Flyers Complete Road Swing on a High Note - Host Hosanna Bible on Tuesday
Any concerns that the Sandhills Community College basketball team might be road-weary were quickly dispelled in Oxford, GA early Sunday afternoon.
Playing away from home for the third time in five days, the Flyers jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first eight minutes of the game. They stretched it out to as many as 27 points in the second half on the way to a 109-82 Region 10 victory over Oxford Emory.
Seven Flyers scored in double-figures led by Kendall Wooldridge with 14 points, Darryl McCaster with 13 and Bryan Quiller with 12. The balanced effort also included Sam Stoltz and LeNijel Robinson with 11 each. Camron Zachary and Joey McMullin both contributed 10 points.
Coach Mike Apple's squad improved to 6-0 in Region 10, and 18-6 overall, with its eighth victory in a row. The Eagles fell to 3-5 and 9-10.
Ranked No. 14 in the most recent NJCAA Division III poll, the Flyers only need to win one of their final three conference games to clinch the No. 1 seed and home court advantage for the Region 10 tournament that begins on February 17.
A regular season closing string of six home games in a row begins on Tuesday when the Flyers host Hosanna Bible College in a 7:30 p.m. start.
According to Apple, the players and coaches enjoyed the fellowship of having a dinner together, following the 320 mile bus ride on Saturday.
"This was a hard trip after we went to Black Mountain on Friday (Montreat College)," he said when reached by phone on the way home. "We knew they (Oxford Emory) played yesterday and we wanted to keep it a high-tempo game."
Quiller drove for two and scored a moment later on a putback to get the Flyers off to a 4-0 start. With 13 minutes remaining in the half, a three by Wooldridge made it 21-11.
Later, with the Eagles showing signs of mounting a rally, Stoltz drained three treys a row in the final 2:30 of the half as the lead grew to 52-37 at the break.
Quiller also made the first two Flyer baskets of the second half. The home team never got any closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
Alon Hanani led the winners with nine assists. The leading rebounder was Quiller with nine. Wooldridge was credited with four steals. The Flyers made a season-high 10 treys on 20 attempts. They exceeded the century mark in points for the ninth time this season and are third in scoring in Division III, averaging 94.0 points per game.
Region 10 standings: Sandhills CC 6-0, Central Carolina CC 4-2, Oxford Emory 3-5, Dabney S. Lancaster 0-6.
Sandhills – Hunter 2 3-4 7, McCaster 5 3-4 13, Stoltz 4 0-0 11, Quiller 6 0-0 12, Wooldridge 5 3-4 14, Sledge 2 1-3 6, Zachary 3 3-3 10, McMullin 5 0-0 10, Hanani 2 0-3 5, Robinson 5 0-0 11, Perry 3 0-0 8, Nelson 1 0-0 2 Totals 43 13-21 109. Three point goals: SCC 10 (Stoltz 3, Perry 2, Robinson, Hanani, Sledge, Wooldridge, Zachary).
C. Bergmann