Sandhills Machine, Inc., has been a staple in the Sandhills since 2017. The organization focuses on education, mentorship, and team building and builds upon projects such as the U.S. Open Basketball Championships and the U.S. Basketball Games, in which 32 members were selected to participate.
Thirty-two members of Sandhills Machine, ages 14-19, were selected to represent Team North Carolina at the 9th Annual U.S. Basketball Games, Aug. 2 – 4 at Lakepoint Champions Center in Emerson, Georgia.
Five NC varsity division basketball teams competed. Team NC-Freeman featured local high school stars such as Jullien Cole, Jaylen Kyle, Mikhi Nobles, and Jaylen Sturdivant of the Moore and Hoke County areas, and they were not to be denied.
Team NC-Freeman suffered a heartbreaking triple overtime loss to Mississippi-Gibson, 70-69, and then racked up impressive wins over Alabama-Travis, 74-38, Mississippi-Hooper, 50-48, West Virginia-Allen, 72-62, Georgia-Scoot, 83-73, and Georgia-Haynes, 64-63, to capture the varsity division championship.
Both Jullien Cole and Jaylen Sturdivant were walking double-doubles with their three-point shooting ability on full display. Jaylen Kyle controlled the backboards on both ends, and Mikhi Nobles was a defensive machine who ground out three consecutive lockdown stops on his man to secure the championship game win.
Judah and Jadah Freeman (the twins) had their offensive prowess on full display, and Landon Griffin (Mr. Bouncy) proved that he was the go-to man when the team was in dire need of a score. He captured a ferocious one-hand dunk and followed that up with an even more ferocious two-hand dunk; both times, the defenders had to take that.
Stats for the championship game:
Landon Griffin: eight points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal
Mikhi Nobles: one assist
Jullien Cole: 22 points, 11 rebounds, two assists
Judah Freeman: eight points, four rebounds, two assists
Jaylen Sturdivant: 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals
Jaylen Kyle: 11 points, eight rebounds
Jadah Freeman: five points, seven rebounds, five assists, one block
The 9th Annual U.S. Basketball Games isn’t your average tournament. It’s a states-vs-states event where the participants take pride in competing for their state and bragging rights for an entire year. Team NC-Freeman took back its title of HoopState, and they are Hoop State Certified.
“Special thanks to all those who make it possible: Sandhills Machine’s coaches, volunteers, members and parents, First Bank, Blendz Barbershop, Sandhills Community College, Our Military Kids, Walmart, Kimberly Sutton, Richard Mandell, silent donors, and the John W. Roffe and Marjorie A. Roffe Endowment (for Moore County), an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation. We thank you all,” said Sandhills Machine President Cash Sutton in a press release.
Feature photo: Champions left to right: Landon Griffin, Jullien Cole, Mikhi Nobles, Jaylen Kyle, Coach Jerald Freeman, Jaylen Sturdivant, Judah Freeman, Jadah Freeman, and Coach Cash Sutton.
Contributed/Courtesy photo.
