Flyers Clinch Second Place with Bounce-Back Win Over Titans

The Sandhills Community College basketball team bounced back from a large disappointment on Saturday to defeat Guilford Tech 124-89 on Sunday afternoon in Jamestown.

Forwards Bryan Quiller with 23 points, and Derreco Miller with 20, were a combined 17-for-22 from the field against the Titans. Savion Staton and Nasir Johnson added 17 points apiece.

An all-around effort by Keegan Brayboy added up to 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Corry Addison contributed nine points and 10 assists. In all, the winners made 58.1 per cent of their shots from the field. 

The Flyers improved to 13-3 in Region 10 and 16-3 overall. They clinched second place and the second seed in the conference tournament that begins on April 3 in the process. The Titans dropped to 4-12 and 7-12.

Coach Mike Apple's squad closes out the regular season on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. home game against Central Carolina CC (4-11, 4-11).

In a battle for a share of first place on Saturday, Davidson-Davie CC (13-1, 15-2) drained 11 threes in the first half on the way to handing the Flyers a 106-94 home loss.

"It was a tough loss yesterday," Quiller, a 6-foot-5 freshman by way of Cary High School said. "We just had to fight through it and get loose. Our mind was set on at least getting second place in the conference."

There was no secret to the Flyers' strategy against a short-handed Titan squad.

"Especially when we saw their numbers," Apple said.  "Our goal was to play as many guys as we could and get it up and down the court to tire them out. I thought we did a good job of sharing the ball and our inside guys, Derreco and Bryan, did a good job of controlling things down low."

Leading 35-31 with seven minutes remaining in the first half, Brayboy took a charge sparking a 13-2 run that began with a three by Staton. The final six points came on putbacks that Camron Zachary and Will Boyd muscled into three-point plays.

Six more points by Johnson, in a span of 90 seconds, helped build the lead to 63-42 at the intermission. Staton and Nathan Yow each drained a pair of threes in the second half. Later, Yow turned a steal into his sixth assist for a basket by Brayboy that gave the Flyers their largest lead at 117-78.

Apple thought it was a good thing for his players to be able to get right back into action the next day after the loss to Davidson. It was the Storm's first appearance at The Hangar since 2018.

Trailing 60-40 at halftime, and by as many as 28 points later, the Flyers put together an 18-0 run that cut the deficit to 10 points with six minutes remaining in the game. Miller and Quiller each scored 24 points in the loss.

On Sunday, Miller was 9-for-9 from the field, increasing his second-best in the nation field goal percentage to 69.9 per cent. Quiller is ninth at 60.4 per cent. On one of Miller's baskets, Quiller made an extra pass for a dunk that brought big smiles of satisfaction from both.

"We have the chance to be the best big-man duo in the league," Quiller said. "If we keep putting up numbers like we have been, we'll be alright."

Apple sees Miller and Quiller, picking up from where Miller and All-American Sayaun Dent left off in the chemistry department during last year's national championship season.

"Derreco is kind of the common denominator for what went on last year and what's going on this year," the coach said. "Derreco is a willing passer and very unselfish, and Bryan is kind of following in the same way. He looks for Derreco just about as well as Derreco looks for him now. That's good going into late season play. "

Sandhills CC – Staton 7 0-0 17, Addison 4 1-1 9, Brayboy 6 0-0 13, Miller 9 2-4 20, Quiller 8 7-8 23, Johnson 6 4-4 17, Yow 2 0-0 6, Thomas 4 0-0 10, Zachary 2 0-0 4, Boyd 1 1-1 3, Murphy 1 0-0 2, Sledge 0 0-0 0 Totals 50 15-18 124. Guilford Tech– Pulley 8 4-8 22, K. McKoy 5 3-3 13, Cook 2 2-4 6, C. McKoy 2 0-1 5, Smith 9 5-6 27, Ngama 5 2-2 14, Moses 1 0-0 2 Totals 32 16-24 89; Three-point goals: SCC 9 (Staton 3, Thomas 2, Yow 2, Brayboy, Johnson); GTCC 9 (Smith 4, Pulley 2, Ngama 2, C. McKoy).  

C. Bergmann