Goodwin may not play major minutes, but his role is not downplayed by Mighty Oaks’ coaches, players

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Mike Goodwin hasn’t gotten a lot of minutes for the Salem CC basketball team this season and the minutes he does get usually come in the closing minutes of a game whose outcome has long been decided.

But the first-year forward is just as important to the Mighty Oaks’ process as any of the other 10 players ahead of him in the box score. And, some say, without his often unseen contributions some of what they are enjoying this year as the No. 1 team in the country might not be possible.

Goodwin is the epitome of a deep reserve. He walked on this year with Penns Grove roots, by way of Kingsway and Lake Nona, Fla., keeps his head down, his nose clean and competes with his teammates every day in practice. His work ethic has been rewarded with late-game minutes in the post.

He’s Mike Green’s kind of player.

“Love him, love him,” the coach said after the Mighty Oaks’ latest win, a 124-70 rout of Passaic Saturday. “He comes to practice, he works, he celebrates his teammates the whole game. And he’s getting better. He’s improved big time. When we got him the glass was empty, now we’re about three-quarters full. It doesn’t show on the court because we’re kind of 5-6 guys at his one position, but he comes to practice every day and competes.

“He works hard. When I recruit I’m not just recruiting everybody I think can score the ball or do something. You need to recruit guys who give you extra numbers in practice, go hard in practice, that’s good on the scout team, guys who want to get better get in the gym, guys when you’re down they can pull you up out of it. Everybody here loves Mike. They respect him. He’s a great asset to our team.”

The 6-foot-4 forward has played in 12 of the Mighty Oaks’ first 21 games for a total of 53 minutes. He has eight points, 14 rebounds and blocked five shots. 

He got five minutes in Saturday’s game and although he didn’t score and felt he could’ve done more than he showed he did well enough on the floor to keep the pieces moving for the Mighty Oaks to set the program’s revival-era single-game scoring record.

“I tried to go out there and work on what I worked on with my coaches,” Goodwin said. “I had the chance to be aggressive and give it my all because I know my teammates are going to give it their all every time.

“I wasn’t looking at the clock. I was more worried about the scoring record and going out there and getting my teammates open so we could get that scoring record.”

Of course, he’d like to play more, but it’s the work that drives him.

There’s something to be said for being on the No. 1 team in the country that has real thoughts of winning it all.

“I’ve got that passion to get better every day,” Goodwin said. “Having that passion and pushing hard every day in practice, it pushes everybody else to be better. Nobody wants to be left behind, so me pushing myself I’m also pushing my peers. I’m just blessed to be on this team and be able to experience this with these guys.

“Obviously, from a selfish perspective, I wonder if I’m gonna get in. Sometimes I want to get in, but I’m in the role I am right now. I don’t feel ashamed, because all these other guys are great. It’s competitive. Being competitive obviously I want to play sometimes, but I’m in the role right now it drives me to get better and me getting better my teammates can get better.”

The players appreciate his effort. They pull hard for him because he works so hard for them.

“One thing about Mike, he’s the first person in the gym every day,” said freshman guard Nasseem Wright, the Mighty Oaks’ second-leading scorer and leading rebounder and shot blocker. “Any of the guys know he’s there for us. He’s a workaholic. He brings the energy. Every game we meet at half-court Mike has the most energy; he’s yelling and screaming. On the bench he’s yelling defense first. Mike is kind of like the energy guy for us and gives us that push and motivation in games like this so we can get him out there.

“On this team we all look at each as equal. None of us look lower at Mike because of his play time. From the guys who play the most minutes to Mike, to us everybody’s equal. It’s important to have guys like that because he knows his role, he knows what he has to do to benefit the team. Without Mike some of this might not be possible.”

No. 1 Salem CC uses big second half to turn back challenge from No. 5 Northampton, makes it 20-0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Salem CC freshman Nasseem Wright has a unique way of describing the way the Mighty Oaks have been able to turn it on in the second half to win basketball games and become the No. 1 team in the nation this year.

Leaning against the locker room wall after another second half surge carried them to victory he simply said, “They always say after the rain and thunder, the sun comes out. We weather the storm good. The second half we came out and I feel like the sun was out. We figured those guys out and we ended up getting them.”

The top-ranked Mighty Oaks were locked in an expectedly tight battle in the first half at No. 5 Northampton Thursday night, but the sun shined brightly on them in the second half and propelled them to a 99-84 win over the Spartans to stand alone atop the Region XIX Division III standings.

