Flyers Take Control Early Against Lancers
Sandhills freshman Tavarus Peterson helped break Wednesday's basketball game against Lenior CC wide open by scoring his team's last 10 points of the first half.
The Flyers (3-0) took a 48-32 lead into the intermission and the visiting Lancers (1-2) never got closer than 14 points after that as the home team went on to grab a 95-77 victory. Parrish Stevons put together an all-around effort that produced 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists – all team-highs. Teammates Shane Garrison and Peterson contributed 15 points apiece.
"I thought our intensity was fine and we played hard, but I thought we lost our focus several times," Flyers' coach Mike Apple said on a night his team committed 21 turnovers. "I want us to play better. Overall against a DII team it was a good game for us. We took care of business and put them away pretty early."
For the second weekend in a row Heins Gymnasium will be alive with basketball as the Flyers play host to three other teams. Central Carolina CC and Wake Tech tip things off at 5 p.m. on Friday followed by the Flyers and Shooting 4 Greatness Academy at 7 p.m.
Saturday's action has the Flyers meeting Wake Tech at 1 p.m. followed by Central Carolina and S4G at 3 p.m.
With both teams playing at a high level of intensity, Stevons drained a pair of threes, and scored another basket in transition, as the Flyers jumped out to a 15-9 lead after seven minutes of action. The margin was four points with five minutes remaining until halftime when Donnie Haith scored in transition off a Chase Morrissette-Barnett steal and then sank a pair of free throws via another transition opportunity.
Stevons was credited with three assists in the 17-2 run that continued on a trey by point guard Casey Clarkson. Peterson then began his spree with a pair of free throws, and followed that with two threes and a basket in transition.
Apple described it as kind of a breakthrough game for the 6-foot-2 guard who scored 33 and 24 points against Sandhills as a member of the Mt. Zion Prep team last season, but a total of four points in his first two games as a Flyer.
"I try to use my athleticism and speed to get up and down the court," Peterson said afterward. "I'm just trying to come in and be a key player off the bench and contribute in any way the coach wants me to."
On a night that he also grabbed eight rebounds, Garrison scored on a put-back, and then turned a pass from Morrissette-Barnett into a layup that stretched the lead to 60-38. The defensive gem of the evening was turned in by Damauri Sexton who stripped one of the Lancers near midcourt and took the ball in for a dunk, making it 80-56.
Later Morrissette-Barnett turned a put-back of his own miss into the Flyers' largest lead at 89-63.
Flyers Extra - Stevons, a product of Anson High School, leads the Flyers in scoring with an average of 16.3 points per game. The 6-1 red-shirt sophomore has made 51.3 per cent of his shots from the field and 81.3 per cent of his free throws.
"Yesterday we had a practice and worked on offensive movement," he said. "The more we move the more options we have on offense and defense. I just brought that into the game tonight."
Like Stevons, the 6-6 Garrison has scored in double figures in each game, making 71.3 per cent of his attempts from the field. His 14.7 points per game ties him with Luke Moore for second best on the team. His relentless effort at both ends of the court has also produced 6.3 rebounds per game.
"We came out more aggressively than we have been playing," the Bunn High School grad said. "We came together on our own as a team and talked about it. I want to be a leader. This year might be my last chance to play so I want to leave it all out there."
With 12 assists and only two turnovers through three games, Clarkson is ranked eighth in NJCAA Division III in the early going with an assist to turnover ratio of 6.0. Haith, a freshman point guard, recorded four steals against Lenoir and his 10 in three games rank 10th in the NJCAA stats.
Lenoir – Agee 3 4-7 10, Rhem 3 0-0 6, Moore 1 0-0 3, Satterfield 4 1-2 9, White 6 2-3 18, Young 0 0-0 0, Ebison 5 0-0 11, Brannock 2 0-0 4, Joyner 2 2-5 6, Mayes 3 0-0 8, Hines 1 0-0 2 Totals 30 9-17 77. Sandhills – Stevons 6 2-2 16, Clarkson 2 2-5 8, Morrissette-Barnett 2 1-2 5, Garrison 5 5-10 15, Grissett 0 0-0 0, Merriweather 4 0-0 9, Sexton 1 0-0 2, McCrimmon 1 0-2 3, Haith 3 2-2 8, Peterson 4 5-6 15, Moore 3 0-0 8, Copeland 0 0-0 0, Childs 3 0-0 6, Murdock 0 0-0 0 Totals 34 17-29 95. Three-point goals: LCC 8 (White 4, Mayes 2, Ebison, Moore); SCC 10 (Stevons 2, Clarkson 2, Moore 2, Peterson 2, Merriweather, McCrimmon).
by Charlie Bergman
photo by Donna Ford