Flyers Sharp in Bounce-back Victory Over the Eagles

Bouncing back from an upset loss on the road 24 hours earlier, the Sandhills Community College basketball team roared out to a 23-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game against Oxford Emory on Sunday afternoon at The Hangar.

Facing an Eagles squad they needed an overtime period to eke out a two-point win in Georgia eight days earlier, the Flyers went on to increase the margin to 71 points on the way to a 124-59 victory.

Coach Mike Apple's squad connected on a season-high 63.1 per cent of its shots from the field, improving to 19-7 overall and 8-1 in Region 10 on the season. The visitors dropped to 3-18 and 1-8.

"It was night and day from yesterday," Apple said afterward. "The energy was there from the get-go. Today we got close to playing for 40 minutes. It was a good effort all the way around."

Almost 200 miles away, the Flyers were defeated 93-83 by the NCAA DII Lees-McRae jayvee team on Saturday, breaking the team's eight-game winning streak.

"Our mindset today was just to get the "W" because losing to a jayvee team yesterday was pretty embarrassing," sophomore forward Isaiah Nelson said. "I really focused on penetrating the defense and taking my mid-range, dribble-pull-up.

"Today we were all hitting good shots and playing good defense, and that was pretty much it."

Nelson canned a pair of jumpers and then a three, and Damien Robinson fed Jamori McDougald for a pair of threes to help set the tone, as the Flyers jumped out to an early 13-3 lead. The margin grew as Jashaun Torrence, twice, and Trey Williams also connected from beyond the arc.

One of the season's largest crowds was energized by the enthusiasm and cheers of 18 members of the McDeeds Creek Elementary cheerleading squad, making its third appearance at The Hangar.

"The home court is an advantage," Apple said, "and when our McDeeds Creek cheerleaders come in it just elevates the excitement level 100 per cent."

Leading 63-22 at the intermission, the margin grew to 71 points at 117-46 on a drive for two by Nelson with about four minutes remaining in the game.

Torrence, a freshman, drained five of his seven attempts from beyond the arc and finished with a personal season-high and team-best 21 points. Coming off the bench throughout the season, the product of Mount Tabor High School is seventh in NJCAA DIII with a three-point percentage of 47.7. His 41 treys are second on the team to McDougald's 58.

He says that he has been following the advice of his mother who told him to always be ready no matter how many minutes he plays. 

"I try to stay in the gym, get up multiple shots in practice and try to keep it going," Torrence said. "I definitely feel there was not just a chip on my shoulder, but on the whole team's shoulder to do what we couldn't do yesterday. We have to keep playing like we did today and stay consistent."

Nelson added 18 points, and McDougald and Damien Robinson chipped in with 17 apiece.  McDougald, Zach Riddle and Demyron Williams were each credited with seven assists. All eleven Flyers who saw action made it into the scoring column. 

At the end of the game, the Flyers players and coaches crossed the court to thank the team of third through fifth grade cheerleaders led by Jennifer Dolan.

"They did well," she said. "We have a lot of younger girls now, but they're learning and having fun."

The Flyers return to action on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff in Sanford against Central Carolina CC.  The Division II Cougars are 10-12 overall on the season.

A visitor to the Flyers locker room afterward was Derreco Miller, a member of the Flyers 2020 national championship team and a 2021 NJCAA All-American. He completed his college career at Mount Olive College.

Current Region 10 Standings: Sandhills CC 8-1, Paul D. Camp 5-2, Virginia Peninsula 4-2, Mountain Gateway 2-4, Patrick Henry 2-5, Oxford Emory 1-8.

C. Bergmann