It was their 20th win of the season and 14th away from the Dupont Fieldhouse. The Mighty Oaks (20-0) are one of only seven undefeated teams in the JUCO basketball world and the only one in the Division III poll.

“These guys answered the bell,” coach Mike Green said. “We’re a tough team, a really good team. We’ve got players who dig in. These guys are answering the bell. Every tough one they’ve answered the call. It’s been a pleasure thus far.”

The Mighty Oaks outscored their hosts 56-45 in the second half. They shot better than or equal to their first half percentages in all three shooting aspects of the game and had more rebounds, assists and steals in the second half. They ended up leading by as many as 17.

They’ve only been down at halftime twice this season — Atlantic Cape in the opener and Union in the first game back from the break — but they outscored both teams in the second half by double digits. They’ve been outscored in the second half only three times (Penn Highlands, Essex and Camden) and never by more than two points.

Since they’ve come back from the holiday break they’ve outscored their four opponents in the second half by an average of 11.25 points after trailing by 4 and leading by 1, 13 and 4.

“The first half, a lot of time, we respect our opponent so much that we give them too much respect sometimes,” Wright said. “The first half we’re trying to see what they want to get to. We scout them before the game, for sure, but it’s kind of different when you get into the game. Once we came out the second half we got them figured out.”

“We carried them with us in the first half; like, we always start off slow in the first half,” Jerrell Little said. “i think once we clean up the first half I don’t think no team in the nation can beat us at all.”

That second-half sun shined brightest on Wright and Jerrell Little. The Mighty Oaks’ two leading scorers had only four points combined in the first half. Wright was 0-for-5 from the floor and had just one point at halftime, but he went 5-for-6 in the second half and poured in 14 points. Little had 11 in the second half to finish with 14.

“I was in my head,” Wright said. “Yesterday was one of my best friend’s death anniversary so I was kind of in my head the first half, like this ain’t my day. Coming into the half I just locked in mentally, going inside-out and just remembering it’s just basketball, so the second half I came out with more energy.”

The difference in Little’s halves, he said, was “Mike Green getting in my head about me not shooting the ball. I didn’t take any bad shots, but I didn’t take no shots at all, that’s what he was saying. So the second half I turned it on, started listening to him and got my shots up.”

In all, seven Salem players scored in double figures, including all five starters. Saaid Lee, who didn’t mind saying the Mighty Oaks could go undefeated this year, led all scorers with 20 points.

It really was anybody’s game at halftime. The game was tied nine times and had 13 lead changes in the first half. The Mighty Oaks broke the final tie (39-39) with four free throws in the final 37 seconds to take a 43-39 lead into the break and never lost the lead.

While they were waiting for their two top scorers to come around, Stefan Phillips, Nayeem Johnson and Idris Rines were keeping them in it in the first half. Phillips and Rines combined for 13 points from basically the same position, while Johnson had eight.

That didn’t surprise Wright.

“We recruit a bunch of guys that can go and can hold that weight,” he said, “so if me and Jarrell are slacking we got guys who can pick it up until our time comes.”

And because of that those guys’ time might increase in the near future.

“I was deciding their minutes among four people, that might have to stop,” Green said. “I might have to let those guys get more rhythm. We’ll figure it out. Everybody deserves a chance, but those guys who gave like this one will play a little longer.”

ACORNS: There were 51 fouls called in the game, including two techs on the Mighty Oaks. That led to 82 free throws. Salem was 27-of-35 from the line, Northampton 30-of-47 … The Mighty Oaks’ success is getting noticed around South Jersey. New Salem CC football coach Jay Accorsi reports coaches he meets on the recruiting visits often remark on how well the Mighty Oaks are playing. He said one, Willingboro’s Kenny Scott, even mentioned remembering Green when they were in school together at Towson … Some of the players might be thinking about an undefeated season, but Green says it’s a little too early to be thinking like that. “Yeah, it’s only January,” he said. “We’ve got to play February yet. There are some good teams coming up. The thing is we’re getting everybody’s best shot. They’re not the normal team, they’re not the 0-7 team, the 4-9 team. Against us they’re good, they come to play.”

