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.

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

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

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

By Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT — The Salem CC women were shorthanded to begin with and finished the game less than full strength and fell to Mercer CC 94-54 Tuesday night.

The Mighty Oaks (2-11), who postponed their previous two games due to a limited roster, started the game with six players and ended the game with four on the floor. They played the last 5:39 with four.

Salem’s offense was led by Tanijya Shaw (21) and Paula Wilson (career-high 20). Shaw was 10-of-17 from the field. Wilson hit five 3-pointers.

Qui-Mia Wilkins gave 15th-ranked Mercer (13-3) a triple-double (game-high 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals). Mercer forced the Mighty Oaks into 34 turnovers, off which they scored 47 points.

MERCER 94, SALEM CC 54
MERCER (13-3): Evangelina Fransisco 5-15 0-0 13, Mayah Alford 4-11 1-2 9, Zaakirah Edwards 3-6 2-2 8, Gabriella Smith 7-15 2-6 16, Qui-Mia Wilkins 11-20 6-8 29, Alexandra Galan-Garcia 4-15 0-1 8, Patricia Monroe 2-6 2-4 6, Emma Wilke 2-7 1-2 5. Totals 38-95 14-25 94.
SALEM CC (2-12): Paula Wilson 7-14 1-4 20, Dani Gustin 1-1 1-2 3, RayNescia King 2-5 1-3 6, Tanijya Shaw 10-17 1-3 21, Kasey Oliver 1-4 2-2 4, Breanne Ruhl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-41 6-15 54.

Region XIX Women’s Standings

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division II national ranking

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Mercer 94, Salem CC 54
Passaic 79, Sussex 45
Essex 68, Westchester CC 64
Northampton 61, Philadelphia 39
Atlantic Cape 75, Bergen 38
Harcum 85, Middlesex 33
Union 95, Raritan Valley 39
Lackawanna 63, Morris 45
Camden 78, Ocean 46

TUESDAY’S MENS SCORES
Passaic 75, Luzerne 67
Montgomery 66, Union 59
Harcum 70, Middlesex 63
Bergen 80, Atlantic Cape 70
Camden 75, Ocean 53
Lancaster Bible JV at Thaddeus Stevens
Essex 87, Westchester CC 79
Harrisburg Area 90, Sussex 86
Northampton 77, Philadelphia 43
Lackawanna at Morris

No. 1 Salem CC puts up 124 points, most in the Mike Green Era, 77 in second half, en route to rout of Passaic

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Nasseem Wright had one eye on the scoreboard and one eye on history.

In a season where this year’s Salem CC basketball team has been checking off all kinds of boxes in an effort to gain an identity of its own, Saturday was the historical high point.

As if they were ever in it to begin with, this Mighty Oaks team may have finally stepped out of the shadow of last year’s historic group, scoring the most points since they revived the program – and likely all-time – in a 124-70 pounding of undermanned Passaic.

It’s the 14th time they have hit 100 in Mike Green’s 73 games as head coach and the eighth time this year — twice as many as last season in 34 games. Their 94.8 ppg scoring average ranks fourth in Division III. They had 100 Saturday with 7:41 to play.

Their previous single-game high in the Green Era was 119 against RCSJ-Cumberland on Jan. 14, 2025. 

“It’s a new group of guys,” Wright said. “The majority of us are freshmen. We’ve already been making history all year so we just want to keep checking those boxes off the list.

“Last year’s team scored 119 points. Once we got into the second half and saw we had like 79 points and there was like nine or 10 minutes left, I’m telling the guys we’ve got a chance to do this, so let’s come out and keep the same energy, respect our opponent and keep playing hard.

“I pay a lot of attention to last year’s team. They set the bar high by winning the regionals and going to the nationals, but I don’t think they won the conference. Coming into the season I wanted to key in on all of those things that they didn’t accomplish and where they went wrong at and then work from there. That’s kind of been the motivation for me personally for this team this year.”

