Lawrence’s Nieves making a point for Salem State basketball

His preseason wish list was pretty simple. All Justin Nieves wanted was to get off to a good start and have his teammates on the Salem State men’s basketball team follow his lead.

Four games into the season, Nieves and the Vikings are on a roll. They enter today’s matchup at Worcester Polytech at 4-0, and Nieves, their 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior guard from Lawrence, is playing the best ball of his career.

In the first three games, Nieves was immense - averaging 18.3 points and 2.7 assists in wins over University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, SUNY-Potsdam, and Williams.

In the title game against the host Ephs in the Williams Invitational, Nieves poured in 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including seven three-pointers, while adding six rebounds and three assists. In Salem State’s most recent win, a 76-49 rout of Gordon, Nieves played limited minutes, scored six points, and picked up four steals.

What he’s done thus far easily surpasses the numbers he put up his freshman (4.6 points) and sophomore (7.4 points) seasons.

“The improvement he’s shown from two years ago and from last year is remarkable,’’ said Salem State coach Chris Harvey. “It all starts with his work ethic. He’s one of the hardest-working kids on the team. He’s never satisfied with yesterday’s performance. He takes game films home and studies them. He’s a student of the game, always looking for daily improvement.

“Offensively, his jump shot is consistent and he’s a pretty reliable 3-point shooter. He’s explosive going to the basket and has great lift off his legs. Defensively, he puts extreme pressure on whomever he’s up against, and usually that’s the other team’s top player.’’

Nieves sums up his improvement in one word - confidence.

“I always knew what I could do, but sometimes when I played against those stronger than me and against those who knew the game better than me, I made mistakes,’’ said Nieves, who played four years at Lawrence for Paul Neal and was twice an All-Merrimack Valley Conference pick. “That’s when I would get down on myself. Now, though, if I make a mistake, I know how to keep myself stable and forget about it. Now I expect a lot from myself. I know I can do it.’’

His biggest asset, Nieves and Harvey agree, is his quickness and ability to drive to the basket.

“I’m not being cocky,’’ said Nieves, “but there are certain things I can do pretty well. My quickness helps me a lot on offense and defense. I know I can play with the top Division 3 players. The shooting night I had at Williams, I know isn’t going to happen every night, but I know I have the potential to do it every night. Again, I’m not being cocky. I’m just being confident.’’

Now the season is in full swing, Nieves has added an item to his wish list. He wants to play in the NCAA Tournament and win a national championship. “I want to be part of an NCAA tournament team and hopefully a national championship team,’’ he said. Noting the only school squad with a national crown is the women’s team in 1985-86, he said, “I want to be a part of what they were a part of.’’

So does Harvey, a Somerville native. “The only thing missing from the men’s basketball trophy case is a national championship,’’ he said. “I want to be a part of bringing that to the college.’’