Flyers Doomed by Slow Start in Loss to the Storm

The Sandhills Community College basketball team fell way behind early and went on to drop a 110-83 decision at Davidson-Davie Community College on Wednesday evening. 

In a matchup between nationally ranked teams, the No. 2 in Division II Storm raced out to a 65-32 halftime advantage against the No. 10 ranked in DIII Flyers and improved to 12-1 for the season.   Coach Mike Apple's squad outscored the home team 51-45 in the second half while dropping to 9-6.

The Flyers, 2-1 in Region 10, resume conference play with a 7 p.m. contest against Paul D. Camp CC (7-4, 2-2) in Franklin, VA at 1 p.m. on Saturday.  The Flyers won the first meeting against the Hurricanes 114-107 at The Hangar back in November.

With both teams seeing their first game action in about three weeks, the Storm were hot from the start and the Flyers were not, taking command with an early 23-6 run. The Flyers showed signs of making a rally in the second half, but plagued by turnovers throughout, never drew closer than 24 points.

Ayden Gittens led the Flyers with 21 points to go with nine rebounds. Damien Robinson finished with a double-double that included 17 points and 13 boards. Isaiah Nelson and Jamori McDougald contributed 12 points apiece.

Following the game against J.D. Camp, the Flyers will have five home games in a row, beginning with a non-conference date against Johnston Community College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 10.

C. Bergmann