Green understood where his flashy freshman from Philly was coming from.“Nasseem wanted to obliterate everything that last year’s team did, so he had that fire in him,” Green said. “He respects that last year’s team, but he’s just got that fire to him. I don’t want to say that’s what he’s chasing, but he’s kind of chasing it. That’s type of kid he is. He respects those guys, but he wants his team to be on top.”

The Mighty Oaks (21-0) have been on top of the JUCO Division III world since the Week 6 poll Dec. 15 and it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down any time soon. They may have started Saturday’s noon start slow coming off the late night that was Thursday’s win at No. 5 Northampton, but once they kicked it into gear the only thing you could say was wow.

They led 47-37 at halftime, then erupted for 77 points in the second half. In case you glanced past that detail, it’s more points in one half than the Panthers scored the entire game.

The Mighty Oaks shot 68 percent from the field in the second half (32-of-47) and hit 7 of 8 from 3-point range. They collected 20 of their record 33 assists in the half. Over the last 27 minutes of the game they were 46-of-66 from the floor.

“We put together 11 guys playing like we need them to play,” Green said. “Usually we go up and we have fall off because guys think it’s garbage time (with a big lead). This time we didn’t have no fall off. Zero fall off.”

The finish was a huge contrast to the way they started, but, then, this has always been a second half team. There were seven lead changes and three ties in the first 13 minutes until Zyaire Gibson’s 3-pointer with 7:00 left in the half gave the Mighty Oaks the lead for good. 

They hit four of their first 10 shots to grab an early 9-2 lead, but then missed nine straight and 12 of their next 15 and the Panthers (3-16) took a four-point lead with 8:17 left in the half. The Mighty Oaks then made five shots in a row and never trailed again.

Everybody contributed. Salem put six scorers in double figures. Jarrell Little had a game-high 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Wright had 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks. Gibson had 15 points with four 3-pointers. Saaid Lee had 12 points and 10 assists.

The bench scored 50 points. Nayeem Johnson had 13 points and eight rebounds in 12 minutes (all in the second half) and Jaiayre Wright had 12 points and six boards in 15 minutes. Three other non-starters had at least eight points. Nobody who scored had less than seven. 

“The second half, remember we always talk about that second unit, they’re just as strong as most teams in our league, and they came out and played … like they were supposed to play, so that was a big boost for us,” Green said.

SALEM CC 124, PASSAIC 70
PASSAIC (3-16): Tyler Williams 1-3 0-0 3, Josiah Etienne 8-20 0-0 19, Ajuwan Tiggs 8-21 4-4 20, Jaquis Davis 3-17 8-13 15, Aidan Secka 0-1 0-0 0, Diego Munoz 0-2 0-0 0, Joshua Renta 5-15 1-1 13. Totals 25-79 13-18 70.
SALEM CC (21-0): Jarrell Little 9-14 0-1 23, Saaid Lee 6-10 0-0 12, Zyaire Gibson 4-9 3-3 15, Nasseem Wright 8-14 1-2 17, Stefan Phillips 3-6 1-1 7, Jahseir Sayles 4-6 0-0 9, Jaiayre Wright 6-10 0-0 12, Qua Smith 4-6 0-0 8, Nayeem Johnson 5-9 2-2 13, Idris Rines 3-7 1-2 8, Michael Goodwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 52-91 8-11 124.

