Nasseem Wright one-ups his coach with triple-double as No. 1 Salem CC remains undefeated; women postpone another game, vow to complete season
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — Nasseem Wright did something Thursday night not even his head coach did when he was in college, and Mike Green played Division I basketball.
Wright sent everyone scrambling for the archives after going for the first triple-double of the Green Era, leading the undefeated top-ranked Mighty Oaks past Atlantic Cape for the second time this season, 101-88.
Wright scored 14 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished 10 assists. He had eight, nine and five in the second half. He also had three steals and four blocked shots, coming that close to a 5-by-5.
It’s the Mighty Oaks’ first triple-double since Lamar Woody went for 39 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a 93-58 win over Sussex on Feb. 8, 2020.
“I was knowing (he was close),” Wright said. “I wasn’t counting individual assists, points or rebounds, but I knew I was aggressive on the rebounds and finding my open teammates. I ain’t going to lie, the second half especially, I felt like I had a lot of assists, so I was kind of knowing in my head. But I already was having a high rebounding game so I kind of had a thought (it might happen).”
Green came close to a triple-double “a lot of times” during his decorated college career that spanned Towson and top-ten Butler, but he never completed the feat. He went for 19, 6 and 12 against Notre Dame his second game at Butler and had lines of 11/12/9 (Detroit Mercy), 24/13/8 (Milwaukee) and 16/8/10 (Youngstown State) in 2008.
“Yeah, that’s crazy,” Wright said. “That’s definitely bragging rights.
“Me and Coach MG, we have like a funny bond off the court, so it’s definitely a one-up on him. I’m definitely going to talk to him about that one.”
Green wasn’t jealous at all. In fact, he was genuinely happy for his freshman guard.
“We’ve got to get him a graphic drawn up; that’s a big deal, not normal,” Green said. “It’s a testament to his work, his skill set. He’s very versatile. And it came in a game that was needed. It was no game he was hunting for it; he really did all those things within the game. It’s a testament to him.
“I’m not jealous, heck no. We needed it. We needed it. When I got close, I got close, but we needed it. He did his job and we needed everything he did. Every rebound, every pass, we needed it, and he delivered.”
Wright never had a triple-double in high school, but he twice came within one assist of pulling it off this season — against Thaddeus Stevens Dec. 4 and Ocean Dec. 18. He’s now averaging 17.4 mpg, a team-high 8.2 rig and 4.2 assists.
His teammates were just as excited about the feat as he was.
“I’m proud of ‘Seem,” freshman Idris Rines said. “Last year for me in high school I got my school’s first-ever triple-double. Seem’s a hard worker. Seem’s been talking about it. And Seem’s been on pace for a lot of them this year. Even the first game time we played Atlantic Cape he almost got a triple-double with eight blocks. I’m proud of ‘Seem. I’m going to text him later, but it’s well deserved. He brings our energy. That’s why he’s our captain.”
Nayeem Johnson led the Mighty Oaks (22-0) in scoring with 20 points in 29 minutes off the bench. He was 7-of-12 from the floor and also had four rebounds and two assists. Jarrell Little had 18 points, 12 in the second half; Saaid Lee had 16, Zyaire Gibson 12 on four 3-pointers, and Rines had 11.
Johnson scored six points in a 17-2 Salem run over the final 3:13 of the first half, holding the Buccaneers (7-11) to just two free throws, to erase a four-point deficit and take a 52-41 halftime lead. Before the outburst there were eight ties and four lead changes in the half.
“I know when I come in the game I just have to either pick up the slack or keep up what they’re doing; I’ve got to produce,” he said. “It was just another night for me to help the team as much as I can.”
The Bucs wouldn’t go away and cut it to 78-77 with 7:14 to play, then the Mighty Oaks hit four 3-pointers over the next four minutes and moved back comfortably ahead. Rines hit two of them, one with 6:20 left to make it 81-77 and the other with 3:56 to break an 81-81 tie and touch off a 13-2 that put the Mighty Oaks on top for good.
“I think MG just trusts me, my teammates just trust me,” said Rines, who hit a pair of big 3s against the Bucs in the season opener that started the Mighty Oaks on this trek. “I was on the bench when their big like changed his gameplan to stop guarding the 3-point line and I just tried to take advantage of my shooting ability and what he was giving me.”
SALEM CC 101, ATLANTIC CAPE 88
ATLANTIC CAPE (7-11): Logan Sparks 4-8 4-6 12, Quinn Baumann 0-0 0-0 0, Corey Thomas 1-2 0-0 2, Amin Hines 5-12 0-0 13, Olin Knox 8-14 2-6 18, Jaleel Clark 1-3 0-0 3, Jayden Lopez 1-2 0-0 2, Sahmir Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Carlos Rodriguez 7-17 6-8 22, Justin Moore 1-4 0-0 2, Salou Hane 1-4 0-0 3, Christian Ferguson 4-8 1-1 11. Totals 33-74 13-21 88.
SALEM CC (22-0): Jarrell Little 4-16 8-10 18, Saaid Lee 5-12 4-6 16, Zaire Gibson 4-7 0-0 12, Nasseem Wright 6-8 2-5 14, Stefan Phillips 1-4 0-0 3, Jahseir Sayles 0-0 1-2 1, Jaiayre Wright 1-3 4-4 6, Nayeem Johnson 7-12 4-6 20, Idris Rines 4-7 1-2 11, Mike Goodwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 24-35 101.
| Atlantic Cape | 41 | 47- | 88 |
| Salem CC | 52 | 49- | 101 |
3-point goals: Atlantic Cape 9-18 (Hines 3-6, Clark 1-1, Lopez 0-1, Rodriguez 2-4, Hane 1-4, Ferguson 2-2); Salem CC 13-28 (Little 2-8, Lee 2-3, Gibson 4-6, Phillips 1-4, Johnson 2-3, Rines 2-4). Rebounds: Atlantic Cape 35 (Knox 13, Sparks 8). Salem CC 37 (N. Wright 13). Total fouls: Atlantic Cape 21, Salem CC 19.
