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.

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

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.)

Mighty Oaks go smiling into the holidays after big fourth quarter carries them to road win in final game of 2025

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

NORTH EAST, Md. — Cecil leading scorer Bri Shelton was having a rough day in the field, but launched a shot late in the fourth quarter trying to put her team back on top after the visitors had fought all game to wrestle away the lead. The ball bounced up and down off the rim several times then rolled around a few more and Salem CC coach Brian Marsh’s heart jumped every time.

When it finally slid off the cylinder and onto the floor the Mighty Oaks felt like they finally got a piece of good luck in an otherwise tough start to the season. Justine Cardona then buried three late free throws and Salem came away with a 69-64 win that sent them into the holidays with a smile.

“It’s been a tough November and December and we’re finally getting healthy,” Marsh said. “We definitely wanted to leave on a good note. I told them let’s go home with a smile on their face, Come out here and do what we need to do and take care of business and that’s what they did.”

The Mighty Oaks (2-8) had been playing catch-up all game, but they finally put it together with a 23-10 fourth quarter. They went to a full-court press hoping to speed up the Seahawks and attacked the basket when they got a turnover. The Seahawks didn’t make a field goal in final 5:11.

Niecey King and Justine Cardone kept the pressure on Shelton all game. Their effort limited the freshman, who had been averaging 17 a game, to just two points on 1-for-11 shooting and 0-for-8 from 3-point range.

“We played well down the stretch,” Marsh said. “We saw some things on tape we thought we could speed the game up and get them into some turnovers and that’s what we did.”

The Mighty Oaks trailed by two when King hit their shot of the game, a 3-pointer from the corner to put them up for good, 64-63 with 1:36 to play. It was her third 3-pointer of the season, matching her total of a year ago.

“That was a really big shot by our sophomore point guard, who is really coming into her own,” Marsh said.

The Seahawks tied it on a free throw with 1:05 to play, A layup by Shaw put Salem back up by two and Cardona hit three throws in the final 34 seconds to close it out.

Tanijya Shaw led the Mighty Oaks with a career-high 27 points, hitting 11 of 20 shots from the floor. It was her fourth straight 20-point game. She’s averaging 23.3 ppy during the run.

Cardona scored 16 points off the bench, grabbing seven rebounds and coming up with four steals. She was 10-of-16 from the free throw line, Kasey Oliver had 11 points and seven rebounds. Dani Gustin grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

“It’s a really nice win on the road and right before Christmas break,” Marsh said. “It gives us something to look forward to in 2026.

“I just want this team to play well and play together and see how this thing ends. That’s really what we’re looking for.”

SALEM CC 69, CECIL 64
SALEM CC (2-8) – RayNescia King 2-10 2-3 7, Tanijya Shaw 11-20 4-8 27, Kasey Oliver 4-11 3-3 11, Dani Gustin 1-5 4-6 6, Jayda Hunter 1-6 0-0 2, Justine Cardona 3-10 10-16 16, Ameriyona Hunter 0-1 0-0 0, Paula Wilson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-67 23-36 69.
CECIL (4-7) – Nydia Mack 3-15 7-10 15, JaMya Muhammad 2-8 4-7 8, Bri Shelton 1-11 0-0 2, Mia Thompson 0-5 0-0 0, Sara-Zionna Benson 3-7 6-6 12, DeeDee Williams 2-4 2-4 6, Zuri Matthews 1-2 0-0 2, Kendra Watters 5-11 3-8 13, Ramiya Malik 1-4 0-0 2, Madi Cleary 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 20-72 22-35 64.

