Salem CC guaranteed to finish higher than last year at national tournament after wearing down No. 12 Joliet in second half, faces No. 1 seed Northern Essex next in battle of 30-win teams

JUCO DIVISION III TOURNAMENT
At Herkimer, N.Y.
Thursday’s games
No. 11 Ridgewater 83, No. 6 Montgomery County 66, comp. of susp. game
No. 5 DC Eastfield 78, No. 8 Northampton 66
No. 6 Montgomery County 84, No. 7 Dutchess 74
No. 1 Northern Essex 99, No. 9 Genesee 78
No. 4 Salem CC 91, No. 12 Joliet 78
No. 10 DC Richland 67, No. 2 Riverland 64
No. 3 DC North Lake 89, No. 11 Ridgewater 82
Friday’s Games
Genesee (N.Y.) vs. Joliet, noon
Riverland (Minn.) vs. Ridgewater (Minn.), 2 p.m.
Northern Essex (31-3) vs. Salem CC (31-2), 5 p.m.
DC Richland (Texas) vs. DC North Lake (Texas), 7 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

HERKIMER, N.Y. – To see Zyaire Gibson off the basketball floor or away from his Salem CC teammates you might think he was the quietest player on the team. The way he quietly sits in his locker stall. Or the way he moves past the crowd on his way out of the gym.

So it might have looked so out of character to see the freshman guard pumping his fist jubilantly in the air as he was running back down the floor Thursday after draining a 3-pointer in one of the biggest moments of the game.

Don’t be fooled. “He’s fiery, man, he’s fiery,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said.

Actually, the 3 that brought out that fire was part of a pair he hit on consecutive shots down the stretch to salt away the Mighty Oaks’ 91-78 victory over upset-minded Joliet JC in the quarterfinals of the JUCO Division III national tournament here.

The Mighty Oaks had taken the lead earlier in the second half, but the 12th-seeded Wolves wouldn’t go quietly. The Mid-Atlantic champions had drawn within three with 3:08 to play when Gibson fired his salvos. His first 3 in the exchange stretched Salem’s lead to six, Saaid Lee hit two free throws to make it 84-76 and then Gibson hit his emotional 3 from the left corner to make it 87-76 with 2:15 to go.

That’s when he sprinted back down the floor with his fist pumping all the way. When he decides to pull back the curtain, he said, “depends on the situation.” The situation Thursday demanded it.

“We were in crunch time, the team needed me to hit a shot, and I came up big,” he said. “The adrenaline in the moment, it felt good, I had to emphasize it. We work on those type shots coming down in transition. My team trusts me to hit it. Make or miss, they’re gonna tell me it’s a good shot, so I pulled up, I shot it, it went in.”

“He always brings the energy, whether he’s rolling or not rolling,” Nasseem Wright said. “Once he hits a couple shots his emotion is going to start to show. He definitely shows emotion. Especially when he hits a 3 like that, the emotions are gonna come out, for sure.”

The win moved fourth-seeded Salem (31-2) into a semifinal showdown with top-seeded Northern Essex (31-3) at 5 p.m. Friday. As part of the Final Four, the Mighty Oaks are guaranteed a better finish than they had here a year ago (fifth) and are two wins away from their first national championship.

The Mighty Oaks wore down another opponent in the second half like it has all year, running nine players in and out of the game to the six the Wolvers (16-12) generally play. Seven of their players saw at least 20 minutes and only one, Wright, played more than 30 (33). Joliet’s five starters averaged 35 minutes with one going 39 and another going 40.

“They played six guys,” Wright said. “You saw yesterday they only played six guys, so we knew they were burned out even before the game. Their whole team was in the training room, so we knew they were burned out. We knew they were going to come out and fight, but I don’t think anybody in nation is more conditioned than us and ready for the moment like us, so I think that was the turning point.”

Even Joliet coach Danny Turner conceded his team was wore out by the end of the game.

“We got worn down,” he said. “We just couldn’t guard any more off the dribble. Give Salem credit with their quickness and their excellent guard play. Their execution just put a lot of pressure on us.  We’re not deep at all, we usually play 7-8 guys at all, so that kind of hurt us, the fatigue factor.