SALEM CC 99, NORTHAMPTON 84
SALEM CC (20-0): Jarrell Little 4-14 5-5 14, Saaid Lee 6-12 7-8 20, Zyaire Gibson 3-5 1-4 10, Nasseem Wright 5-11 5-6 15, Stefan Phillips 5-8 1-2 13, Jahseir Sayles 1-5 0-0 3, Qua Smith 1-1 0-2 2, Nayeem Johnson 3-10 5-7 12, Idris Rines 3-6 3-3 10. Totals 31-72 27-35 99.
NORTHAMPTON (15-2): Terrence Cobb 2-13 3-3 7, Kevin Rucker 6-17 5-7 19, Jahad Marable 6-10 5-10 17, Mehki Shillingford 0-7 7-10 7, Aiden Brown 6-12 5-9 17, Sihaaj Johnson 0-1 1-2 1, Sebastian Fermin 2-3 0-0 6, Julian Bair 0-1 0-0 0, Anniel Pichardo 0-0 0-0 0, Ermil Fleurinvil 0-0 1-2 1, Lamaj Mapp 3-5 3-4 9. Totals 25-69 30-47 84.

Salem CC	43	56-	99
Northampton	39	45-	84

3-point goals: Salem CC 10-26 (Little 1-3, Lee 1-3, Gibson 3-5, Phillips 2-3, Sayles 1-5, Johnson 1-4, Rines 1-3); Northampton 4-19 (Cobb 0-6, Rucker 2-8, Marable 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Fermin 2-3). Rebounds: Salem CC 53 (Johnson 9, Lee 8, Wright 8); Northampton 46 (Marable 11, Brown 10). Technical fouls: Salem CC team (dunking in warmups), Lee. Fouled out: Phillips, Rines. Total fouls: Salem CC 29, Northampton 22.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
SALEM CC (1)	7-0	20-0	15-0
Union (8)	12-1	15-3	11-2
Northampton (5)	9-1	15-2
Brookdale	13-2	13-5	8-3
Camden	7-2	10-6	6-5
Ocean	9-3	11-5	7-4
Montgomery (9)	6-2	9-3
Bergen	10-7	10-10	3-9
RCSJ-Cumberland	6-7	7-10	6-7
Atlantic Cape	5-6	6-9	4-7
Thaddeus Stevens	3-7	6-10
Sussex	4-10	7-13	4-9
RCSJ-Gloucester	4-11	6-15	1-11
Passaic	3-13	3-15	3-10
Delaware County	2-9	3-13
Luzerne	1-7	4-13
Harrisburg Area	1-7	2-13
Philadelphia	1-8	6-8

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem 99, Northampton 84
Sussex 79, Luzerne 77
Camden at Georgian Court JV
Union 80, Ocean 76
Brookdale 85, RCSJ-Gloucester 78
Thaddeus Stevens at Albright JV
Orange CC 87, Morris 83
Prince George’s at Harcum
Montgomery 98, RCSJ-Cumberland 59
Monroe 94, Raritan Valley 64
Bergen 95, Passaic 74
Rockland CC 101, Essex 73
Mercer 69, Westchester CC 62

Region XIX Women’s Standings

DIVISION II	R19	ALL	GSAC
Harcum (4)	7-0	15-1
Union (11)	8-1	16-2	6-0
Mercer (17)	6-2	12-3	3-1
Essex	6-3	11-4	5-2
Delaware Tech	4-4	6-11
Raritan Valley	3-5	6-9	3-3
Lackawanna	2-6	2-10
SALEM CC	1-5	2-11	0-3
Middlesex	1-6	6-13	0-4
Morris	0-6	0-6	0-3

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Harcum at Salem, ppd.
Northampton 58, Camden 43
Passaic 74, Bergen 42
CCBC Essex 92, Raritan Valley 53
RCSJ-Gloucester 82, Brookdale 46
RCSJ-Cumberland at Montgomery
Atlantic Cape 66, Philadelphia 57
Essex at Rockland CC
Middlesex at Morris
Mercer 101, Westchester CC 27

No. 1 Mighty Oaks get strong showing from the bench, stay unbeaten in tuneup for Thursday’s showdown at Northampton

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — The players and coaches were too focused on getting off the floor to really notice, but anyone paying attention in the immediate aftermath of the game and connecting the dots figured out the true No. 1 star Tuesday night.

Top-ranked Salem CC had just polished off RCSJ-Cumberland 99-73 and were heading to the locker room when the staffer playing the music in DuPont Fieldhouse cut loose — for the first time this season — the 2010 DJ Khaled victory anthem “All I Do Is Win (Win, Win, No Matter What).”

The only question is what took them so long to play it?

