Flyers Use Strong Second Half to Ease By Hines Prep
The Sandhills CC basketball team broke open a close game against Hines Prep Thursday evening at the Hangar by scoring the first 16 points of the second half and romping the rest of the way to a 112-69 victory.
The lead changed hands 15 times in a first half that saw the Flyers trail by as many as six points against the team from Charlotte. Mason Harrell was 7-for-8 from the field, and scored 15 of his game-high 19 points, to help coach Mike Apple's squad take a 50-44 lead into the intermission.
"Our biggest thing is consistency and I didn't think we had it in the first half at all," the coach said afterward. "I told them I didn't think it was my halftime speech that got them to play better. I think they were a little embarrassed about how lackadaisical they were defensively."
The Flyers take a record of 24-5 into Monday's 7 p.m. regular season finale against Mt. Zion. Nine Flyers will be honored on Sophomore Night. The 2018 Sandhills Athletics Hall of Fame induction and dinner will held at the Dempsey Student Center prior to the game.
Unlike the fast start in the win over Central Carolina CC on Wednesday, the Flyers were slow out of the gate. Trailing 43-42, a basket by Malik McCrimmon put them in front for good.
The 8-1 run that ended the half continued with Luke Moore connecting with a racing Harrell on a long bounce pass for a basket in transition. Harrell then returned the favor by slipping a pass in traffic to Moore for a dunk. A put-back by Harrell, and a Hines' free throw, completed the first half scoring.
A jump shot from the side by Casey Clarkson, and then a three by Chase Morrissette-Barnett, from Clarkson, ignited the second half blitz. In one dizzying sequence moments later, Shane Garrison blocked a shot at one end to start a fast-break. The 6-foot-6 sophomore then sprinted to the other end in time to turn a teammate's miss into a three-point play. The game-busting 16-0 run was completed on a put-back by Zion Copeland that made it 66-44.
The most crowd-pleasing play of the night came in the late stages on an emphatic flush of a teammate's miss by 6-8 Xavier Grissett. Then a run of eight points in a row by Emmanuel Merriweather, including a pair of threes, finished off a game-ending 14-0 run.
Holding the visitors to 25 points in the second half was one of the positive signs of the evening for the Flyers.
"With two losses to Davidson, we're working hard to start playing better for when we hopefully meet them again," Garrison said after recording seven points and six rebounds. "Playing back-to back games helps us get the feel of what it will be like at the tournament."
In addition to leading all scorers, Harrell grabbed a game-high nine boards and tied teammate Johnny McFadden with four assists. The Flyers' 102.2 points per game are second in NJCAA Division III to Davidson at 104.5.
The likely matchups for the Region X Tournament to be held at Wake Tech have the No. 2 Flyers meeting No. 3 Central Carolina, and No. 1 Davidson facing No. 4 Johnston CC, a week from Saturday. The winners play for the championship, and a berth in the district tournament, on Sunday.
The make-up of a postponed game produced one of the smallest crowds of the season, but members of the college's Spirit Club handed out glow sticks and did their best to maintain the usual decibel level from the designated student section of the gym. According to the president of the club, sophomore Maiyah Cotton, the registered membership has grown from five to 25, but more students than that have been involved.
Many like sophomore Claudette Smith of the women's cross country team are involved in other sports at the college and also support the basketball team at away games.
"We love to enjoy ourselves and get everyone riled up," Cotton says.
Hines Prep – Watson 2 0-0 4, Hintson 3 4-7 11, Smith 4 7-8 17, Alexander 5 4-6 14, Forde 4 1-4 9, Alexander 2 0-0 4, Addison 3 0-0 8, Boone 1 0-0 2 Totals 24 16-25 69. Sandhills – Stevons 4 3-4 11, Clarkson 2 0-0 5, Morrissette-Barnett 3 0-0 7, Copeland 2 2-2 6, Garrison 2 3-3 7, Harrell 9 1-1 19, Merriweather 3 0-0 8, Sexton 2 2-4 6, McCrimmon 2 0-0 4, McFadden 1 0-0 3, Haith 4 0-0 9, Peterson 5 2-2 12, Moore 4 0-0 8, Childs 1 1-2 3, Murdock 0 0-0 0, Grissett 2 0-0 4 Totals 46 14-18 112. Three-point goals: Hines 5 (Smith 2, Addison 2, Hintson; SCC 6 (Merriweather 2, Clarkson, McFadden, Haith, Morrissette-Barnett).
by Charlie Bergmann
photo by Donna Ford