The Shadow
SOUTHERN PINES, NC – The third time was not the charm. Mountain Gateway Community College basketball season came to an end in the Region 10 DIII Men’s Basketball tournament semifinals following a 103-98 loss to Sandhills.
After dropping two regular season games to the tournament’s top-seeded Flyers by 15+ points in each contest, the Roadrunners held their own in the semifinals and nearly pulled out the tournament’s biggest upset.
Following a back and forth first half that was only separated by one point at 48-47, Sandhills had looked like they were about to pull away in the second half until Mountain Gateway got on a scoring run and eventually cut the deficit back down to four points with a minute remaining. Free throw shooting from the Flyers would seal the game.
Zach Riddle put together a big performance for SHCC as he recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Ayden Gittens led the Flyers with a team-high 17 points.
Much like he had done all season long, Dae Dae Bowens kept MGCC in the game and produced another double-double performance as he finished with a game-high 33 points and 14 rebounds. Bowens finished the season with nine games where he recorded 20+ rebounds in a single game.
The bench kept the Roadrunners in the game for the most part as MGCC scored 56 off the bench compared to SHCC 41.
Mountain Gateway had five players in double figures, with all three bench players reaching double digits. Anthony Harris scored 24 points and was 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Brandon Pritchett scored 13 points, while Kam Byrd and Wanquavious Butler each had 10.
While it was free throw shooting that sealed the win for Sandhills, the Flyers had less than half the amount Mountain Gateway shot at the line. SHCC finished 17-of-22, while the Roadrunners were 34-for-46 at the line.
The Roadrunners season concluded with a 15-14 overall record.
NOTE: This was the final collegiate sports game ever played for Mountain Gateway Community College. The school recently announced that they were ending intercollegiate athletics with the exception to the eSports program.
Mountain Gateway CC 47 51 – 98
Sandhills CC 48 55 – 103
MOUNTAIN GATEWAY CC (98) – C. Davis 0, J. Rice 8, W. Butler 10, A. Harrison 24, T. Hodge 0, B. Pritchett 13, D. Bowens 33, K. Bayrd 10.
SANDHILLS CC (103) – M. Fee 6, J. McDougald 13, Z. Riddle 17, I. Nelson 15, D. Robinson 11, C. KInch 11, T. Williams 2, J. Torrence 0, D. Williams 7, A. Gittens 18, J. Williams 3, X. White 0.
3-Pointers – Mountain Gateway CC 8 (J. Rice 2, A. Harrison 2, D. Bowens 2, K. Byrd 2. Sandhills CC 6 (J. McDougald 3, I. Nelson 1, D. Robinson 1, C. Kinch 1.
