Flyers Hold Off Bulldogs in a Wild One at The Hangar

In a battle between unbeaten basketball teams, Sandhills Community College built as much as a 17-point lead and then fought off several challenges by Pitt Community College before wrapping up a 122-113 victory on Wednesday at The Hangar.

The No. 1 ranked in Division III Flyers improved to 7-0 in spite of a sensational performance at the charity stripe by a DII Bulldog squad, now 3-1, that converted 39 of 41 free throws.

Joey McMullin with 22 points, and Bryan Quiller with 17, were the leading scorers for Coach Mike Apple's squad. Jaquan Thurman, with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and LeNijel Robinson, 14 and 11, each posted a double-double. Xavion Atkinson led the visitors with 29 points.

The Flyers are idle until Tuesday when they travel to South Carolina to meet a Division I Spartanburg Methodist team that is off to a 5-0 start.

"It was the best of times and the worst of times," Coach Mike Apple said, drawing from author Charles Dickens and "Tale of Two Cities", after watching the Bulldogs cut the lead to single digits several times in the second half.  "We played great offensively and when you score 122 points the game shouldn't be in question.

"We kept leaving the door open for them. I loved the crowd and they had a fun experience here."

Before the largest crowd of the season, a basket by McMullin gave the Flyers their first double-digit lead at 16-6, but moments later, two treys in a row by Atkinson, who scored his team's first dozen points, cut the margin to 16-12.

Consecutive baskets inside by Zac Sledge, assisted by Ayden Gittens, and moments later back-to-back threes by Kendall Wooldridge, helped get the home team going again. With just over four minutes remaining in the half, a putback by Quiller gave the Flyers a 17-point advantage on the way to a 63-48 lead at the intermission.

"The usual thing, play fast, play strong, play smart, McMullin said when asked about the pre-game plan. "We run every day for a reason. I'm glad it worked for us. Our defense could get a little better. Our decision-making could get better."

A putback by Thurman gave the Flyers a 73-57 lead early in the second half before some loose play, including an ill-advised foul on a three-point attempt, added up to a 10-0 Bulldog run that cut the margin to 73-67.

A pair of free throws by Gittens, and a basket by Sledge, helped restore some order. At the midway point of the half, a drive for two by Sam Stoltz and a Jamori McDougald trey appeared to put the home team solidly in control, but 17 made free throws in a row over the next eight minutes helped keep the Bulldogs within striking range.

Then with just under three minutes remaining, baskets by Chris Hunter and McMullin made it 116-104, finally putting the outcome in the safe zone.

"It was an incredible performance on the free throw line by Pitt," Apple said. "We gave them way too many opportunities because we committed some fouls that weren't very smart. And our shot selection leaves a lot to be desired sometimes.

"To their credit they played without two of their starters. There wasn't a lot of defense being played, but it was a really good offensive night for a lot of players."

Contributing to an offense that has averaged 113.9 points per game has been a team-wide sharing of the basketball and improved guard play from last season when the team lost both of its games at the national tournament. The team has produced 30 or more assists in each of the last four games.

Hunter, a sophomore guard, missed the first five games because of a hand injury, but demonstrated he is rounding into form after scoring seven points to go with five assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 15 minutes of action in Wednesday's win.

"The guards were kind of motivated to step up because last year we didn't have a good ending," he said. "We could have done better today. We have to be humble and just prepare for the next game."

Last November the Flyers were outscored 27-3 from behind the arc in a 103-77 home loss to Spartanburg Methodist.

"They're undefeated, they're a DI school, we're playing them on their home court," Apple said. "I don't know if it gets any better than that. We talked about them beating us pretty good here last year so we're hoping we show up better at their place."

C. Bergmann