3-point goals: Salem 1-12 (King 1-4, Shaw 1-4, Cardona 0-2, Wilson 0-2); Cecil 2-18 (Mack 2-5, Muhammad 0-2, Shelton 0-8, Matthews 0-1, Watters 0-2). Rebounds: Salem 45 (Gustin 13, Oliver 7, Cardona 7); Cecil 47 (Watters 12, Mack 8, Muhammad 7). Fouled out: Hunter, Benson, Malik. Total fouls: Salem 25, Cecil 26.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 69, Cecil 64
Essex 73, Delaware Tech 58
Passaic 53, RCSJ-Gloucester 50
Westchester 73, Bergen 28
Montgomery County 70, Middlesex 62

Salem CC wins first game as nation’s No. 1 team, puts up 100 again to give Green his 50th win

By Riverview Sports News

TOMS RIVER – Some teams might have a hard time handling a No. 1 ranking for the first time. Salem CC embraced it.

The Mighty Oaks played their first game as the No. 1 team in JUCO Division III Thursday and never missed a beat, sailing past Ocean CC 100-78 for their 15th straight win.

“The guys did an excellent job against a really good Ocean team,” Salem coach Mike Green said after posting his 50th career coaching victory (50-17).

The Mighty Oaks (15-0), who supplanted season-long No. 1 Mohawk Valley in the top spot earlier this week, built a 47-38 halftime lead, then started the second half with a 16-2 run to take complete control.

The Vikings (8-4) scored the next five points, then Salem scored the next eight points to go up by 26. A few minutes later they went on another 12-4 run to open a 30-point lead.

The Mighty Oaks had three 20-point scorers in the game. Saaid Lee had 25 points, 10 rebounds and came within two assists of a triple-double. Zyaire Gibson hit five 3-pointers on the way to 20 points. Jarrell Little had 24 points and four assists.

Idris Rines came off the bench to give them eight points and eight rebounds, Stefan Phillips had nine points and eight boards, and newly named GSAC Player of the Week Nasseem Wright had six points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

SALEM CC 100, OCEAN CC 78
SALEM CC (15-0): Saaid Lee 9-13 7-8 25, Jarrell Little 10-14 1-1 24, Zyaire Gibson 6-8 3-7 20, Stefan Phillips 4-7 0-0 9, Idris Rines 4-10 0-0 8, Nasseem Wright 2-9 2-2 6, Jahseir Sayles 1-7 1-2 4, Qua Smith 1-3 2-4 4, Michael Goodwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-71 16-24 100.
OCEAN CC (8-4): Myles Marabuto 4-6 3-4 14, Jamari Smith 2-10 0-3 4, Kai Barckley 1-4 0-0 2, Aiden Sosinov 9-15 5-5 24, James Gibbons 3-8 0-0 6, AJ Lemons 6-13 1-5 14, Jack Malek 0-2 0-0 0, Omar Hadid 1-3 0-0 3, Aiden Falduto 1-1 0-0 3, Jeremy Grospe 0-0 0-2 0, Matton Watson 0-2 0-0 0, Tristan Ulrich 0-1 0-0 0, Mason Trey 2-10 1-4 6, Liam Yefet 1-1 0-0 2, Joe Witter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-78 16-23 78.

3-point goals: Salem CC 10-23 (Lee 0-1, Little 3-5, Gibson 5-6, Phillips 1-2, Rines 0-3 Sayles 1-6); Ocean CC 8-29 (Marabuto 3-5, Backley 0-1, Sosinov 1-3, Gibbons 0-2, Lemons 1-7, Malek 0-1, Hadid 1-1, Falduto 1-1, Watson 0-2 Ulrich 0-1, Krey 1-5). Rebounds: Salem CC 52 (Lee 10, Phillips 7, Rines 8, N. Wright 10, Smith 7); Ocean CC 40 (Smith 10, Susinov 8). Technical fouls: Smith. Total fouls: Ocean CC 13.

Region XIX Standings

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

THURSDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 100, Ocean 78
Union at Atlantic Cape
Camden 76, RCSJ-Cumberland 55
Northampton 80, Luzerne 70
Morris at Georgian Court JV
Bergen 85, RCSJ-Gloucester 71
Raritan Valley 80, Orange County 79
Sussex 73, Passaic 64
Mercer 101, Essex 97
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Delaware County at CCBC Dundalk
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem at Sussex
Passaic at RCSJ-Gloucester
Union at Bergen
Essex at Delaware Tech
Delaware County at Cecil
Middlesex at Howard CC
Middlesex at Montgomery County (Md.)

