Flyers Suffer First Loss of the Season at Spartanburg Methodist

The Sandhills Community College basketball team got off to a stumbling start and never recovered on the way to a 105-79 loss at Spartanburg Methodist on Tuesday evening.

Ranked No.1 for the second week in a row in the NJCAA Division III poll, the Flyers dropped to 7-1 while the Division I Pioneers improved to 6-2.

The next game for Coach Mike Apple's squad is more than a week away when it entertains Wren College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 30.

The Flyers made only two baskets in the first six minutes of the game, falling behind 16-4.  Later, trailing 30-14, consecutive threes by Sam Stoltz offered a sign of hope, but the home team built the lead back up to 47-28 at the intermission. The Flyers were unable to pull any closer than 17 points the rest of the way.

The Pioneers sank a season-high 13 treys, outscoring the Flyers 39 to 9 on shots from beyond the arc. The home team made 60.3 per cent of its shots from the field overall. The Flyers made a creditable 47.7 per cent of their shots from the field, but also committed a season-high 29 turnovers.

The Flyers' Joey McMullin, and the Pioneers' Jayden Byrd, were the leading scorers with 14 points each.

C. Bergmann