Flyers' Players, Coaches Encouraged by Bounce-Back Win
The Sandhills Community College basketball team responded to a disheartening loss the previous evening by defeating Shooting4Greatness Academy 96-72 on Saturday afternoon at The Hangar.
Defeated 82-75 by Anne Arundel CC on Friday, the Flyers fell behind 10-2 against the team from Raleigh. They caught up and pulled away with a 59-point second half to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Sophomore Nasir Johnson scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and freshman Joey McMullin poured in 16 of his 18 after the intermission.
"Our guys today got down early and just decided they wanted to play hard," Coach Mike Apple said afterward. "They're figuring out that if they play hard, good things happen. Good things happened and they grew exponentially as the game went on."
The Flyers return to action with a 7 p.m. home game on Monday against Hosanna Bible College of Durham.
Sophomore Keegan Brayboy, a two-year starter, hurt an ankle in Friday's game, joining an injury list that includes other key members of last year's team, in Bryan Quiller and Camron Zachary.
Johnson, a 6-foot guard from Walter L. Williams High School in Burlington, admitted that coupled with the injuries, he was concerned about the way the team played on Friday, followed by the stumble out of the gate against S4G.
"Somewhat, but I had enough faith and confidence in my teammates that with the next man up mentality we would take care of business," he said.
Threes by freshmen Alon Hanani and Sam Stoltz helped the Flyers catch up to S4G at 14-14. Eight first-half points by 6-foot-9 sophomore Zac Sledge also helped them take a 36-30 lead into the intermission.
McMullin and freshman Sam Stoltz combined to score nine points at the start of the second half as the Flyers moved ahead 45-32. McMullin's hot hand continued with a drive for two and a tip-in as the lead grew to 53-40 with 15 minutes remaining in the game.
All 12 of the Flyers that were dressed for the game got into the scoring column, including Sledge who was 6-for-9 from the field, finishing with 12 points.
"This was a big bounce-back win, Johnson said. "Coach pushes us to play hard and today I thought we played hard on both ends. I'm definitely proud of the young guys. A lot of them stepped up.
"It was mainly about just getting back on defense, getting them (S4G) to play at our tempo and knowing when we do that they tend to get tired pretty quickly. So just playing the way Sandhills plays and letting everything else take care of itself."
The turnaround from a lack luster performance against Anne Arundel, a potential district tournament opponent later on, was dramatic. The team from Maryland followed up its win over the Flyers by being trounced 107-47 by Central Carolina CC in Saturday's opening game of the Chatlee Classic doubleheader at The Hangar.
Apple thinks Anne Arundel was particularly determined to defeat a Flyer squad that was ranked No. 1 in the Division III preseason poll based upon it having won the last Division III national Championship in 2020 before the 2021 tournament was canceled because of COVID.
"Whether or not we deserved the No. 1 ranking, they came in with the idea of knocking off the No. 1 ranked team," the coach said. "They were poised, they shot the ball well and they answered every run we made.
"We had two kids on the court today that played last year, Nasir Johnson and Zac Sledge. I'm not happy about how we played yesterday by any means, but we're growing and we're getting better.
"I was pleased with what we did today. Nasir was big for us. I was really proud of him."
Flyers' Extra – Through three games, McMullin's scoring aveage of 16.0 points per game is second to Johnson's team-leading 17.3. The 6-3 forward has a knack for making himself available for inside scoring opportunities. "I love the offense Sandhills runs," he said. "It's perfect for me." Sledge, who averaged seven minutes a game of playing time as a freshman is up to 21.4 through three games. He has made 11 of his 15 shots from the field, averaging 8.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He is also an effective passer. "Zac is developing nicely," Apple said. "He has a unique skill-set. He can do things a lot of big guys can't.
S4G – Thomas 9 4-11 23, Muzon 2 0-0 5, Miller 3 0-0 7, Cole 6 2-4 15, Farrar 6 0-4 12, Williams 0 4-4 4, Hoffler 0 0-0 0, Garcia 0 0-0 0, Sapa 2 0-0 4, Montgomery 1 0-0 2 Totals 29 10-23 72. Sandhills – Johnson 8 3-4 19, Coleman 2 0-0 4, Stoltz 3 1-2 9, McMullin 6 6-6 18, Sledge 6 0-0 12, Wooldridge 0 2-2 2, Perry 1 0-2 2, Hunter 2 2-6 6, Hanani 2 1-2 7, McCaster 3 1-2 7, Assante 3 0-0 6, Nelson 0 4-4 4 Totals 36 20-30 96. Three-point goals: S4G 4 (Thomas, Muzon, Miller, Cole); SCC 4 (Stoltz 2 Hanani 2).
C. Bergmann