Salem CC men grab top spot in JUCO Division III basketball poll

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — 66 games. One week short of two years since getting the job.

That’s all it took for Mike Green to take the Salem CC men’s basketball team from one that was three games below .500 on Christmas Day 2023 to the No. 1 team in the land.

Monday afternoon the undefeated Mighty Oaks (14-0) were installed as the No. 1 team in JUCO Division III supplanting defending national champion Mohawk Valley, which had been No. 1 all season and lost to Division II No. 14 Orange County by 30 Saturday.

The Mighty Oaks, who had been No. 2 each of the previous five weeks, received all nine first-place votes from the pollsters and collected 105 points, seven ahead of No. 2 fellow Region XIX member Northampton (12-0). Mohawk fell to No. 3.

It’s their first No. 1 ranking in school history. 

“It’s good to see, letting the kids decide on the basketball court,” Green said. “You never know when these type of things happen so fast how the community feels about you. I’m glad we were rewarded with being No. 1.”

Green gave his players off Monday, but they were all in the gym working when the news of the poll’s release broke at 2 p.m.

“Being No. 1 in the country is a dream,” leading scorer Jarrell Little said. “A lot of players on our team, we weren’t a No. 1 team in nothing or never the best team in our area. Now we’re in college (and No. 1), that’s a real accomplishment. That means you’re really a winner.”

And it happened quickly. Green was was hired on Dec. 23, 2023, and his team went 9-9 the rest of the season. It went 26-8 last year, finishing fifth in the national tournament (losing to Mohawk in the second round), and is undefeated this year with virtually an entirely new squad. 

“It’s a testament to everybody who has been around and helping out,” Green said. “It’s a big deal and should be a big deal for the Salem community … I’m just glad these kids get to see their name as No. 1.”

The Mighty Oaks have put it together with a balanced scoring attack that’s among the best in the country driven by sharp ball movement that averages more than 19 assists a game. They have four players averaging in double figures — Little (19.9 ppg), Nasseem Wright (19.6), Saaid Lee (14.4) and Zyaire Gibson (10.3) — and three of the four have more than 45 assists. Lee is second in the country (D3) with 75.

“(The key is) us playing together and us being more unselfish than other teams,” Little said. “When we put this team together people thought we wouldn’t get together. There were a lot of ball-dominant players and most people thought this team was not going to really work because they’re all going to need the ball. We put it together pretty well. We’re totally opposite (of that thinking).”

The Mighty Oaks already were playing with a target on their backs from their high tournament finish a year ago and were getting every team’s best shot this year. The No. 1 ranking just intensifies that, but their approach doesn’t change.

The Region XIX leaders put their newly minted ranking on the line for the first time Thursday at Ocean (7-3), a team they beat with 113 points at home last month and received votes in this week’s poll. They travel to Sussex (3-10) on Saturday. 

Getting through those two games would give the Mighty Oaks a joyous noel (no Ls) at Christmas and should allow them to maintain the top billing into the new calendar year. 

“Nothing changes,” Green said. “We’re still hunting. We like to say we’re still hunting. We don’t want to be the one getting hunted; we’re still hunters. We’ve still got to go out there and hunt like none of this ever happened.”

“We’re not done yet,” Little said. “We’re coming for everything.”

JUCO Division III poll

Salem CC uses late run to pull away from Brookdale, potentially lay claim to No. 1 after defending national champs lose by 30

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC men used a late run to pull away from a close game and take down Brookdale 83-67 Saturday to remain undefeated and possibly lay claim to the No. 1 ranking in the country.

The Mighty Oaks went into the weekend ranked second in JUCO Division III and won while No. 1 Mohawk Valley lost by 30 to Orange County CC (Division II No. 14). If the Hawks remained in the top spot just because they were the defending D-III national champions and hadn’t yet lost, the setback should open the door for a change.

The new rankings come out Monday. Mohawk Valley had received all nine first-place votes in every one of the six weekly polls this season. 

