Flyers Basketball Topples Knights

The Sandhills Community College Flyers shook off a slow start and delivered a scoring clinic, cruising to a 137-61 win over the St. Andrews JV team Sunday afternoon inside The Hangar.

"When you schedule JV teams, you do it to give your guys exposure to that program," Flyers Head Basketball Coach Mike Apple said. "The idea, with Coach Hernandez [head coach of St. Andrews] being here, was for him to see some of our players, with the hope of possibly recruiting them. I think that worked to an extent. You never know what a JV team may bring, but the difference is they don't practice as much as we do. I told our guys that's why we work so hard—to make games like this really, really easy."

The game began with both teams trading baskets before the Flyers edged ahead, 10-8. Sandhills then turned up the intensity with a 13-2 run to go up 41-12. They closed the first half on a dominant 29-12 run, taking a commanding 70-27 lead at the break.

The Flyers kept their momentum going in the second half, wasting no time with a 22-6 run that extended their lead to 92-33. Despite the huge deficit, the Knights found positives in the second half with small scoring spurts. However, the Flyers maintained their energy and cruised to the win.

"I thought our guys rebounded well, ran the floor, and showed good shot selection," Apple said. "We didn't force shots or take bad ones, so I was really pleased with how we played."

Damien Robinson led the Flyers with 32 points, while Kendall Smith added 20. Xavion White contributed 14 points, and Mylon Campbell chipped in with 13.

"Our biggest focus was just getting up and down the floor and executing our plays," Robinson said. "We wanted to stay focused because we didn't play well in our last game. Today, we came out determined to attack more."

Mike Fee and Nylikk Troutman each scored 10 points, while Isaiah Upchurch finished with nine. Kevin Gentry added eight points, Amarie Liburd scored seven, Tre' Williams tallied six, Zack Noel had five, and Jacob Grantham rounded out the scoring with two points.

"It's great to see the younger guys step up, play confidently, and execute," Robinson added. "From an older player's perspective, it's really rewarding to watch."

Apple noted the team's progress as they near full strength for the first time this season. "It's about finding combinations and seeing who plays well together," he said. "We haven't had our full team since the fourth game of the season. Today, we got closer with Zack Noel being cleared to play after a finger injury. Hopefully, Antoine Piper will be ready tomorrow, and it'll be the first time all season that we have everyone available. We're excited for that."

The Flyers now shift their focus to two pivotal Region 10 games this week, starting with a rescheduled matchup against Virginia Peninsula CC tomorrow at 4 p.m. The game was moved from this past weekend due to weather.

Z. Ciboth