Flyers Fend Off Owens, Punch Their Ticket to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament

In front of friends, family, and the community, the Sandhills Community College Flyers not only defended their home court but also captured the NJCAA Mid-Atlantic District Championship with a hard-fought 113-105 victory over the Owens Express.

"It's a great feeling. You can never underestimate the advantage of playing at home. It makes it a little bit easier when you see familiar faces in the stands and have the majority of the crowd pulling for you," Flyers head coach Mike Apple said. "As far as the game was concerned, we really had to battle in the first half. We built a little working margin early in the second half, then promptly lost it and fell behind by two points. One of our game plans was to keep the tempo as fast as we could in hopes of wearing them down." 

With the win, the Flyers secured an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, which will take place March 12-15 in Herkimer, NY. They now await their seeding, which will be announced later this week.

This marks the Flyers seventh consecutive appearance in the national tournament.

Game Recap

Owens came out strong, jumping to a 7-2 lead early in the first half. However, the Flyers quickly erased the deficit, tying the game at 15-15. The Express responded by regaining the lead, but Sandhills answered with a run of its own to knot the score at 24-24.

Freshman Mylon Campbell sparked the Flyers offense, scoring on three consecutive possessions to give Sandhills its first lead of the game at 33-28. As the first half wound down, both teams continued to trade baskets, with the Flyers holding a slim 45-44 edge before extending it to 52-48 at the break.

The Express came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Flyers 12-6 to take a 60-58 lead. But a fadeaway jumper by Kendall Smith tied the game at 60-60, shifting the momentum back to Sandhills. The Flyers capitalized, going on a run to take their largest lead of the game at 75-66. 

From there, the Flyers never looked back, stretching their advantage to 96-83. Owens made one final push, cutting the deficit to 110-103, but Sandhills held strong to close out the championship win. 

"We have battled back from big deficits throughout the year, but today was a situation where we had a lead, and we had to protect it, that's hard to do," Apple said. "I really think this team is resilient. That's something they have in their back pocket as we head to New York." 

Player Highlights

Campbell was dominant, leading the Flyers with 33 points, two rebounds, and five assists. Smith followed with 19 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. Damien Robinson had a strong performance with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists, while Zach Noel contributed 14 points, 16 rebounds, and two assists. 

"It feels great. I feel like I prepared myself for this, and it was just time to execute," Campbell said. "We were looking for each other and finding our spots. We handle adversity well, whenever we're down in games, we always fight back and make a comeback."

With momentum on their side, the Flyers now turn their focus to the NJCAA National Championship, aiming to bring home the title.

Z. Ciboth