Flyers Advance to National Title Game Against Brookdale CC

The No. 1 seeded Sandhills Community College basketball team (30-3) will be seeking the program's third NJCAA Division III national title when it meets No. 3 Brookdale CC (29-3) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Herkimer, NY.

Trailing Northampton CC (PA) by as many as nine points in the first half of Friday's semi-final game, a jumper from the side by Zac Sledge broke a 64-64 tie with just under nine minutes remaining in the game and the Flyers went on from there to grab an 88-78 victory.

Twelve different players made it into the scoring column for Coach Mike Apple's squad led by Jamori McDougald with 14 points, including four treys.  Jordan Coleman and LeNijel Robinson contributed 12 apiece, and Joey McMullin and Sledge added 11 each.

Later Friday, Brookdale of Middletown, N.J. advanced with a 76-62 semi-final victory over Rochester CC (MN).

"It's 24 hours away and a whole new game," Apple said, looking ahead to tomorrow. "I feel very fortunate to be in a position to play for a national championship and it's to the credit of all of our guys."

Following the script of their slow start in Thursday's quarterfinal win over Mohawk Valley CC, three treys in the first half by McDougald, and one each by Robinson and Kendall Wooldridge, were not enough to offset the strong inside game of the Spartans.

With just under four minutes remaining until the intermission the Flyers trailed 40-31. A drive for two by Alon Hanani, and then a basket by Jaquan Thurman, assisted by Hanani, helped close the gap to 47-43 at halftime.

"It was a very uneven performance on our part," Apple said of the first half. "Their inside game was very strong and we had no offensive boards."

The Flyers caught up for the first time in the second half at 53-53 on a jumper from the side by Ayden Gittens. The game was knotted up five more times before Sledge's basket off a pass from Coleman gave them a lead they never surrendered.

With 4:45 remaining, a pair of free throws by McMullin gave the Flyers their first double-digit lead at 77-66. The Spartans never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Thurman finished with a team-high eight rebounds to go with nine points. A double-figures scorer for the fifth game in a row, Sledge was also credited with four blocked shots.

"I can't say enough about the efforts of Jaquan, and Zac off the bench," Apple said. "They gave us a defensive presence inside in the second half when we needed it."

Friday's wins were the 18th in a row for the Flyers and the 16th straight for Brookdale. Apple was impressed by Brookdale's defense as he watched the second semi-final. 

Winners of national titles in 2012 and 2020, Apple along with assistant coaches Daquain Towns, Tramaine Pride and Markell Lotharp were all members of the team that defeated Brookale CC 93-92 in the opening round of the 2012 championship. The winning basket came on a full-court dash for a buzzer-beating floater by Towns. Towns went on to be named the MVP of the tournament.