Robinson Provides a Spark Off the Bench as Flyers Defeat Cougars
Freshman LeNijel Robinson came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 11 rebounds, helping the Sandhills Community College basketball team defeat Central Carolina CC 94-83 on Wednesday evening at The Hangar.
Playing at home for the first time since December 18, the Flyers built as much as a 23-point lead in the first half before turning back several Cougar rallies. Coach Mike Apple's squad improved to 3-0 in the Division III, Region 10 conference and 13-6 overall. The Cougars dropped to 3-1 and 8-8.
"I was really pleased with how we started this game defensively," the Flyers' coach said afterward. "We have a history of letting down defensively in the second half and I thought we did that.
"Our depth really helped us tonight. I thought when they (Cougars) got tired they let down. We were able to plug in some guys and not have a noticeable let down."
The Flyers continue a busy January with conference games on Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) at Emory Oxford College in Oxford, GA. The Eagles are 0-3 in the conference and 5-7 overall.
One of those "plugged in" by the Flyers' coach was Robinson, who was a teammate of former Flyers Elijah Idlett and Evan Davis at Montreat College at this time last season.
This was the 6-foot guard's third game for the Flyers after red-shirting during the first semester portion of the schedule. He entered the game in the fifth minute and scored the Flyers next six points as they took a lead they never relinquished.
With under three minutes remaining in the half, Robinson was a beneficiary of one of Keegan Brayboy's six first-half assists and scored to give the Flyers their largest lead at 44-23.
"Everybody was playing as a team," Robinson said. "We had a good first half defensively like we did in the past two games.
"Coming off the bench, coach says that you have to bring the same intensity the starters do. I tried to do the same thing. I struggled in the first game, but I think I'm back in the flow of it now."
Early in the second half, a three by Montell Moore capped a 7-0 Cougar run that cut the deficit to 55-47. But Robinson accounted for five of the points as the Flyers responded with an 8-0 burst that restored the margin to 16 points.
The visitors never got any closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
"He's a good athlete, a good shooter and a good teammate," Apple said of Robinson. "His attitude is great and it's contagious."
Coming into the game, Apple and his players were wary of a Cougar squad that had routed an Anne Arundel CC team in November by 60 points a day after the team from Maryland had beaten the Flyers by seven at The Hangar.
"Because of the closeness of the schools it's a rivalry game so everybody was pumped and ready to play," said Brayboy, who finished with 14 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two steals."
The Flyers canned a season-high eight treys led by Robinson and Sam Stoltz with two apiece. They took good care of the defensive boards, allowing only six second chance points. And the Flyer non-starters outscored their counterparts 48 to 27 with Camron Zachary and Chris Hunter, chipping in with 10 and eight respectively.
Central Carolina – M. Moore 4 4-6 13, Mason 5 4-6 18, McLaurin 3 3-4 9, Gardner 4 4-5 12, Thiam 2 0-0 4, Bell 1 2-2 4, Case 3 0-0 8, Jones 2 0-0 5, Watson 0 0-0 0, C. Moore 2 0-0 4, Holmes 1 0-0 2, Waldeck 1 2-4 4 Totals 28 19-27 83. Sandhills – Brayboy 5 3-4 14, McCaster 4 2-2 10, Stoltz 2 0-0 6, Sledge 1 1-2 3, Quiller 5 3-6 13, Wooldridge 0 0-2 0, Hunter 3 1-3 8, Coleman 0 0-0 0, McMullin 2 0-0 4, Zachary 4 1-2 10, Nelson 2 1-2 6, Robinson 6 6-7 20 Totals 34 18-30 94. Three-point goals: CCCC 8 (Mason 4, Case 2, M. Moore, Jones); SCC 8 (Stoltz 2, Robinson 2, Brayboy, Hunter, Zachary, Nelson).
C. Bergmann