“The thing I was impressed with the most about Salem was their composure. Very poised team. Well coached. They didn’t get rattled at all.”

The Mighty Oaks trailed by five with 15:53 to play, then flipped the switch. They immediately embarked on an 18-2 run to take the lead and scored 57 points in the second half. They were 8-from-11 from the field in that stretch and wound up shooting 68 percent in the half and 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

They shot only 39 percent from the floor in the first half, 4-of-15 from 3-point range, and trailed by one at the break. Their two big 3-point shooters, Gibson and Jarrell Little, were both 1-for-5 from behind the arc.

Stef Phillips, the only player on the roster who played in last year’s national tournament, got the Mighty Oaks going with a 3 from the right corner and then it was on.

Wright was particularly active in the second half, hitting all six of his shots, scoring 12 of his 14 points, grabbing six of his 11 rebounds and dealing three assists. He followed Phillips’ 3 by double juggling a rebound over Joliet’s Jeff Fleming and finishing it off with a uncontested dunk to tie the game. Before the run was over, he swooped in to steal a rebound and feed Saaid Lee for a layup and then whipped a pass cross court to Idris Rines for a layup to make it 58-49 with 12:30 to play.

“I came out flat, getting the jitters out, I’d never been in the national tournament, but I had my teammates and coaching picking me up, so I knew I was going to get rolling sooner or later,” he said. “One thing about me, defense always led to my offense, so I knew once I woke up defensively, got some big rebounds, my offense was going to come.

“That’s what coach Mike was telling me, don’t worry about none of the (old) plays. The first half is over, we have a half of basketball to play. I knew once I got a couple defensive stops and some big rebounds my offense was going to come.”

Twelve was a big number for the Mighty Oaks in the second half. Little scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the half and Lee had 12 of his 15 in the half. 

“We do that all the time,” Gibson said. “We were going to figure it out. We did figure it out.”

SALEM CC 91, JOLIET JC 78
JOLIET JC (16-12): Ricky Hill 6-18 0-0 13, Jyaveion Green 5-10 0-0 11, Levi Goad 5-14 2-2 13, Jeff Fleming 6-12 1-1 13, Victor Yatou 9-18 2-4 20, Kareem Parker 1-3 0-0 2, Dominick Hale 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Dillon 0-0 0-0 0, Kaden Faber 1-1 2-2 4, Gabe Patterson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 34-79 7-9 78.
SALEM CC (31-2): Jarrell Little 7-13 1-1 17, Saaid Lee 5-8 3-4 15, Zyaire Gibson 5-11 1-1 14, Nasseem Wright 7-9 0-0 14, Stefan Phillips 2-6 2-2 7, Jahseir Sayles 0-0 0-0 0, Qua Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Nayeem Johnson 5-14 3-6 13, Idris Rines 4-5 0-1 9. Totals 36-67 10-25 91.

Top photo: The Salem CC players rush over the bracket board to move their nameplate into the semifinals after taking down Joliet 91-78 Thursday.

Mighty Oaks draw Cinderella Joliet in national tournament opener after 12th seed beats No. 5 DC Eastfield; Montco game suspended with 6:33 left in second half due to power outage

JUCO DIVISION III TOURNAMENT
At Herkimer (N.Y.) CC
No. 9 Genesee (N.Y.) 68, No. 8 Northampton (Pa.) 62
No. 12 Joliet (Ill.) 84, No. 5 DC Eastfield (Texas) 83
No. 10 DC Richland (Texas) 63, No. 7 Dutchess (N.Y.) 58
No. 11 Ridgewater (Minn.) 64, No. 6 Montgomery County (Pa.) 61, 2nd half, susp.
Thursday’s games
Resumption of Montco-Ridgewater game, 9 a.m.
No. 8 Northampton vs. No. 5 DC Eastfield, 10 a.m.
No. 7 Dutchess (N.Y.) vs. No. 6 Montco (Pa.)-No. 11 Ridgewater (Minn.) loser, noon
No. 1 Northern Essex (Mass.) vs. No. 9 Genesee (N.Y.), 2 p.m.
No. 4 Salem CC vs. No. 12 Joliet (Ill.), 4 p.m.
No. 2 Riverland (Minn.) vs. No. 10 DC Richland (Texas), 6 p.m.
No. 3 DC North Lake (Texas) vs. No. 6 Montgomery County (Pa.)-No. 11 Ridgewater (Minn.) winner, 8 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

HERKIMER, N.Y. — It’s funny how things have a way of turning out sometimes.

