Stakes Higher for Flyers Squad That Hosts Oxford Emory on Saturday

Twenty games into the season, the Sandhills Community College basketball team finally opens Region 10 conference play by hosting Oxford College of Emory University at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The nationally No. 2 ranked Flyers improved to 17-3 with a 100-64 victory over the Methodist Junior Varsity on Thursday in Fayetteville. The Wolverines from Oxford, GA come in with an overall record of 9-6 and a 1-0 mark in Region 10.

Coach Mike Apple's squad jumped out to an early 20-point lead and wasn't seriously challenged by the Monarchs the rest of the way. Joey McMullin and Kendall Wooldridge led the winners with 14 points apiece. Bryan Quiller put together a double-double that included 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Chris Hunter with six assists, and Jamori McDougald and Chad Kinch with five each, led in that department.

Earlier in the week, the Flyers' Jaquan Thurman was named the NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball Player of the Week.

Apple feels the quality of his team's play has dropped off from earlier in the month when it faced Division II Davidson-Davie CC, DI Brunswick CC and DII Johnston CC in consecutive games.

"Overall we've got to tighten it up," he said, looking back on the Methodist game, early Friday morning. "Twenty-four turnovers and allowing 37 free throws is not a recipe for success, especially when the competition gets better.

"I hope our guys feel a sense of urgency to keep improving now because these games are important. The regular season for our conference is about the seeding for the conference tournament. Oxford Emory is a quality team, they're well-coached and they've got veteran players. What we've got to do is exploit their depth."

Led by 6-foot-7 Isaac Snyder, who averages 16 points and 11 rebounds per game, the Wolverines have five players averaging 29 minutes or more per game while the deeper Flyers have only two averaging as many as 22 minutes per game.

Saturday's game is the first of three at home in a row against the other three Region 10 teams. The Flyers entertain Central Carolina CC on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Mountain Gateway CC on Friday at 7 p.m.

The national honor accorded Thurman came from a week that included the game at Johnston CC when the 6-4 forward was 13-for-14 on shots from the field, finishing with 28 points and 10 rebounds. The Hickory High School grad is currently second in Division III with a field percentage of 70.5.

Apple recalls recruiting him in high school, but he chose to begin his college career at Catawba Valley CC. He red-shirted at Sandhills last season. His strong start to this season includes a 3.0 GPA for the fall semester academically.

"Jaquan is an older guy, a team guy and one of our team leaders for sure," Apple said.

C. Bergmann