Sanders three-point shooting lifts Dragons over Golden Bears

2/5/2018 10:50:00 PM

Josh Lemons

JACKSON, Tenn. (February 5, 2018) - Coming off an overtime win in which some of the Lane College men's basketball team players played upwards of 40 minutes, head coach Bryanth Basemore said he felt that some of his traditional scorers look a little flat and that they needed someone to step up.

He got that from junior guard Ai'Shontis Sanders. After missing his first shot from beyond the arc, Sanders then dialed in and made six of his next seven 3-pointers, finishing the first half with 18 points in 18 minutes of play to help give the Dragons a 10-point cushion heading into the locker room en route to a 79-71 win over visiting Miles College on Monday night at JF Lane Gymnasium.

Basemore said in addition to the points Sanders put up, he also helped establish a much-needed outside threat.

"It was huge for us just being able to get some consistent outside scoring," Basemore said. "That's one of the things that we have been lacking pretty much all season. And then with the loss of Terrace Holt, which is another outside perimeter player for us that shoots the ball well, it was important for us that Shon got off to a great start.

"Also Miles Lee. I talked to both of those guys today about the importance of getting in the gym and getting game shots up."

The scoring was a true team effort Monday night with five Dragons finishing in double figures. Sanders led all scorers with 23 points, senior Tevyn Roberts finished his last game in the cozy confines of JF Lane Gymnasium with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jade Patrick dropped in 12 points and Myles Lee added 11 in the win.

Junior forward Kendarius Ash picked up his 15th double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and pulling in 17 rebounds.

Basemore said while the coaches and the fans are in awe of Ash's numbers, if you ask the man himself, he probably couldn't tell you what he scored game-to-game.

"His numbers don't really reflect his overall game tonight," Basemore said. "He did a lot of other things well for us. He went out there and rebounded for us and he still pulled in 17 [rebounds.] That's just him being hungry wanting the ball.

"He played really unselfish tonight and he still shot 50 percent from the floor. Just his presence, he draws so much attention. Guys are locking in on him so much and he's so unselfish that he doesn't have a problem sharing the ball."

"He's very unselfish," Basemore said. "One thing Coach Young and I always talk about among ourselves is that he doesn't play for the stats. He knows one gear and one way and that is that he plays hard.

"It just so happens that he'll finish the night we some crazy numbers. We the fans and the coaches we all get excited about what he's done at the end of the day, but if you go up and ask him he'll tell you, 'I don't know coach.' He really doesn't care he just wants to get the 'W' at the end of the day."