Staton Leads Defensive-Minded Flyers in Victory over the Jags
Sandhills Community College Coach Mike Apple was concerned coming into Saturday's basketball game against Johnston CC that his team produced only eight turnovers in a win at Francis Marion earlier in the week.
"The focus today and all week in practice was on defense," freshman guard Nathan Yow said, following the Flyers 106-54 Region 10 victory at the Hangar. "We did a good job of it today and it keyed the offense."
The Jaguars turned the ball over a total of 32 times with 22 of them resulting from steals. Elijah Idlett led the way in that department with seven followed by Corry Addison with four and Tyrell Allmond with three.
The leading scorer for the home team was Savion Staton with 24 points. The red-shirt freshman, and Southwest Edgecombe High School grad, was 10-for-12 for the field and also contributed five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Idlett finished with 17 points followed by Yow with 13, Cameron Williams with 11 and Addison with 10.
The No. 4 ranked Flyers improved to 18-2 overall and 2-0 in Region 10 while the visitors dropped to 9-10 and 1-2. They are at home again on Wednesday at 6 p.m. with Central Carolina CC (7-13, 2-2) providing the opposition in another conference clash.
On Monday, Sandhills Community College will host The MLK Challenge boys basketball game between Apex Friendship and Hoke County. The tip-off at The Hangar is scheduled for 1 p.m. Apex Friendship is led by N. C. State signee Nick Farrar.
A tip-in by Williams, who came off the bench to score all 11 of his points in the first half, gave the Flyers a 47-26 lead at the intermission. Yow exploded for 13 points, including three treys during a four minute span of the second period, helping to swell the advantage to 85-46.
"I've been working on it and it paid off," the 6-foot product of Grace Christian High School, said of his 5-for-7 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. "You could tell in the second half they (Jags) were definitely getting tired."
Staton started the first 15 games of the season with a previous season-high of 13 points. In addition to his statistically validated contributions, he was also a factor in the team's high speed of play.
"I'm tickled to death," Apple said of his breakout game. "In baseball you would call Savion a five-tool player. In basketball he can shoot, he can defend, he can pass the ball and he can rebound. He's got an all-around game.
"From beginning to end we kept a real strong commitment to playing defense which is something we haven't done lately. We were sharing the ball and getting down the court for easy baskets."
Flyer Extra - The Flyer non-starters scored 65 points in the game. In a whirlwind span of 61 seconds late in the contest, sophomore Niem Ratliffe had a hand in his team's final six points. He began with a three, scored off a steal, took a charge, and then stole the ball again and assisted on a basket by Staton. Former Flyers – On Wednesday, Damauri Sexton scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Bluefield College in a 99-92 loss to Montreat. Academic Honors - Yow, Collin Medins and Winston Bryan of the basketball team, along with Stephanie Pages, Mya Sencenbaugh and Willow Williams of the volleyball team, all made the Dean's List with GPA's of 3.5 or better for the fall semester. Hannah Canady, Luke Owen and Brianna Spencer of the cross country team made the President's List with 4.0 GPA's. Flyers on the Radio - Saturday's game was broadcast by Sanford radio station 105.5 FM.
Johnston Community College – Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Alvey 8 7-11 24, Taylor 1 5-6 7, Hill 3 1-1 7, McLeod 2 1-2 7, Poole 1 0-0 2, Pearsall 0 3-4 3, Glenn 1 0-0 2 Totals 17 17-24 54. Sandhills – Idlett 6 4-4 17, Dent 3 1-1 7, Bryan 2 0-2 4, Addison 4 2-2 10, Miller 1 1-2 3, Ratliffe 2 0-0 5, Staton 10 3-3 24, Allmond 4 1-2 9, Yow 5 0-0 13, Bailey 0 0-0 0, Williams 4 2-4 11, Davis 1 1-4 3, Medins 0 0-0 0 Totals 42 15-24 106. Three-point goals: JCC 3 (McLeod, Alvey); SCC 7 (Yow 3, Idlett, Ratliffe, Staton)