Mighty Oaks should remain No. 1 in country into new year after rout of Sussex in final game of 2025
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
NEWTON — When you haven’t lost all season and don’t play again until after the first of the year, of course it’s going to be a joyous noel.
The top-ranked Salem CC basketball team wrapped up the 2025 portion of its season 16-0 after routing Sussex 91-51 Saturday. With no game now until early January – when they have a chance to get even stronger with a new player in the mix – the Mighty Oaks should remain the No. 1 team in JUCO Division III into the next calendar year.
“The record is better than I thought, the team is exactly what I thought,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “We’re playing great basketball. I think we’re four in the nation in scoring (second in total points). I’ve got a point guard (Saaid Lee) who’s No. 2 in assists in the nation. I’ve got the No. 1 team in nation. I think I’ve got three of the best players in the nation (in Lee, Nasseem Wright and Jarrell Little), one coming in who’s going to be really hard to deny as well.
“(People thought) there’s only one basketball, there’s no way they’re going to work out, and 16 games later we shut that down.”
The Mighty Oaks’ last game of the calendar year can best be described as a trap game. Salem was undefeated, it was playing a team that was 5-10, in another road game, and some players had to be early risers just to meet the bus for the noon tip.
“It was a dangerous game, man,” Green said. “If one kid missed the bus, you’ve got a whole different game going on.”
But through it all the coach thought his team played “pretty solid.” They scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed. Four players scored in double figures, one just missed, and every player scored.
“That’s important for longevity,” Green said. “We want to win the league. We want to go to the nationals again and have another crack at it. At the nationals you play every day so it’s very important (to have everybody involved).”
One of the biggest qualities of this year’s Salem team is an uncanny knack for knowing when to turn it up a notch. The Skylanders got within three with five minutes left in the half, then Salem went on an 18-3 run to the horn, not allowing a field goal, to take control of the game.
Little led the Mighty Oaks with 23 points, four steals and four assists. Lee had 17 points, four assists and three steals. Idris Rines continues to shine off the bench, going for 15 points and eight rebounds. Wright had 12 points with seven rebounds, three steals, three assists and a pair of blocked shots. Qua Smith grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
“I think that’s just our style,” Green said. “We try to wear on you. We try to wear you down and we try to send more bodies after it so we can keep it going. We just try to wear people down with numbers. Although we only have nine right now, we have nine who are really capable of producing. I think it’s just a testament to the type of guys we recruit.”
The Mighty Oaks figure to get even stronger when Nayeem Johnson becomes eligible in the second semester. Green describes him as “kind of like Saaid and Jarrell rolled into one.” Johnson played a big role in handing the Mighty Oaks one of their few losses in 2025 when he played for Montco.
ACORNS: In case you’re wondering, they went 32-4 in the 2025 calendar year … The Mighty Oaks are off until Jan. 6 when they return to host current No. 7 Union, a team they lost to in the regular season last year, but beat in the national tournament.
SALEM CC 91, SUSSEX 51
SALEM CC (16-0): Jarrell Little 9-19 2-2 23, Saaid Lee 6-10 5-6 17, Idris Rines 4-8 6-6 15, Nasseem Wright 6-13 0-2 12, Jahseir Sayles 3-5 2-2 9, Zyaire Gibson 2-6 0-0 5, Qua Smith 2-4 0-0 5, Stefan Phillips 0-1 3-4 3; Michael Goodwin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 33-67 18-22 91.
SUSSEX (5-10): Not reported.
| Salem CC | 45 | 46- | 91 |
| Sussex | 27 | 24- | 51 |
3-point goals: Salem CC 7-19 (Little 3-7, Rines 1-3, N. Wright 0-1, Sayles 1-3, Gibson 1-3, Smith 1-1 , Phillips 0-1); Sussex NA; Rebounds: Salem CC 43 (Smith 11, Rines 8, N. Wright 7); Sussex NA.
Total fouls: Salem CC 13; Sussex NA.
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| SALEM CC (1) | 10-0 | 16-0 | 10-0 |
| Northampton (2) | 8-0 | 13-1 | |
| Union (7) | 8-1 | 10-2 | 7-1 |
| Ocean (RV) | 8-2 | 8-4 | 5-3 |
| Montgomery (10) | 4-1 | 7-2 | |
| Brookdale | 11-3 | 11-5 | 7-3 |
| Camden | 6-3 | 9-4 | 6-3 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 6-4 | 6-7 | 5-5 |
| Atlantic Cape | 4-5 | 5-6 | 3-6 |
| Bergen | 6-8 | 7-9 | 2-6 |
| Thaddeus Stevens | 2-4 | 5-7 | |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 4-10 | 5-11 | 1-6 |
| Sussex | 3-9 | 5-11 | 3-8 |
| Passaic | 3-10 | 3-11 | 3-8 |
| Delaware County | 2-8 | 3-11 | |
| Harrisburg Area | 1-5 | 2-10 | |
| Philadelphia | 1-8 | 6-8 | |
| Luzerne | 0-6 | 3-10 |
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 91, Sussex 51
Passaic 63, RCSJ-Gloucester 58
Union 68, Bergen 65
Delaware Tech 89, Essex 78
Cecil 79, Delaware County 64
Middlesex at Montgomery County (Md.)
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