Flyers Drop Home-opener to Riverhawks

A late comeback bid fell short and the Sandhills Community College basketball team dropped it's home-opener 82-75 to Anne Arundel CC on Friday.

The Flyers (1-1) cut a 13-point deficit with eight minutes remaining to 69-68 at the four-minute mark before a pair of threes fueled an 8-2 response that helped the Riverhawks seal the deal.

Both teams return to action at The Hangar in Saturday's second day of the Chatlee Classic.

Central Carolina CC, a 95-86 winner over Shooting for Greatness Academy in Friday's first contest, meets Anne Arundel at 1 p.m. The Flyers take on Shooting for Greatness at 3 p.m.

The lead changed hands nine times in the first seven minutes of the game, but the Flyers were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way. They trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before closing the gap to 38-33 at the intermission with the help of a dozen points by freshman forward Joey McMullin.

Freshman Sam Stoltz canned a three, took a charge and scored on a drive to contribute to a 7-0 run that helped the Flyers cut the Riverhawks' lead to 47-46 with 11:35 remaining in the game. But the squad from Arnold, MD responded with a 7-0 burst of its own.

The deficit for Coach Mike Apple's squad was 13 points at the eight-minute mark when a basket in transition by Zac Sledge, and consecutive threes by Nasir Johnson and Stoltz, put them back in contention.

Moments later, a pair of free throws by Jordan Coleman completed an 18-6 run that cut the margin to 69-68 with 4:05 remaining, leading up to the strong finish by the Riverhawks.

McMullin led the Flyers with 20 points. Sledge, a sophomore, posted a double-double that included 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Other double-figure scorers for the home team were Coleman with 12 and Johnson with 11 to go with a game-high seven assists. Jamar Young led the Riverhawks with 28 points.

Coach Mike Apple's squad was without the services of sophomore forward Camron Zachary because of a knee injury.

Anne Arundel – Cavey 6 2-2 17, Young 13 2-6 28, Cantrell 4 7-7 16, Duffy 3 2-2 9, Harris 4 2-4 12, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Kostacopolous 0 0-0 0, James 0 0-0 0 Totals 30 15-21 82. Sandhills – Hunter 1 0-2 2, Brayboy 0 0-0 0, McCaster 3 0-0 6, McMullin 10 0-3 20, Sledge 4 4-4 12, Wooldridge 1 0-0 2, Johnson 3 4-4 11, Perry 1 0-0 2, Coleman 3 5-5 12, Stoltz 3 0-0 8, Assante 0 0-0 0 Totals 29 13-18 75. Three-point goals: AACC 7 (Cavey 3, Harris 2, Duffy, Cantrell); SCC 4 (Stoltz 2, Johnson, Coleman).  

C. Bergmann

Photo by Donna Ford