A couple hours before the selection show for the JUCO Division III national tournament came on the air, the Salem CC coaches had a replay of a Joliet Junior College game playing in the office. The Wolves were in as a district champion and if the Mighty Oaks were getting an at-large bid, the Mid-Atlantic champions might be a team they’d have to play.

Not that the Mighty Oaks had any idea who they were going to play or how the seedings were going to fall, but guess who they play in their tournament opener Thursday?

Joliet, the No. 12 seed with the weakest overall record in the field, put down fifth-seeded Dallas College Eastfield 84-83 Wednesday on a layup with 3.5 seconds left after missing an open layup moments earlier that could have put it away.

“We’re a team of destiny,” Wolves guard Ricky Hill said. “We play a lot of good teams, we played a lot of close games. I don’t really feel our record (16-11) reflects who we are as a team.”

Indeed, as the only Division III JUCO in Illinois, the Wolves played a schedule largely of Division I and Division II teams. They’ve even knocked off some of the bigger names on that level this year.

The Salem coaches watched the game from the jump, setting up shop seven rows behind the Eastfield bench. The players joined them after halftime. They’d seen all the teams on film. Seeing them live confirmed what they suspected.

“Good team, really good team,” Green said. “They’ve got a really good front six or seven that look like they’ve been playing together for years. Very well put together. Play well for each other.”

“We’re going to have to play hard,” guard Zyaire Gibson said after watching the game.

By the same token, Joliet coach Danny Turner has been impressed with the Mighty Oaks’ guard play. Their top five scorers – all averaging double figures – are all guards. The top three – Jarrell Little, Nasseem Wright and Saaid Lee – all have more than 130 assists apiece. Gibson (87) and Little (80) lead the team in 3-pointers.  

“Their guards are extremely good, high IQ, so we’re going to have to do something to contain their guards and keeping them from executing, and that’s either in transition or in their half-court set,” Joliet coach Danny Turner said.

Last year here the Mighty Oaks won their first-round game, but expended an awful lot of energy to do and didn’t have anything left to face second-seeded Mohawk Valley in the quarterfinals. Green can’t count on that happening to the Wolves this year.

“I don’t know; it’s a different team,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of conditioning they’re in. But they’ve been playing like that all year, been playing six or seven guys. They might be fine. That’s how they play. It’s tough on their legs, but it’s championship time, it’s win or go home, so I’m sure it’s mind over matter and they’re a champion so I’m sure they’re thinking mind over matter.”

The Wolves did use a lot of energy. They held a 12-point lead with 8:42 to play, but found themselves in a dogfight after Reggie McDonald got the Harvester Bees (20-10) to within one on a 3-pointer with 2:04 to play.

Joliet had a chance to extend their lead with less than 25 seconds left, but Hill missed a wide open layup down the lane. Eastfield’s Aiden White grabbed the rebound and brought it all the way back, finishing the play with a layup to put the Bees up 83-82 with 19.5 seconds to go.

“It was one of those things that was like, ‘I wish I could have that back,’ but you’ve got to keep playing and make the right play the next play,” Hill said. “Shout out to Kareem (Parker) and Levi (Goad) for getting that and making it up for me because we’re a team and we’re just going to ride out with each other.”

The Wolves did get another chance. They worked the clock down, Hill missed a 3-pointer, but Parker grabbed the rebound and laid it back up to give Joliet an 84-83 lead with 3.5 seconds to go. Eastfield’s Braydon Campbell fired off a shot from midcourt at the buzzer that missed and the Wolves had the first real upset of the tournament.

“I think the jitters are out now,” Turner said. “The guys were a little nervous coming in. We did some uncharacteristic things on both sides of the ball, but now we’re settled down. Definitely after a win like this, against a very, very well-coached team.”