The Mighty Oaks have been undefeated since Opening Day. They ran their record to 19-0 Tuesday and won, won, won for the 21st straight game going back to last year’s run in the national tournament. They are 35-4 since the start of the second l semester last year. 

Assistant coach Marvin Kilgore made the connection with the song, but the other coaches and players didn’t put it together until pointed out the irony.

“I didn’t even hear it,” Mighty Oaks coach Mike Green said. “I was so caught up in the team.

“Good company. Our guys at the table, our guys coming to watch the game, they’re getting comfortable with winning. I guess it feels good.”

The game had the potential to be a real trap for the Mighty Oaks with their showdown at No. 5 Northampton Thursday that would solidify their hold on the Region 19 Division III standings and top seed in the region/district tournament. But they handled their business with a reasonably complete showing except for a stretch in the last six minutes when they suddenly went cold. But they were comfortably ahead by then and scored enough to turn back any comeback thoughts the Dukes entertained.

“The last six minutes were terrible,” Green said. “We want to play all the way through. We don’t have guys who are just playing garbage minutes; you guys’ minutes matter. I’m trying to get them to understand that. You’re expected to go out there and perform. Any time we score six points in six minutes that’s not performing.”

The starters gave the Mighty Oaks what was expected with four scoring in double figures, but the bench was particularly effective on this night. And that’s a good sign for the remainder of the season where all the tough games lie and teams will be on the hunt to make a name by knocking off the No. 1 team in the country.

The reserves combined to outscore the Dukes’ bench 39-16, grab half the team’s 50 total rebounds and had 10 assists. Ten of the 11 players who got in the game scored and 10 grabbed at least one rebound.

Nayeem Johnson, getting more comfortable with each game since joining the lineup last week, scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes – tied for the second most minutes of any Salem player in the game. One of his buckets was a neat little jumper he shot off-balance while slipping backwards that found nothing but net. 

Qua Smith had 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals 16 minutes. Jaiayre Wright had nine points and three offensive rebounds in 15 minutes, and Idris Rines, usually one of the Mighty Oaks’ first players off the bench, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

“I feel our ability goes so deep in the bench we can have our starters come off and have the same production from our bench guys,” Johnson said. “That’s what we expect every night and me being on that second unit I feel like I’m able to produce like the starting lineup.”

“Everybody has time to start, everybody’s got time to play, so I feel like at the end of the day you’ve got to get your minutes when you can and be ready all the time,” Wright said. “I’m ready for any game and every game (Green) puts me.”

Starting point guard Saaid Lee had a team-high 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Zyaire Gibson had 14 points with four more 3-pointers. Jarrell Little and Nasseem Wright had 13 points apiece.

The Dukes’ Jameel Purnell led all scorers with 29 points, 22 in the first half to keep the Dukes in it.

Johnson had a “different schedule” to joining the Mighty Oaks than last year’s midyear acquisitions Akeem Taylor and Jyheim Spencer, the two game-changers who completed the Mighty Oaks’ personnel puzzle, and has been settling into his place in the rotation since becoming eligible.

He had 10 points and seven rebounds in 30 total minutes his two games prior to playing the Dukes. 

“Today was better than the first two,” Johnson said. “I think it’s all because I’m still getting adjusted to it.  Getting (game) reps is different than getting out in practice. I was so tired that (first game). Today I got my legs back under me a little bit. I’m just getting more adjusted.”

Green has called Johnson a combination of Lee and Little. He knows when the newcomer gets back to form the Mighty Oaks will be even more formidable — regardless if he starts or comes off the bench.

“He’s still trying to find his groove,” Green said. “It’s tough when you join a team that’s undefeated and No. 1 in the nation, but I think he’s turning the corner.

“When you add Nayeem, who would be a star on any team and he’s also a star on ours, that bench is going to be good. We’ve got a really good bench (as it was). When you add Nayeem it just gets that much stronger.”