Region XIX Standings
| DIVISION III | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| SALEM CC (1) | 9-0 | 22-0 | 17-0 |
| Northampton (6) | 11-1 | 17-2 | |
| Union (5) | 12-2 | 16-5 | 11-2 |
| Montgomery (12) | 9-2 | 12-3 | |
| Brookdale | 13-3 | 14-6 | 9-4 |
| Camden | 8-2 | 11-7 | 7-6 |
| Ocean | 10-4 | 12-7 | 8-5 |
| Bergen | 11-7 | 12-10 | 5-9 |
| RCSJ-Cumberland | 6-7 | 7-11 | 6-8 |
| Atlantic Cape | 6-8 | 7-11 | 5-9 |
| RCSJ-Gloucester | 5-11 | 7-15 | 1-11 |
| Thaddeus Stevens | 3-8 | 7-11 | |
| Sussex | 4-12 | 7-15 | 4-10 |
| Passaic | 4-14 | 4-16 | 3-11 |
| Harrisburg Area | 2-8 | 3-14 | |
| Philadelphia | 2-10 | 7-10 | |
| Delaware County | 2-10 | 3-15 | |
| Luzerne | 1-9 | 4-15 |
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem 101, Atlantic Cape 88
Monroe 109, Essex 69
Bergen 86, RCSJ-Cumberland 66
Northampton 85, Harrisburg Area 53
Rockland 87, Union 62
Ulster at Raritan Valley
Bucks 76, Delaware County 74
Ocean 104, Sussex 78
Mercer at Morris
Misericordia JV at Thaddeus Stevens
Brookdale 60, Camden 49
Baltimore City CC 71, Delaware Tech 60
Montgomery 91, Philadelphia 79
Lackawanna 93, Orange 74
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Luzerne at Thaddeus Stevens
Union at RCSJ-Cumberland
Northampton at Monroe-Bronx
Sussex at Philadelphia
Mercer at Orange
Harrisburg Area at Delaware County
Delaware Tech at Middlesex
Monroe at Harcum
Montgomery at Passaic
Camden at Atlantic Cape
Raritan Valley at Westchester
Morris at Essex
Women’s game ppd.
CARNEYS POINT — The Salem CC women postponed the third of their last four games due to a limited roster, but multiple officials in the program said the Mighty Oaks are committed to playing a complete season.
The Mighty Oaks were scheduled to play RCSJ-Gloucester at DuPont Fieldhouse, but the game was moved to a date when the team would have a deeper roster. They played Tuesday’s region counter against Mercer with six players and finished with four on the floor.
They are planning to play at Lackawanna Saturday and hope to have seven, possibly eight, players available.
They have been hit by a spate of injuries that has decimated an already shorthanded roster. They had four players hurt during the game against Hagerstown and postponed the next two games against Harcum and Middlesex that followed.
Both coach Brian Marsh and athletics director Bob Hughes said Thursday the program was committed to playing out the year. Three teams in JUCO Region 19 – Delaware County, Bucks, RCSJ-Cumberland — already have given up the ghost.
“I thought we were getting close to that decision, but I told my players and I told Bob, our AD, I want to play,” Marsh said. “We are shorthanded and a lot of teams that we’ve played this year wouldn’t play Mercer, No. 17 in the country, but I said no, we want to play it
“We’re the type of program that wants to play anyone, anywhere, anytime, so if we keep saying it we’ve got to live by it … They want to finish the season; I want to finish the season. Until it gets to a point where we can’t do anything, I’m going to continue to push this thing and play. We’re going to play this thing as long as we can.
“I don’t want to be a program, unless we absolutely have to, that packs it in. That’s our last option. I don’t want that to be our first option. I told (the players) we’re doing everything we can to save this season.”
All three of the postponed games have been rescheduled for later in the season – Harcum next Thursday and Middlesex and RCSJ-Gloucester in February.
The Mighty Oaks are currently 2-12, 1-6 in Region 19.
Marsh said he wants to get 12 players on the roster for next season. He already has a player from Texas committed and is recruiting South Jersey like never before.
“We’re definitely gonna be here next year,” he said. “I expect a big class.”
Region XIX Women’s Standings
| DIVISION II | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| Harcum (4) | 8-0 | 16-1 | |
| Union (11) | 9-1 | 17-2 | 7-0 |
| Mercer (15) | 7-2 | 13-3 | 3-1 |
| Essex | 7-3 | 13-4 | 5-2 |
| Delaware Tech | 4-5 | 7-12 | |
| Lackawanna | 4-6 | 5-10 | |
| Raritan Valley | 3-6 | 6-12 | 3-4 |
| Middlesex | 2-7 | 7-14 | 1-4 |
| SALEM CC | 1-6 | 2-12 | 0-3 |
| Morris | 0-8 | 0-8 | 0-4 |
Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking
THURSDAY’S GAMES
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, ppd.
Camden 80, Brookdale 42
Monroe 107, Raritan Valley 15
Delaware Tech 84, Baltimore City CC 54
Ocean 75, Sussex 61
Philadelphia at Montgomery
RCSJ-Cumberland at Bergen
Lackawanna 52, Orange 43
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC at Lackawanna
Camden at Atlantic Cape
Mercer at Orange
Montgomery at Passaic
Sussex at Philadelphia
Delaware Tech at Middlesex
Union at Harcum
Raritan Valley at Westchester
Morris at Essex
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