JOLIET 84, DC EASTFIELD 83
JOLIET (16-11): Ricky Hill 8-14 10-11 27, Jyaveion Green 4-11 2-2 13, Levi Goad 4-7 4-4 15, Jeff Fleming 4-8 0-1 8, Victor Yatou 1-8 5-8 7, Kareem Parker 4-5 2-2 10, Josh Dillon 0-0 0-0 0, Kaden Faber 1-1 0-0 2, Gabe Patterson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 27-56 23-28 84.
DALLAS COLLEGE EASTFIELD (20-9): Braydon Campbell 5-15 5-5 15, Aiden White 5-13 0-1 12, Ricky Wilson 7-11 1-315, David Uwalaka 6-12 1-2 16, Martez James 5-9 4-5 14, Reggie McDonald 2-3 0-0 6, Montreal Chalmers 0-1 0-0 0, Martin Nicholas 2-5 0-0 4, Vuk Vukadinovic 0-0 1-2 1, Nash Beard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 12-18 83.

Top photo: Salem CC coaches Mike Green (R) and Marvin Kilgore take in the action from Wednesday’s Joliet-DC Eastfield game in the Division III JUCO national tournament. The Mighty Oaks will play Joliet in their first tournament game Thursday.

Salem CC’s Phillips brings national championship tournament experience to a roster full of new players who’ve never been here before

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

UTICA, N.Y. – Stef Phillips took one step into the gym for Salem CC’s first practice at the national tournament venue Tuesday and it all came rushing back to him. The sights, the sounds, the smells of last year’s national tournament flooded his senses.

He even saw things in his mind’s eye that weren’t there yet – specifically, the big bracket board on the other side of the floor where the Mighty Oaks planted their logo after winning their first-round game.

On a team of virtually all new players, Phillips holds a unique position. He’s the only player on the roster who has ever faced what the Mighty Oaks are about to experience this week in the JUCO Division III national tournament in nearby Herkimer, N.Y.

“All of it’s familiar,” the sophomore post said before stepping into the banquet that recognized the 12 teams participating in the event. “You always remember your first experience coming to the national tournament. The only thing I don’t remember is the food, so hopefully I’ll remember that today.”

A year ago they were all new, as the Mighty Oaks made their first national tournament appearance in school history. When most of the players left for greater pursuits or just didn’t come back, Phillips found himself as the team’s only returnee. He didn’t feel left behind – he was planning to stay two years all along – but thought he’d have “somebody else” back with him.

Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green agreed “it’s important,” on a team with so many new players, to have a player who has been there done that, and he’s glad Phillips is in that role. Because Phillips is the only one who’s been here, it’s only natural the players have picked his brain about the experience. Interestingly, a lot of the questions had to do with the banquet. They’re just eager to play.

“This is a different group of kids,” Phillips said. “These kids are ultra confident. They’re not afraid to be themselves. I try to tell them to take it all in, enjoy the moment because you don’t know when you’re going to get an opportunity in here. You don’t want to take it for granted.”

The game will come soon enough. As the No. 4 seed, the Mighty Oaks (30-2) have a first-round bye and won’t play until 4 p.m. Thursday. They’ll meet the winner of Wednesday’s 2 p.m. game between No. 5 Dallas College Eastfield and No. 12 Joliet.

All the players were curious, but freshman Idris Rines was the most inquisitive.

“I look at Stef as a big brother; my first practice at Salem, Stef took me (as his drill partner),” Rines said. “I didn’t want to come in here blind. It’s not nerves or anything like that. I just want to know the layout, what I’m going into, how it is and what to expect. It was everything that Stef explained.”

The players followed their captain’s lead all the way to the national tournament.

“He was the first player off the bus, walked away, knew where to go,” Rines said. “So we all just followed him.”

NOTES: The Mighty Oaks will work out at Utica University Wednesday before heading to Herkimer to watch Eastfield-Joliet game … Green has no preference of the opponent. “It’s a tournament of champions; they’re all champions,” Green said. “I worry about my team, making sure we’re locked in and ready to go” … Banquet organizers drew door prizes for a lucky player on each team. Qua Smith had his number drawn for Salem. He won a Gatorade sports bottle.