Much to the surprise of the Flyers' home crowd, BLC (8-6 overall: 2-3 NSAC) held a lead for a good portion of the first half. Trailing 6-2 early, the Herd went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-8 lead, thanks in part to a couple of three-pointers by Keyshawn Bryant. With the Thoroughbreds leading 37-32 with 4:46 left in the first half, the Flyers (24-3) responded with a 17-7 run to take a 49-44 halftime lead.
Sandhills - the top-ranked Division III NJCAA team in the country, continued to gain momentum after the break.
The Flyers started the second half with a 13-1 run to increase the lead to 62-45. It took the Thoroughbreds three minutes and 30 seconds to get their first field goal: a three from forward Wol Yak.
Trailing 66-53 with 14:56 left, the Thoroughbreds started chipping away at the deficit. Much like February 7th against Virginia Peninsula, Yak started cooking and lead a furious BLC comeback. The Herd completely erased the margin with an incredible 19-6 run, culminating with point guard Sam Benton Jr putting the Thoroughbreds ahead 74-72 with 9:45 left.
Much to the chagrin of the home fans, the Thoroughbreds built a 99-89 lead with 1:53 to go. It looked like BLC was about to throw cold water on the Flyers' senior day and shock the nation, but Sandhills caught fire. The home team scored the final 11 points, capped off by a miraculous putback by Sandhills' Jaquan Thurman with three seconds left. Benton's three at the buzzer was no good, and the Flyers escaped.
Wol Yak lead all scorers with 31 points and 12 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes. Benton finished with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists. Bryant added 18 points, four blocks and three steals.
The full box score can be seen at
