Flyers Stun Storm

The #3 ranked NJCAA Division III Sandhills Community College Flyers completed a second-half rally to stun the previously undefeated and #1 ranked NJCAA DII Davidson-Davie Storm Wednesday night in The Hangar. The Flyers used a late scoring run to secure a 106-104 win.

"You've got to hit shots, and we did hit some crucial shots. We had to get rebounds and stop giving them second and third shot opportunities, and we were able to do that," Head Coach Mike Apple said. "That was pretty fortunate, especially when Damien Robinson fouled out with, what, three minutes left to go."

This marks the first time the Flyers have beaten the Storm since a 101-86 win during the 2017-18 season. The Storm falls to 10-1 on the year, while the Flyers improve to 9-1.

Leading 56-53 to start the second half, the Storm worked to extend their lead, but the Flyers chipped away at every possession. Back-to-back scores from the Flyers quickly made it a one-point game with Davidson-Davie leading 69-68. The Flyers tied the game at 73-73 and took the lead on a three-pointer from Kevin Gentry, making it 76-73.

The Storm answered with a run of their own, retaking the lead and extending it to 84-78 with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Flyers took the lead with 24 seconds left on a basket from Antoine Piper, making it 104-103. The Flyers then knocked down two free throws to secure the 106-104 win.

"What both teams did is play extremely hard, and luckily it just came out for us tonight. I tell our guys all the time there are a lot of qualities that make up good basketball players," Apple said. "One of them is to play hard all the time, and we played hard and gave ourselves a chance to win by doing that."

"Coach told us to keep applying pressure. Don't slow down, keep our foot on the pedal. Keep executing, run the plays, and don't slow down at all," Isaiah Upchurch said.

Both sides traded baskets early in the game, with the Storm holding a 15-13 lead within the first five minutes. The Flyers found themselves down 20-17 but quickly turned the game around with a 13-0 run, taking a 30-20 lead.

Davidson-Davie started to chip away, cutting the Flyers' lead to 40-31 with less than 10 minutes left in the half. The Storm flipped the game back in their favor in the closing moments of the first half, outscoring the Flyers 21-7 to take a three-point lead into the locker room.

Upchurch led the way for the Flyers, finishing with 30 points, two rebounds, three assists, and a block. Piper followed with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists. Diamante Shepard finished the night with 10 points, two rebounds, and four assists.

"My teammates really helped me by telling me to attack the rim. I kept getting to the rim, kept knocking down my free throws, and they just kept encouraging me," Upchurch said. "We stayed together. We didn't split up. Nobody tried to play iso ball. We just stayed together and kept going. Everything worked out."

The Flyers will be back in action on Saturday when they welcome Flight 22 for a 1 p.m. tip-off.

Z. Ciboth