Patrick Henry Hands No. 4 Flyers First Home Loss
The Sandhills Flyers fell 11 points behind visiting Patrick Henry CC in the first three minutes of play at the Hangar Wednesday evening. They caught up and led briefly in each half, but eventually lost the uphill battle to the squad from Martinsville, Va. 97-92.
Ranked No. 4 this week in the NJCAA Division III basketball poll, the Flyers dropped to 10-2 while the Division II Patriots improved to 4-6. The loss was the first at home for the Flyers since December 3, 2016 and only their second in the last 28 home games.
The Flyers made six more field goals than the Patriots, but connected on 14 fewer free throws. Mason Harrell was 11-for 12 from the field and scored 23 points to lead the home team. The 6-foot-8 sophomore also grabbed 11 rebounds to go with two blocked shots and a pair of steals.
Coach Mike Apple's squad returns to action at 7 p.m. on Friday entertaining West Georgia Tech (5-5).
Trailing 14-3 early, the Flyers caught up and took a 30-26 lead at the nine-minute mark of the first half on a put-back by Harrell and a basket by Shane Garrison off a pass from Parrish Stevons. The score was tied four times before Brandon Uziewe, who scored 21 first-half points, led a burst that put the Patriots in front 53-45 at the intermission.
The Flyers made 19 of their 34 shots from the field in the opening half (55.9 per cent), but also committed 16 turnovers. Led by Uziewe, with 11-for-12, the Patriots were 18-for-22 from the charity stripe.
Stevons scored the first eight Flyer points of the second half, but the deficit remained the same. Later threes by Damauri Sexton and Casey Clarkson, and a basket in transition by Stevons, capped a 9-2 run that knotted things up at 69-69 with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Following a Patriot timeout, Juwaan Childs lofted a pass over the defense to Garrison for a basket that put the Flyers back in front. The two teams were never separated by more than two points until a basket by Leemario Gills gave the visitors an 86-83 lead with three minutes remaining.
The deficit was two points at 90-88 on another put-back by Harrell before a three by Gills, and four free throws, helped close the door.
Other double figure scorers for the Flyers were Stevons with 14 points, Sexton with 11 and Tavarus Peterson and Chase Morrissette-Barnett with 10 each. Daquarius Harper and Uziewe led the Patriots with 26 and 25 respectively.
Flyers Extra – Flyer alums Christian Lathan and Jeremias Easterling have been doing their part for the St. Andrews University team during a rough 1-5 start. Lathan leads the team in scoring with a 15.3 average, including a high game of 25 points. Easterling, an All-American for the Flyers last season, is averaging 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per outing. He had 21 points and six boards in a loss to Bryan College on Saturday. The teams in front of Sandhills in the NJCAA poll are: 1. Herkimer (NY) 9-0, 2. Eastfield (TX) 13-0 and Suffolk County (NY) 11-0).
by Charlie Bergman
photo by Donna Ford