Harrell and Stevons Register Double-Doubles in Victory Over Johnston CC
Mason Harrell and Parrish Stevons posted double-doubles, and Chase Morrissette- Barnett came within one rebound of making a third, as the Sandhills Community College basketball team defeated Johnston CC 101-92 at the Hangar Saturday evening.
Harrell finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds while Stevons was credited with 21 points and 11 boards. Morrissette-Barnett flirted with a triple-double before settling for 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
"Oh my goodness," was the reaction by the 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Butler High School upon learning how close he came to both the double-double and the coveted triple-double. "I'm hoping to join the double-double team. Hopefully, I can also do a triple-double and keep advancing all levels of my game."
The Flyers improved to 17-4 overall after the conference win and are now tied with Davidson County CC for first place in Region X with identical records of 5-1. Next is a 3:45 p.m. makeup game on Monday on the road against the Pfeiffer College junior varsity. They travel again on Wednesday to Davidson County CC for a 7 p.m. conference showdown.
In spite of a 1-22 record (0-6 Region X), the Jaguars stayed within single-digits of the Flyers most of the way. Stevons scored a dozen points, and Donnie Haith accounted for all 10 of his in the game, on the way to a 50-41 lead at the intermission.
Morrissette-Barnett turned a drive to the basket into a three-point play for the first points of the second half. Later, a put-back of his own miss by Shane Garrison gave the Flyers their largest lead at 85-72 with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
On a sloppy night of ball-handling by the home team, the Jaguars cut the deficit to 89-83 on a three-point play by Kisheem Faison at the 3:58 mark. Then five quick points inside by Harrell helped put the game safely in the win column.
The two teams committed a total of 50 turnovers. The 29 by the Flyers were a season-high.
"I told the guys the effort tonight was as good as I have seen in the new year," coach Mike Apple said. "What comes with effort is playing fast and when you haven't been playing that fast lately all of a sudden the turnovers are a real issue.
"We're not real into basketball right now for whatever reason. I'm just hoping we get back to it by about Wednesday."
Tavarus Peterson was 9-for-12 from the charity stripe and added 13 points and seven rebounds. Haith had seven assists to go with his 10 points. Luke Moore also scored 10, including a pair of dunks and was credited with three blocked shots.
Flyer Notes – The Flyers' volleyball players and coaches were honored at halftime when they displayed the two banners earned for winning both the conference regular season and conference championships last fall. Coach Alicia Riggan's squad finished with a record of 27-6. Also during the intermission, the near capacity crowd was entertained by the ball-handling of boys and girls participating in Haarlow's Hoops Mini Hoopers program led by Jeff Haarlow. The fourth three of the game by former Flyer Josh Smith with 28 seconds remaining in the game helped Fayetteville State upset Shaw 74-72 on Thursday. The 6-foot junior finished with 14 points.
Johnston CC – Faison 10 2-2 23, Williams 3 2-4 9, Tucker 5 3-4 14, Bryant 3 1-2 10, Fagans 5 0-0 14, Townsend, Jr. 4 0-0 8, Adams 5 2-2 12, Thorb 0 0-0 0, Hall 1 0-0 2 Totals 36 10-14 92. Sandhills – Stevons 8 4-4 21, Haith 4 1-4 10, Morrissette-Barnett 4 6-7 14, Garrison 1 1-4 3, Harrell 9 2-4 20, Clarkson 0 0-0 0, McCrimmon 0 0-0 0, McFadden 1 2-3 4, Peterson 2 9-12 13, Moore 4 1-1 10, Copeland 0 2-2 2, Childs 2 0-0 4, Murdock 0 0-0 0 Totals 35 28-41 101. Three-point goals: JCC 10 (Fagans 4, Bryant 3, Faison, Williams, Tucker); SCC 3 (Stevons, Haith, Moore).
by Charlie Bergmann
photo by Donna Ford