Tie-Breaking Buzzer-Beater Denies Flyers' Bid for Fifth Place
Trailing by five points going into the final 30 seconds of Saturday's fifth place game of the NJCAA Division II National Championship, the Sandhills Community College basketball team drew even on a drive for two by Savion Staton, a Mott CC turnover and a three by Corry Addison.
The team from Flint, MI called a timeout and in-bounded the ball with 10.1 seconds remaining. Well-defended, the Bear's Andre Bradford scored on a desperation shot from beyond arc with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
The Flyers were unable to get off a final shot, losing the game 92-89.
Coach Mike Apple's squad split its four games held at Danville Area CC in Danville IL. In both losses the Flyers were either tied or held the lead in the final minute of play.
"I thought we played hard, but I never thought we had that complete game," the coach said in a post game interview. "I guess that's why we were playing for fifth place instead of first place.
"It was a great tournament. I thought the people in Danville did a great job. The hospitality was fantastic and we had a good time."
Afterward the Flyers were presented with a plaque for sixth place and Staton was named to the all-tournament team.
The leading scorers in the game for the Flyers were Derreco Miller and Bryan Quiller with 15 points each. Staton finished with 13. Corry Addison contributed a dozen points, six assists and three steals. Nasir Johnson was also in double figures with 10 points.
Competing in Division II for the first time this season as byproduct of the COVID pandemic, the Flyers compiled a record of 21-6. Mott finished at 16-5.
Later on Saturday, a Davidson-Davie CC team that defeated the Flyers 82-78 in a quarterfinal game on Thursday, lost 86-75 to Des Moines Area CC in the national championship game between the tournament's No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
In a first half that saw seven ties and six lead changes, 16 points, including four treys by the Bears J.D. Rawls, played a big part in a 44-44 tie at the intermission.
The Flyers led briefly at the start of the second half after Quiller split a pair of free throws. They fell behind by as many as five points and didn't lead again until two free throws by Johnson made it 76-75 with 5:37 remaining.
But the Bears out-scored the Flyers 12-4 to go ahead 87-80 at the 2:31 mark. The Flyers responded with a basket in transition by Dharyus Thomas off a pass from Staton Staton, a Bear turnover and then a steal by Thomas, that produced a basket by Addison.
A basket by Bradford put the Bear's back in the driver's seat at 89-84, going into the dizzying final 31.6 seconds.
Sandhills, the 2020 Division III national champion, was one of a number of colleges that moved up to Division II after the NJCAA decided not to hold a Division III championship in men's basketball this year.
"I thought our schedule was the toughest we've played since I've been here," said Apple who completed his 10th season at Sandhills. "For the team to respond with a 21-6 record is a blessing to me and our program.
"The trip to the national tournament was fantastic and these guys really exceeded my expectations."
Apple told an NJCAA Network interviewer that the Flyers planned to return to Division III next season.
"We feel good about what we've done and we'll still be the defending Division III national champions next year," he said. "This has been a great experience and our freshmen really benefited from it."
Sandhills – Staton 4 4-5 13, Addison 5 0-0 12, Brayboy 1 0-0 2, Miller 5 5-8 15, Quiller 7 1-2 15, Johnson 3 4-4 10, Yow 1 0-0 3, Thomas 3 3-4 9, Zachary 3 0-0 6, Boyd 2 0-0 4 Totals 34 17-23 89. Mott – Lee 4 0-0 9, Bradford 4 6-6 16, Williams 7 6-8 20, Bryant 2 0-0 4, Bush 4 1-1 9, Roland 1 0-0 2, Rawls 9 2-3 24, Hammons 3 0-0 8 Totals 34 15-18 92. Three-point goals: SCC 4 (Addison 2, Staton, Yow); MCC 9 (Rawls 4, Hammons 2, Bradford 2, Lee).
C. Bergmann