Sanders a tall order for Indians
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

Gaffney's Robert Butler will have his hands full against Spartanburg guard Zycorrian Robinson today.

Measure anybody against Spartanburg's Omar Sanders and they'll likely come up short both literally and figuratively.

Sanders is a 6-7 big man with the sweet outside shooting stroke of a guard. His considerable talents will be on display when his top-ranked Vikings (12-1, 1-0) travel to Gaffney (10-1, 2-0) for a region showdown today at 8 p.m.

The Vikings' lone loss came against Chester when Sanders didn't play.

"He's big and strong around the basket and he'll shoot the 3," Gaffney coach Mark Huff said. "We can't lay off him when he's at the 3-point line."

But Sanders isn't the Vikings' only threat. Point guard Zycorrian Robinson is a blur on the court.

"He's the fastest player we've played against in a long time," Huff said. "We have to do a good job of containing him."

Sanders and Robinson combine to average nearly 50 points a game.

The Vikings also possess some talented role players, who complement the team's two superstars.

The Vikings enter today's contest after capturing the title in a tournament in Atlanta. The Indians don't have that same type of momentum after falling to Southside in the championship game of the Greer Christmas Tournament. Southside extended a seven-point halftime lead to 57- 45 at the end of third quarter.

Robert Butler hit a three-pointer to pull Gaffney within 65-57 with 2:17 left. The Indians went cold from the floor and watched Southside go on a 10-2 run to seal the victory.

"We had eight goals before the game and we didn't reach any of them against Southside," Huff said.

But a win against Spartanburg will go a long way in erasing the sting of the Southside loss.

"This is a big game because there are three teams in the region without a loss," Huff said. "The winner of this game will go one game up on one of those teams. This year, our region is as good as it has ever been."

Huff said the Indians must sprint back on defense and limit the scoring of the Vikings' role players.

"We can't let one of their role players step up and go off," he said.

The Vikings hold a slight 11-10 edge over the last 10 years.

The Vikings won eight games in a row in the series while the Indians won seven consecutive games. Gaffney swept the season series last year.