Region XIX Standings

Number in parenthesis is JUCO Division III national ranking

SATURDAY’S GAMES
Salem 124, Passaic 70
Union at Thaddeus Stevens
Philadelphia 71, Luzerne 47
RCSJ-Gloucester 99, Delaware County 68
Essex 80, Delaware Tech 74
Montgomery 90, Ocean 86
Allegany (Md.) 89, Harcum 81
Sussex at Camden
Atlantic Cape 75, Brookdale 72
Lackawanna 81, Baltimore City CC 67
Mercer at Ulster
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Passaic at Luzerne
Union at Montgomery
Harcum at Middlesex
Bergen at Atlantic Cape
Camden at Ocean
Lancaster Bible JV at Thaddeus Stevens
Westchester CC at Essex
Sussex at Harrisburg Area
Philadelphia at Northampton
Lackawanna at Morris
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Atlantic Cape at Salem
Monroe at Essex
RCSJ-Cumberland at Bergen
Northampton at Harrisburg Area
Union at Rockland
Ulster at Raritan Valley
Bucks at Delaware County
Ocean at Sussex
Mercer at Morris
Misericordia JV at Thaddeus Stevens
Camden at Brookdale
Delaware Tech at Baltimore City CC
Philadelphia at Montgomery
Orange at Lackawanna
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
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

SATURDAY’S WOMEN’S GAMES
Middlesex at Salem CC, ppd.
Sussex at Camden
Atlantic Cape 58, Brookdale 40
Essex 79, Delaware Tech 64
Montgomery 61, Ocean 44
Lackawanna 67, Baltimore City 28
Northampton 71, Raritan Valley 58
Passaic 71, Philadelphia 50
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Mercer at Salem CC
Sussex at Passaic
Westchester CC at Essex
Philadelphia at Northampton
Bergen at Atlantic Cape
Harcum at Middlesex
Union at Raritan Valley
Lackawanna at Morris
Camden at Ocean
THURSDAY’S GAMES
RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem
Mercer at Morris
Camden at Brookdale
Raritan Valley at Monroe
Delaware Tech at Baltimore City CC
Ocean at Sussex
Philadelphia at Montgomery
RCSJ-Cumberland at Bergen
Orange at Lackawanna
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
Salem 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

Salem CC women fall in the closing seconds to Hagerstown’s only 3-pointer of the game

By Riverview Sports News

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Ella Bennett, Hagerstown’s most proficient 3-point shooter, hit her team’s only 3-pointer of the game in the final 10 seconds Monday night to send the Thunder Wolves past the Salem CC women 56-54.

The Mighty Oaks (2-11) held a 54-52 lead and took a time out with 13 seconds left to advance the ball to the front court. Justine Cardona took a shot that would’ve clinched the win, but it didn’t fall and the rebound went right to Bennett, who hit the go-ahead 3. Bri King hit a free throw for the final point.

“No luck at all this season,” Mighty Oaks coach Brian Marsh said.

Bennett had made 17 of the Thunder Wolves’ 29 3-pointers this season entering the game.

Tanijya Shaw led the Mighty Oaks with 25 points. She scored 11 of the Mighty Oaks’ last 14 and 23 of their last 31. Dani Gustin had 10 points and nine rebounds. Bri King scored 25 for Hagerstown.

SALEM CC (2-11): RayNescia King 0 0-0 0, Tanijya Shaw 9-24 7-8 25, Justine Cardona 1-8 3-4 5, Kasey Oliver 3-9 2-2 8, Dani Gustin 5-7 0-0 10, Amiryona Hunter 0-2 0-0 0, Paula Wilson 1-6 0-0 3, Jayda Hunter 1-7 0-0 3. Totals 20-63 12-14 54.
HAGERSTOWN (7-7): Cylvia Prout 3 0-0 6, Tyra Hobbs 3 0-0 6, Andrea Elder 2 0-0 4, Ella Bennett 1 2-2 5, Janae Bradley 5 1-2 11, Bri King 9 6-12 25. Totals 23 9-16 56.

3-point goals: Salem CC 2-14 (Shaw 0-4, Oliver 0-1, Cardona 0-2, Wilson 1-3, J. Hunter 1-2, A. Hunter 0-2); Hagerstown 1 (Bennett). Rebounds: Salem CC 32 (Gustin 9, J. Hunter 9). Total fouls: Salem CC 13, Hagerstown 12.