Flyers Outpace Roadrunners - Seek Milestone Win for Coach Apple on Monday

Backed by dual cheering sections, and a large crowd, the Sandhills Community College basketball team defeated Mountain Gateway CC 127-75 at The Hangar on Friday evening. Trailing 20-19 eight minutes into the game, a pair of free throws by Chris Hunter initiated a 29-2 run that all but put the game out of reach for the Roadrunners from Clifton Forge, VA.

Joey McMullin led Coach Mike Apple's squad with 21 points, including a burst of 10 during the decisive first half run. Bryan Quiller chipped in with 19, and Kendall Wooldridge and LeNijel Robinson contributed 16 apiece.

The Roadrunners' DaeDae Bowens canned six treys and scored all 24 of his points in the second half to share game-high honors with teammate Donovan Amason.

The No. 1 ranked in NJCAA Division III Flyers improved to 3-0 in Region 10 and 20-3 overall with their eighth win in a row while the visitors fell to 1-1 and 4-13.

A win at home on Monday, against Hines Prep, game time 7 p.m., will be No. 300 for Apple in his 12 seasons at Sandhills. 

The entourage of cheering Sandhills students that made its debut at Wednesday's game against Central Carolina was back in full force in black-out attire. Located nearby at the far end of the gym were 30 members of the McDeed's Creek Elementary School in Southern Pines cheerleading team. The daughter of Sandhills staff member Cary Greene is a team member.

"All of that noise is kind of a first for this gym," Apple said of the facility located at the Dempsey Student Center that was opened in 2015.  "The guys really enjoy a good crowd. We're so appreciative.

"We've put two really high-intensity games together. We're playing good basketball and I think a lot of the guys are having fun doing it."

As has been the team's tendency of late, the Flyers didn't take the pedal off the metal in the second half even with the large lead. Midway through, Jamori McDougald's third and fourth treys expanded the 24-point first half advantage to 41-points at 89-48.

"Every time we go up big, Coach Apple reminds us that we have to respect our opponent and always play hard," said Zac Sledge, who along with Quiller grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go with 10 points.

The Flyers reached the century mark in crowd-pleasing fashion with about eight minutes remaining on back-to-back dunks by Jordan Coleman and Quiller in transition.

"Defensively, in the second part of the first half we really played strong, denied passes and made them work hard," Apple said. "In the second half that onslaught of three-pointers, and just being faster, was fun to watch."

The Flyers enjoyed a 55 to 24 advantage in rebounds. Wooldridge continued his scoring surge that began with the new year, making six of his eight shots from the field. He drained both of his attempts from beyond the arc and is 11-for-14 from long range over that period.

"I was in a little bit of a slump going into the new year," he said. "but the coaches talked me out of it. I got my head right and I'm getting back into it."

At the end of the game, the Sandhills players mingled with members of their two new support groups, posing for photographs with them.

"It was an even bigger crowd than the last game," Wooldridge said. "I feel the word spread that we're winning a lot of games and we're No. 1 in the nation. It was really cool, there was a lot of energy and it was a lot of fun."

Assistant Coach Tramaine Pride suffered a knee injury during a practice earlier in the week. He underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Wednesday, missing the Central Carolina game.

"This is good to see," he said of the crowd support. "Having that extra boost, the guys jump higher and the basket gets bigger. It gets my kids involved, gets kids actually wanting to be Sandhills players and fans earlier, and that's amazing."

C. Bergmann