“I don’t know what level Orange is, but I heard they beat them pretty good,” Green said. “In the normal way of thinking things, No. 2 becomes No. 1. I don’t know if we did anything wrong to anybody. I think they’ll get a vote, but that’s how it normally goes, so we’ll see. It’s out of our hands. We just have to keep winning basketball games.”

If the Mighty Oaks (14-0) do become the new No. 1, it would have taken Green just 66 games to take the program from three games under .500 when he took over to the top of the division.

“That’s super cool,” Green said. “When I got here we were in the basement. That’s a testament to everybody who’s been a part of it.

“I’ll tell you one thing, if we’re deserving of it, they’d better give it to us because you’re going to turn these kids into something. They’re already playing with a chip on their shoulder, you’re really going to see some monsters. They’d better get it right because you don’t want to upset these kids.”

The Mighty Oaks had their hands full reeling in the Jersey Blues for most of their final home game of the calendar year. A 3-pointer by Kyle Fulcher cut their lead to 30-28 with 4:09 to play, then the Mighty Oaks closed out the half on a 13-4 run to take a 43-32 lead at the break.

Saaid Lee got it started with a layup and 3-pointer and had eight points in the run. Nasseem Wright had a pair of layups around a Brookdale free throw and Qua Smith had a free throw.

But they couldn’t shake the Blues. Brookdale got within four twice in the second half, the last time with 8:58 to play, but Salem went on a 22-6 run over the next seven minutes to put the game away.

It started with a pair of three-point plays by Idris Rines and Lee – both on assists from Jarrell Little – and just continued to grow. Rines had seven points in the run, Wright and Lee five each, Little two and Zyaire Gibson had a 3.

“We had a couple chances of blowing the game away, but they have championship DNA so they didn’t just fall that easily,” Green said. “Idris played really well, We played through Idris a little bit when the game slowed down and he delivered.  He’s almost there, he’s almost showing everything we envisioned. Once he puts it all together we’re going to be a completely different team.”

Wright led the Mighty Oaks with 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Lee had 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Rines had 10 points and four rebounds. Gibson had nine points and 10 boards. The Blues took Little away, but he still finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Mighty Oaks and Northampton (12-0) are the last remaining undefeated teams in all of Region XIX. They meet for the only time in the regular season Jan. 15 in Bethlehem.

SALEM CC 83, BROOKDALE 67
BROOKDALE (10-5): Ariel Perez 1-2 0-1 2, Emmanuel Miller 0-4 5-6 5, Keith Allen 8-15 0-0 18, Aidan Hamlin-Woolfolk 6-12 2-4 16, Leonardo Lopez 1-2 2-4 4, Shaun Valentine 0-0 0-1 0, Kyle Fulcher 5-14 2-4 15, Zayd Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Donovan Summey 0-1 0-0 0, Drean Aikins 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Slaby 0-2 1-2 1, Ashwan Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Peter Barkauskas 0-0 2-2 2, Kevin Hemans 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 23-60 14-24 67.
SALEM CC (14-0): Jerrell Little 5-13 0-0 11, Saaid Lee 7-11 6-6 22, Zyaire Gibson 3-6 0-0 9, Nasseem Wright 10-18 6-10 26, Stefan Phillips 2-4 0-0 4, Jahseir Sayles 0 0-0 0, Qua Smith 0-0 1-2 1, Idris Rines 3-6 4-7 10. Totals 30-58 17-25 83.

3-point goals: Brookdale 7-18 (Allen 2-5, Hamlin Woolfolk 2-4, Fulcher 3-7 Summer 0-1, Johnson 0-1); Salem CC 6-17 (Little 1-3, Lee 2-3, Gibson 3-5, Wright 0-3, Phillips 0-2, Rines 0-1). Rebounds: Brookdale 27 (Perez 6, Fulcher 5); Salem CC 38 (Gibson 10, Wright 8, Little 7). Total fouls: Brookdale 19, Salem CC 20.

