Flyers Dominate Inside in Victory Over Gators

The Sandhills Community College basketball team made only two baskets in the first six minutes of Saturday afternoon's game against upset-minded Virginia Peninsula Community College at The Hangar. 

Trailing 10-5 at one point, the Flyers rallied to take an 11-10 lead at the 11-minute mark on a basket by Ayden Gittens and never trailed again on the way to a 73-47 victory.

Freshmen Antonio Leslie led the Flyers with 12 points in their lowest scoring output of the season. Sophomore Bryan Quiller was the only other double-figures scorer for the winners, finishing with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Chad Kinch was the leader in assists with five.

"They came to play," sophomore Joey McMullin said of the squad from Newport News that defended fiercely throughout much of the contest. "They're a solid team and well-coached. We weren't very good offensively, but they only scored 47 points so I'm proud that our defense was really good today."

The visitors connected on just 25.9 per cent of their shots from the field (14-for-54) as Coach Mike Apple's squad improved to 10-2 while the Gators, who are expected to become a member of NJCAA Division III next season, dropped to 3-3.

The Gators were still in contention when a three by Jhalen Harris trimmed what had been a 10-point Flyers' lead to 24-19 with about four minutes remaining in the half. But a long three by Jamori McDougald set off a 15-0 run that added up to a 39-20 advantage at the intermission.

In the closing minutes of the game, an inside basket by the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Leslie gave the Flyers their largest lead at 71-39. The native of nearby Carthage, who played high school basketball in Florida, was 5-for-6 on shots from the field and finished with six rebounds in 12 minutes of action, helping the home side enjoy a 47-31 advantage on the boards.

He also contributed to a 54-20 Flyer advantage on points made in the paint.

"That's really my strong point when I get the ball down low," he said. "Rebounding is a really big thing we focus on as a team and I try to bring that every time on the court."

Flyers Assistant Coach Daquain Towns added: "Anything around the rim, Antonio is going to finish."

The first of two remaining games for the No. 4 ranked Flyers prior to the holiday break is a 7 p.m. home date against Shooting 4 Greatness on Tuesday. They complete the 2022 portion of the schedule with a 6 p.m.game at Pitt CC on Thursday.

Towns feels the missed practices during the power outage have contributed to some inconsistency during the last two games, especially on the offensive end.

"We didn't get to practice for four days and then had to jump right into the game at Lenoir on Wednesday (a 109-80 win)," he said.  "We had practices the last two days, and we've got practice tomorrow, so we should get that issue out of the way."  

During the halftime intermission, Coach Gus Ulrich and members of the men's golf team were presented with the rings they earned for winning the NJCAA Division III Championship in Chautauqua, NY in June.  In the spring the team will pursue its third national title in a row and the fourth in the history of the program. 

C. Bergmann