Flyers Set Sights on Mott CC and Fifth Place at NJCAA Nationals

The Sandhills Community College basketball team will meet Mott CC of Flint, MI on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the fifth place game of the NJCAA Division II National Championships in Danville, IL.

Rebounding from Wednesday's quarterfinal loss to Davidson-Davie CC, the Flyers (21-5) built a 20-point lead against Ancilla CC (14-3) in the Friday afternoon consolation bracket game and then survived a late rally by the Chargers to gain a 103-89 victory.

Savion Staton helped fuel the fast start with 11 points, including three treys, in the first four minutes of the game. The sophomore guard finished with 30 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman Brian Quiller put together a double-double that included 18 points and 12 boards. Also in double figures for the winners were freshmen Dharyus Thomas and Nasir Johnson with 16 and 13 points respectively.

Ancilla came into the post season undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the final national Division II poll before losing to Region 12 rival Mott in the Great Lakes District B tournament.

"I thought we did a good job of being ready to play from the get-go," Flyers' Coach Mike Apple said afterward. "I wish we had finished up a little stronger."

The Flyers led 13-6 after the third of Staton's early threes. They never trailed and took their first double-digit lead on a put-back by Johnson that made it 40-29 with 5:10 remaining in the first half.

At the 1:30 mark, a straight-away three by Quiller expanded the margin to 17 points on the way to a 57-41 advantage at the intermission.

"I think I said it after the first game (first round win over John Wood CC)," Apple told an NJCAA Network interviewer, "we don't do well with prosperity. We had a nice lead and we got comfortable again.

"Hat's off to Ancilla, they played short-handed, but their kids played really hard and made a game of it."

The Chargers were missing their leading scorer Jakelyn Thomas because of an injury. Approaching the midway point of the second half, Thomas drained a pair of threes, and accounted for eight of his team's 10 points overall, during a burst that gave the Flyers their first 20-point lead at 76-56.

Later, a put-back by Derreco Miller made it 81-61 before a 13-2 Charger run cut the lead to 83-74. The margin was an uncomfortable seven points with six minutes remaining in the game before four free throws in a row by Staton and a putback by Quiller helped restore order.

The 30 points by Staton tied his Flyer career-high. In addition to averaging 13.8 points per game (third on the team), the product of Southwest Edgecombe High School is second in assists, third in rebounds and is one of the Division II leaders in steals.

"Savion is a jack of all trades," his coach said. "He's not only a good offensive player, but a good defensive player. He always finds a way to give us what we need."

Apple and Mott Coach Steve Schmidt served as co-coaches at the 2012 NJCAA All-Star Game in Las Vegas after winning the Division III and Division II national titles, respectively. Apple's teams have won two national championships and 253 games at Sandhills and Schmidt has 4 national titles and 752 wins in 30 years at Mott.

In addition to Division III national championships in 2012 and 2020, the Flyers finished in sixth place in 2015 and fifth in 2019.

Saturday's game presents a contrast in styles. The Flyers are third in the nation, averaging 97.6 points per game. Mott is sixth in points allowed at 67.1 per game.

"I have great respect for the Mott program" Apple said. "It's going be a battle to control the tempo."

Davidson – Davie CC earned a spot in Saturday's 8:30 p.m. National Championship game by defeating Garrett CC (MD) 97-89 later on Friday. They will meet the winner of the other semi-final between Des Moines Area CC and Iowa Lakes CC.

Sandhills – Staton 10 7-9 30, Addison 4 0-0 8, Brayboy 1 0-0 2, Miller 3 2-4 8, Quiller 8 1-3 18, Johnson 4 5-6 13, Yow 0 0-0 0, Thomas 6 0-0 16, Zachary 1 2-2 4, Murr 0 0-0 0, Boyd 2 0-0 4 Totals 39 17-24 103. Ancilla – Swanson 7 5-5 19, Rupert 7 3-3 20, Shorter 4 2-2 13, Beverly 0 1-2 1, Brown 6 1-6 13, Fountain 2 2-2 6, Powers 1 1-4 3, Johnson 4 6-8 14 Totals 31 21-32 89. Three-point goals: SCC 8 (Thomas 4, Staton 3, Quiller); ACC 6 (Rupert 3, Shorter 3).

C. Bergmann