Region XIX Standings

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 83, Brookdale 67
RCSJ-Gloucester at Philadelphia
Bergen 90, Luzerne 78
Mercer 81, Morris 72
Camden 81, Harrisburg Area 74
Rockland 97, Lackawanna 69
Montgomery 112, Southern Maryland 102
Atlantic Cape 78, Thaddeus Stevens 66
Delaware County 66, Passaic 61
Essex 101, Raritan Valley 81
RCSJ-Cumberland 80, Sussex 78
Harcum at Brunswick
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Montgomery at Luzerne
Brookdale at RCSJ-Cumberland
Delaware Tech at Raritan Valley
Passaic at Ocean
Northampton at Philadelphia
Middlesex at Morris
Union at Mercer
RCSJ-Gloucester at Atlantic Cape
Camden at Sussex
Essex at Lackawanna

Salem CC women pick up their first win of season, 57-44 over Lackawanna

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC women got to play their game, used two big runs in the middle two quarters to take control and won their first game of the season, 57-44 over Lackawanna Saturday.

After the teams played to a 9-9 draw in the first quarter, the Mighty Oaks outscored their visitors 22-11 in the second quarter and 22-12 in the third to take control.

“We’re excited to finally get that win,” Salem coach Brian Marsh said. “We have been close, but haven’t been able to get over the hump.

“We are finally getting healthy and being at full strength. We will enjoy the win today, but we have to get right back to work against Catonsville on the road Monday.”

Tanijya Shaw led Salem with 22 points, but suffered an apparent left leg injury late in the fourth quarter. The Mighty Oaks really made their hay on the boards, grabbing 64 rebounds with Paula Hunter pulling down 17, Justine Cardona grabbing 11 and Kasey Oliver snaring 10. Cardona also had four assists and three steals.

“TJ had a great game attacking the basket and playing tough D up top,” Marsh said. “I thought we did a much better job rebounding the ball and only giving them one possession, for the most part.

The teams swapped the lead several times early in the second quarter. Lackawanna led 15-14 with 6:57 left in the half, then Salem went on a 12-1 run over the next five minutes to build a 31-20 halftime lead. Shaw had four points in the run, including a layup with 5:30 left that put the Mighty Oaks up for good.

The Falcons closed to within 35-30 with 6:53 left in the third quarter, then the Mighty Oaks went on an 18-2 run to the end of the quarter. Shaw had eight points in the run.

SALEM CC 57, LACKAWANNA 44
LACKAWANNA (4-8): Alaina Ortiz 2-12 2-2 6, Sophia Summa 8-16 3-6 23, Ali Johns 0-10 2-2 2, Abbie Larson 3-11 1-2 7, Jasmin Romano 2-10 1-5 5, Jana Hoffman 0-4 0-0 0, Desiree Nales 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 15-68 10-19 44. 
SALEM CC: RayNescia King 1-8 3-4 4, Tanijya Shaw 9-26 4-6 22, Kasey Oliver 3-8 1-3 7, Dani Gustin 4-9 0-0 8, Jayda Hunter 1-2 2-4 4, Justine Cardona 1-10 1-4 4, Ameriyona Hunter 0-2 0-0 0, Paula Wilson 3-3 0-1 7. Totals 22-78 11-22 57.

3-point goals: Lackawanna 4-24 (Ortiz 0-5, Summa 4-9, Johns 0-1, Larson 0-2, Romano 0-5, Nales 0-2); Salem CC 2-12 (Shaw 0-3, Hunter 0-3, Cardona 1-4, Hunter 0-1, Wilson 1-1). Rebounds: Lackawanna 35 (Johns 11, Larson 9); Salem CC 64 (Hunter 17, Cardona 11, Oliver 10). Technical fouls: Summa, Salem CC team. Total fouls: Lackawanna 16, Salem CC 18.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem CC 57, Lackawanna 44
Atlantic Cape 52, Montgomery 32
Sussex 88, RCSJ-Cumberland 58
Essex 69, Raritan Valley 53
Morris at Mercer
Camden 61, Orange County 40
Onondaga 64, Northampton 62