SALEM CC 99, RCSJ-CUMBERLAND 73
RCSJ-CUMBERLAND (7-9): Jameel Purnell 9-18 10-13 29, Jamaal Davis 7-16 4-6 18, Darell Newton 1-4 0-0 2, Daelan Dickerson 1-10 2-4 4, Vance Brown 1-3 2-3 4, Ahzaeah Woodard 1-3 3-4 5, Levar Price 1-2 0-0 2, Exodus DeJesus 0-1 0-0 0, Zion Ingram-Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Amir Elston 1-4 3-4 5, Jaedyn Greene 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Jack Schuler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 24-34 73.
SALEM CC (19-0): Jarrell Little 4-11 3-6 13, Saaid Lee 6-10 0-0 15, Zyaire Gibson 5-11 0-0 14, Nasseem Wright 6-9 1-1 13, Stefan Phillips 2-4 0-0 5, Jahseir Sayles 1-4 0-0 3, Jaiayre Wright 3-4 3-3 9, Qua Smith 4-5 3-3 11, Nayeem Johnson 4-10 4-7 12, Idris Rines 2-4 0-0 4, Michael Goodwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-72 14-20 99.

RCSJ-Cumberland	39	34-	73
Salem CC	52	47-	99

3-point goals: RCSJ 1-13 (Purnell 1-3, Davis 0-2, Newton 0-1, Dickerson 0-2, Brown 0-1, Woodard 0-1, DeJesus 0-1, Ingram-Moore 0-1, Elston 0-1); Salem CC 11-31 (Little 2-6, Lee 3-7, Gibson 4-8, Phillips 1-2, Sayles 1-3, Johnson 0-3, Rines 0-2). Rebounds: RCSJ 22 (Purnell 7, Davis 6); Salem CC 50 (Rines 10, Johnson 8). Total fouls: RCSJ 16; Salem CC 25.

Region XIX Standings

DIVISION III	R19	ALL	GSAC
Northampton (5)	9-0	15-1
SALEM CC (1)	6-0	19-0	5-0
Union (8)	11-1	14-3	10-1
Brookdale	12-2	12-5	7-2
Ocean	9-2	11-4	7-2
Camden	7-2	10-6	6-4
Montgomery (9)	5-2	8-3
Bergen	9-7	9-10	3-7
RCSJ-Cumberland	6-6	7-9	6-6
Atlantic Cape	5-6	6-9	4-7
Thaddeus Stevens	3-7	7-10
Sussex	4-10	6-13	4-8
RCSJ-Gloucester	4-10	6-14	1-9
Passaic	3-12	3-14	3-9
Delaware County	2-9	3-13
Luzerne	1-7	4-12
Harrisburg Area	1-7	2-13
Philadelphia	1-8	6-8

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 99, RCSJ-Cumberland 73
Union 90, Luzerne 59
Sussex 97, Passaic 93
Howard CC 74, Essex 67
Mercer 96, Rockland CC 86
Brookdale 74, Montgomery 72
Ocean 97, RCSJ-Gloucester 76
Lackawanna 81, Thaddeus Stevens 76
Bergen 102, Harrisburg Area 99
Camden 90, Delaware County 49
Northampton 72, Atlantic Cape 67
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Monroe JV at Middlesex
Cecil at Delaware Tech
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem at Northampton
Sussex at Luzerne
Camden at Georgian Court JV
Union at Ocean
Brookdale at RCSJ-Gloucester
Thaddeus Stevens at Albright JV
Orange CC at Morris
Prince George’s at Harcum
RCSJ-Cumberland at Montgomery
Raritan Valley at Monroe
Passaic at Bergen
Essex at Rockland CC
Westchester CC at Mercer

Region XIX Women’s Standings

DIVISION II	R19	ALL	GSAC
Harcum (4)	7-0	15-1
Union (11)	8-1	16-2	6-0
Mercer (17)	6-2	11-3	3-1
Essex	6-3	11-4	5-2
Delaware Tech	4-4	5-11
Raritan Valley	3-5	6-8	3-3
Lackawanna	2-6	2-10
SALEM CC	1-5	2-11	0-3
Middlesex	1-6	6-13	0-4
Morris	0-5	0-5	0-3

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

MONDAY’S GAME
Hagerstown 56, Salem CC 54
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Brookdale 52, Montgomery 50
Northampton 54, Atlantic Cape 44
Essex 67, Howard CC 50
RCSJ-Gloucester 74, Ocean 41
Philadelphia 60, Bergen 46
Union 74, Westchester CC 39
Harcum 121, Morris 29
Mercer at Rockland CC
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Cecil at Delaware Tech
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Harcum at Salem
Camden at Northampton
Passaic at Bergen
CCBC Essex at Raritan Valley
Brookdale at RCSJ-Gloucester
RCSJ-Cumberland at Montgomery
Philadelphia at Atlantic Cape
Essex at Rockland CC
Middlesex at Morris
Westchester CC at Mercer