Staton Pours in 30 in Victory Over Red Hawks

The Sandhills Community College basketball team defeated Catawba Valley CC 111-91 on Saturday at the Hangar in a game that produced a whopping combined total of 61 personal fouls and 101 free throws.

A career-high 30 points by Savion Staton helped turn the inartistic affair the Flyers' way. The sophomore also chipped in with five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.

Other double figure scorers included Camron Zachary with 14 points, Nasir Johnson, Corry Addison and Keegan Brayboy with 13 each, and Dharyus Thomas with 11. Addison was credited with a team-high seven assists.

The Flyers improved to 13-2 overall and 10-2 in Region 10 while the Red Hawks dropped to 6-5 and 4-5.

First-year Flyers' Assistant Coach Tramaine Pride liked the way the team responded to its' two leading scorers and rebounders being limited to 15 and 14 minutes on the court, respectively, because of foul trouble.

Both Derreco Miller and Bryan Quiller eventually fouled out. In addition, 6-foot-9 Will Boyd was not available for the game.

Zachary and 6-9 freshman Zac Sledge helped fill the void. Eleven Flyers saw 12 minutes or more of playing time.

"We played together through the adversity," Pride said. "Our bench was ready. We're playing like a complete team at a good time to do it."

An action packed final two weeks of the regular season continues with a 7 p.m. tip-off at Louisburg College on Monday. The Hurricanes, 11-3 and 11-2, have won seven games in a row since the Flyers defeated them 97-82 on February 24 at the Hangar.

Both teams are a game behind Davidson-Davie CC, 13-2 and 11-1, in the conference standings.

A conventional three-point play by Quiller, and a trey by Staton, contributed to a 10-0 start for the home team. The Red Hawks did not make their first field goal until the sixth minute. At the midway mark of the half, a pair of free throws by Addison made it 30-10.

Then with just under six minutes remaining in the half, Thomas banked home a three to give the Flyers their largest lead at 45-23. But a 19-3 response by the hustling Red Hawks cut the margin to 48-42.

Staton, who missed the previous game because of illness, had already scored 16 points when the Flyers took a 52-44 advantage into the intermission.

"I was feeling really good," he said. "I got in some extra shots before the game and that got me going. And my teammates helped me too."

The visitors trailed by 10 with 14 minutes remaining when a four-point play by Zachary off a corner-three helped put the Flyers back in the comfort zone. The parade to the foul line continued. The visitors were 21-for-35 and the Flyers were 23-for-30 from the charity stripe in the second half.

"We weren't moving our feet as much as we should and we weren't getting in front of our opponents," said Staton, who is No. 1 in NJCAA Division II with 3.2 steals per game. "But that can get better and we'll work on it in practice."

In addition to Zachary's contributions, Sledge added two points and six boards in 14 minutes of action.

"Zac gave us rim protection and rebounds," Pride said. "Those two guys really stepped up."

Flyers Extra - Overall the Flyers converted 34 of 44 free throw attempts. The Red Hawks made good on 36 of 57. To put it all in perspective, a search indicated the most free throws taken in a college game occurred in 1953 when Northern Arizona and Arizona shot a total of 130. More recently, 84 fouls were called, and Niagara and Seton Hall attempted a total of 102 free throws, in a 2013 contest.

C. Bergmann