qua Smith 1-3 1-2 3, Zyaire Gibson 2-8 3-5 9, Nasseem Wright 7-12 3-6 17, Lenar Anderson 3-4 0-0 8, Idris Rines 1-5 2-2 5, Stefan Phillips 2-3 3-4 9. Totals 26-60 21-29 80.
PENN HIGHLANDS (1-6): Keyshawn White 2-5 0-0 4, Alex Moise 1-2 0-0 2, Wes Simon 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Ross 2-4 3-4 7, Ahmad Boone 4-10 4-4 12, B.J. Lavender 7-20 1-2 18, Jay Brumbaugh 1-3 2-3 5, Manny Brannon 0-0 2-2 2, Des Handon 5-19 3-4 13, Victor Raymond 3-5 1-2 7. Totals 25-68 16-21 70.

Salem CC4535-80
Penn Highlands3436-70

3-point goals: Salem CC 7-23 (Sayles 0-2, Little 0-4, Gibson 2-7, Anderson 2-2, Rines 1-4, Phillips 2-3); Penn Highlands 4-24 (White 0-1, Boone 0-4, Lavender 3-12, Brumbaugh 1-2, Handon 0-5). Rebounds: Salem CC 40 (Little 6, N. Wright 13). Penn Highlands (White 9, Raymond 9). Total fouls: Penn Highlands 22. All-Tournament: Nasseem Wright, Salem; B.J. Lavender, Penn Highlands; Isaiah Upchurch, Sandhills; Donovan Barnes, Bryant & Stratton.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION IIIR19ALLGSAC
Camden4-04-02-0
Union4-04-03-0
SALEM CC3-05-01-0
Northampton3-05-0
Montgomery2-02-1
Atlantic Cape2-12-11-1
Ocean2-22-21-1
RCSJ-Cumberland1-11-11-0
RCSJ-Gloucester2-22-31-2
Brookdale2-22-40-2
Bergen2-32-31-1
Delaware County1-31-3
Passaic1-31-31-2
Luzerne0-11-2
Thaddeus Stevens0-22-3
Harrisburg Area0-20-4
Sussex0-30-40-2
Philadelphia0-41-4

SUNDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 80, Penn Highlands 70
Morris 59, Howard CC 55
Camp CC 51, Essex 37
Raritan Valley 88, Cecil 64
Richard Bland at Harcum
Delaware Tech at Montgomery (Md.)

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Ocean at Salem
Prince George’s at Essex
Union at Atlantic Cape
Luzerne at Sussex
Harrisburg Area at Allegany (Md.)
Delaware County at Thaddeus Stevens
Philadelphia at Brookdale
Morris at Lackawanna
RCSJ-Cumberland at Northampton
Camden at Montgomery
Bergen at Passaic

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