BASKETBALL: King gets in foul trouble, Sanders takes over

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on November 16, 2016 9:57 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

Wayne Country Day's biggest player -- 6-foot-5 Jamal King -- was the victim of early foul trouble against Neuse Christian on Tuesday.

That gaping hole left by King was quickly filled by the smallest Charger on the court -- 5-foot-5 Jimmie Sanders. The junior floor general swiftly dribbled through traffic and gave the Lions throbbing headaches in Wayne Country Day's convincing 84-60 victory over the Lions.

"(Sanders) stepped up tremendously," said Chargers' head coach David Flowers. "He's just so quick with the ball. And what you do when you get around somebody, you break the defense down and a lot of good things will happen.

"Luckily they were calling it tight."

Sanders was the clear beneficiary of those tight calls by the referees. In the second quarter alone, the junior was 14 of 17 from the free throw line. He scored 20 points in the first half, and helped the Chargers build a 44-27 lead.

In the second half, Sanders scored just six points. But he made up for the dip in offensive production with distribution and facilitation.

Marcus Metcalf -- who hit three 3-pointers in the game -- scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half. Cole Atwood, who aggressively drove to the lane, hit all six of his free throws in the final two quarters.

"(Sanders) still kept the offense going and still maintained that everything was going to stay under control," Flowers said. "And that was nice to have -- someone who can run an offense like that and just say, 'All right, I don't have to score, let me get everybody else open.'"

Sanders finished with a game-high 26 points and led WCDS with five assists. Atwood posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. And despite much time spent on the bench, King quietly tallied 14 points and four rebounds.

As a team, the Chargers were 33 of 40 from the free throw line.

Neuse Christian was led by UNC-Greensboro commit Kaleb Hunter, who poured in 20 points. But the Lions were just 2 of 9 from the charity stripe.

Flowers said it would be easy to take the next day off -- just watch game film or have a shootaround. But, the Chargers' coach isn't one to take the easy road.

And neither are his players.

"We just keep working," Flowers said. "I told them (Wednesday's) practice is going to be hard. I told them not to come and think it's a punishment. But come to understand it's just getting better."