Flyers Look to Bounce Back From First Loss in Conference Opener

Coming off the split of a pair of games in Maryland and Virginia over the weekend, the Sandhills Community College basketball team (7-1) begins Region X play at Johnston Community College (1-8) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Flyers defeated Anne Arundel CC 96-78 on Saturday with 63 of the points coming off the bench led by Donnie Haith with 19. Northern Virginia CC (NOVA) knocked them from the undefeated ranks by a count of 104-86 on Sunday.

Coach Mike Apple's squad got off to a good start in both games, but about midway through the first half on Sunday NOVA grabbed the momentum. With the scored tied at 20-20, the Nighthawks outscored the Flyers 38-16 on the way to a 58-36 lead at the intermission.

"We ran into a lot of foul trouble with our bigs," Apple said on Monday. "When they got the momentum, and their level of intensity increased, we never matched it. We came out in the second half like we ended the first half and got too far behind to catch them."

Led by Haith, who also led the team with 17 points in the loss to NOVA, all three of the Flyers' top scorers against Anne Arundel, came off the bench. Emmanuel Merriweather had 13 points, including three treys and Johnny McFadden scored 11 with three baskets from beyond the arc. None of the starters scored in double figures. Haith made 15 of his 21 shots from the field in the two games.

"I think that attests to our depth," the coach said. "Donnie had a good scoring weekend. We got a good lift from Emmanuel and Johnny. They both did a good job coming off the bench and being ready to play. Emmanuel is one the best three-point shooters we've got and when his confidence is high he's dangerous."

Following the Thanksgiving Day holiday break conference play resumes with a home date against Davidson County CC (6-1) on Wednesday, November 29. Including Central Carolina CC (6-4), each of the four Region X teams will face each other three times in regular season play.

"Their record isn't very good, but on their home court I have the utmost respect for what they are capable of and we will have to be ready to beat them," Apple said of Johnston CC. "I'm very interested in seeing the response of our guys today in practice. You don't want to necessarily dwell on losses, but you do want to learn from them."

Sandhills – Stevons 3 0-0 6, Harrell 3 1-1 7, Clarkson 2 0-0 6, Morrissette-Barnett 2 3-3 7, Garrison 3 1-1 7, Merriweather 4 2-2 13, Sexton 3 2-2 8, McCrimmon 0 0-0 0, McFadden 3 2-4 11, Haith 8 2-2 19, Peterson 1 1-2 3, Moore 2 0-0 4, Copeland 0 1-2 1, Childs 2 0-0 4, Murdock 0 0-0 0, Grissett 0 0-0 0 Totals 36 15-19 96. Anne Arundel – Dobson 4 0-0 8, Wyatt 9 0-0 18, Kenner 2 4-4 8, Rajos 7 4-4 18, Smith 2 0-0 6, Mahmutagic 2 0-0 4, Branch 0 0-0 0, Yemane 2 0-0 5, Gaston 1 1-1 3, Spence 2 2-2 8 Totals 31 11-11 86. Three-point goals: SCC 9 (McFadden 3, Merriweather 3, Clarkson 2, Haith; AACC 5 (Smith 2, Spence 2, Yemane).

Sandhills – Garrison 6 2-3 14, Grissett 0 0-0 0, Stevons 3 0-0 7, Clarkson 2 0-0 4, Morrissette-Barnett 3 4-5 10, Harrell 2 1-1 5, Merriweather 1 0-0 2, Sexton 0 0-0 0, McCrimmon 0 0-0 0, McFadden 1 0-0 0, Haith 7 2-3 17, Peterson 3 0-0 8, Moore 1 1-2 3, Copeland 2 1-2 5, Childs 3 2-3 8, Murdock 0 0-0 0 Totals 34 13-19 86. NOVA – Carmen 0 0-0 0, Hyatt 6 6-12 18, Jackson 3 4-4 10, James 7 2-4 16, Agyemang 10 3-4 25, Riley 0 0-0 0, Perkins 0 0-0 0, Adams 0 1-2 1, Rodgers 3 5-6 11, Askew 0 1-2 1, Kabomba 0 0-2 0, Elliott 3 0-0 8, Saadeideen 5 3-3 14 Totals 37 25-39 104. Three-point goals: SCC 5 (Peterson 2, Stevons, McFadden, Haith); NOVA 5 (Agyemang 2, Elliott 2, Saadeideen).

by Charlie Bergman

photo by Donna Ford