Flyers Escape With Overtime Victory in Georgia

The Sandhills Community College basketball team overcame a 13-point halftime deficit and went on to defeat upset-minded Emory Oxford 75-73 in overtime in Oxford, GA on Saturday afternoon.

The Flyers hold on to first place in the conference with the win, improving to 7-1 and 17-6 overall. Next on the schedule is a home game against Division II Lenoir CC on Wednesday at 6 p.m. They defeated the Lancers, who will bring in a record of 11-7, 91-83 in Kinston in December.

The Flyers led briefly at 14-13 in the first half on the third trey in a row by Jashaun Torrence, but the home team rallied to take a 42-29 lead at the intermission. Trailing 53-41 with 14 minutes remaining in the contest, a basket inside by Damien Robinson and another three by Torrence sparked a 12-point run. It was capped by a basket by Ayden Gittens that tied the game at 53-53 at the nine-minute mark.

The Flyers took their first lead of the second half at 55-53 on a tip-in by Zach Riddle with seven minutes remaining and the two teams were never separated by more than four points the rest of the way.

Tied at 66-66, both teams missed multiple chances to move ahead in the final 1:30 of regulation. The Flyers took the lead for good at 68-67 early in the overtime period on a putback by Robinson. Isaiah Nelson went on to can a jumper and a pair of free throws, and Riddle blocked a potential game-tying shot as time expired to seal the victory.

Coach Mike Apple's squad forced several shot clock violations and held the home team to just one field goal in the final minute of regulation and overtime combined.

Riddle was the Flyers leading scorer with 13 points. Nelson and Torrence contributed a dozen each. Robinson pulled down a team-high 16 rebounds. Jamori McDougald led in assists with six. The blocked shot by Riddle was his third of the game.

C. Bergmann