When Virginia Peninsula Community College men's basketball team defeated Sandhills Community College, the third-ranked team in NJCAA Division III, on Jan. 13, it was regarded as an upset.
But not to Gators coach Chris Moore, who said on the eve of the game he had a good feeling about his team’s chances.
“I always trust our training,” he said one day after his team’s historic 102-96 victory.
The Gators were 7-4, including a three-game losing streak, in non-conference play but are 3-0 in Region 10. In some ways, the season has gone as planned.
Moore purposely scheduled tougher teams, including four-year schools, early in the season. His goal is for his freshmen to play beyond their years as the season progresses, which he said has been the case.
“They were able to grow up a lot in the first semester. I wasn’t searching for wins the first semester. I was searching for us to get better,” he said. “By the time we got to Sandhills … guys stepped up. That’s what really helped us.”
Sandhills is the highest-ranked opponent VPCC has defeated in program history. The Gators were coming off a 99-66 victory over Oxford College of Emory University (Ga.) on Jan. 12, but showed no tiredness against the Flyers from North Carolina.
The first half, which featured 12 lead changes, ended with the Gators trailing 47-46. VPCC came out strong in the second half. Keshaun Johnson, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds, had 16 points in a 10-minute stretch to give the Gators an 86-74 lead with about 5 ½ minutes left. A 3-pointer from Jayden Sepulveda (14 points, four assists) at the 3:50 mark restored a 12-point lead (91-79) before a rally by the hosts.
Sandhills cut it to 97-94, but the Gators made four consecutive free throws and 5 of 6 in the final 15 seconds for the win. The Gators were just 22 of 33 (67%) from the line in the game, 3 points higher than their season average.
“I was worried, free throws have been our Achilles’ heel lately,” Moore said.
Sincere Moore had his third consecutive 20-point game with 25. He also had nine rebounds. Chris Cyrus came off the bench to score 16 points and added four steals.
Chris Moore had referred to Sunday’s victory over Oxford College as “a big win.” So, what was Monday’s?
“I think it was a statement win,” he said. “We aren’t just formerly known as Thomas Nelson Community College of Hampton, Va. I think now we actually have a brand people are paying attention to.”
The Gators return home Jan. 15 to play Washington Adventist's junior varsity squad at 7 p.m. at SafeHaven Empowerment Center in Newport News, followed by a game at Patrick & Henry on Jan. 18. After that, the Gators are off until Jan. 26, when they travel to Washington Adventist. That is followed by two more road games, at Paul D. Camp on Jan. 29 and at Chowan University on Feb. 3. They close the regular season with three consecutive home games – Feb. 8 vs. Sandhills Community College, Feb. 12 against Camp and Feb. 15 against Patrick & Henry Community College.
For more information on VPCC, visit www.vpcc.edu. For more information on VPCC athletics, visit www.vpccgators.com.