Flyers Defeat the Cougars on a Banner Day at The Hangar
The Sandhills Community College basketball team defeated Central Carolina CC 122-90 on a Wednesday evening it shared the spotlight at halftime with the presentation of multiple banners at The Hangar. (see related story)
Sayaun Dent led the Flyers with 24 points and 12 rebounds as he recorded his eighth double-double of the season. Other double figure scorers for the home team were Corry Addison and Savion Staton with 12 points apiece, and Derreco Miller and Evan Davis with 10 each.
Coach Mike Apple's squad was successful on 60.3 per cent of it's shots from the field and drained a season-high dozen threes. It shared the ball to the tune of 34 assists led by Addison with 6, and Idlett and Staton with five each.
Tied for second place in this week's NJCAA Division III poll with Richland (TX), the Flyers improved to 19-2 overall and 3-0 in Region 10. The Cougars dropped to 7-14 and 2-3.
A three-game home stand against conference opponents concludes on Saturday with a 3 p.m. contest against Oxford College of Emory (9-9, 1-2) on Hall of Fame Day. The Eagles are led by 6-foot-3 freshman Shane McCravy who is third in the nation in scoring at 25.7 points per game.
Missing their leading scorer Jackson Reid (injury), the Cougars jumped out to a 10-5 lead. Tyrell Allmond sparked a 10-0 Flyer run with a pair of steals and the home team went on to build its advantage to 40-22 with eight minutes remaining in the half. With the help of eight first-half threes, the visitors reduced the margin to 56-47 at the intermission.
During the break, President Dr. John Dempsey presided at mid-court accompanied by Apple and Lady Flyers' volleyball Coach Alicia Riggan. A large banner entitled "Flyers Coaching Centurions" was unfurled that commemorates the 100th and 200th milestone wins achieved by each.
Also unveiled were banners earned by the vollyball team for its 2019 Region 10 regular season and conference tournament titles, and one for the cross country team's 2019 Region 10 title.
Apple didn't think his team was at its best during the middle part of the game.
"I thought that for the first eight minutes we played good basketball on both sides of the ball," he said. "They hit some pretty tough shots that kept them in it early.
"We got up 40-22, Brad (Cougars' Coach McDougald) took a timeout and we didn't play very well until about the 13-minute mark of the second half. The second unit with Savion, Tyrell and Niem (Ratliffe) picked it up a notch and played really good minutes for us, and we got the lead out to where it was a comfortable working margin."
All 14 Flyers made it into the scoring column.
"We like to play a lot of people and develop great depth," the coach said. "I think you are seeing the fruits of our labor right now. These guys are really making the most of their minutes."
Starting for the third game in a row, Miller, a 6-5 freshman from White Oak School, had a solid outing that included 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocked shots. The good crowd, the banner presentations and a game against the closest opponent geographically, helped create a lot of energy in the building.
"It's a big rivalry and they have a lot of good fans at their place," he said. "I think I'm getting more aggressive, scoring the ball and working hard on defense. We have to stick together, play hard and hopefully make it to Minnesota (national tournament)."
Eastfield (TX), 20-3, replaced Richland in the No. 1 spot of the Division III poll.
Central Carolina – Butler 6 3-3 17, Alston 5 4-6 17, Womble 6 4-6 18, Richardson 2 2-2 6, Morgan 5 5-6 20, Thiam 2 0-0 4, Bell 4 1-2 9, Harris 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0 Totals 30 19-25 90. Sandhills – Addison 5 1-1 12, Dent 9 6-7 24, Miller 5 0-2 10, Idlett 3 0-2 7, Bryan 3 2-2 11, Allmond 2 3-6 7, Yow 1 0-0 3, Davis 5 0-2 10, Staton 5 1-5 12, Williams 3 2-2 9, Medins 1 1-2 3, Richardson 1 0-0 2, Ratliffe 1 0-0 3, Bailey 3 0-0 9 Totals 47 16-31 122. Three-point goals: CCCC 11 (Morgan 5, Alston 2, Butler 2, Womble 2); SCC 11 (Bailey 3, Bryan 3, Idlett, Addison, Yow, Staton, Williams, Ratliffe).
C. Bergmann
