Sheldon hits record

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Sean Sheldon scored a school-record 46 points against Benzie. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

January 26, 2012

TCSF big man racks up 46 points in win against Benzie

BY DENNIS CHASE dchase@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Thu Jan 26, 2012, 02:23 PM EST

TRAVERSE CITY — Sean Sheldon has had his eye on the St. Francis single-game scoring record for better than a year.

He got it Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-9 senior scored 46 points as the Gladiators beat a scrappy Benzie Central team 104-78 in a fast-paced non-league basketball game.

Sheldon, who signed with William and Mary, broke Jim Swaney's record of 42 points set in a 1976 game at Cheboygan.

"I knew I was getting close," Sheldon said. "My teammates kept feeding me. I appreciate that. This (record) is big. I've been going for this since last year. I really wanted it."

Sheldon dropped in 19 points in the first quarter to help stake the 8-1 Gladiators to a 30-18 lead. St. Francis never looked back, although the Huskies were within eight at the start of the fourth quarter.

"(Teammate) Marc Stein called it in the first quarter," Sheldon said. "He said I was going to get it tonight. He was right."

Ironically, Swaney's coach, Jim Rossi, was in the stands to see Sheldon eclipse the mark.

"I believe that's a gym record, too," Rossi said. "It was 45 set by Jay Smith (in a Christmas tournament)."

Rossi was impressed with Sheldon.

"He was tough," he said. "He worked inside nicely — and he can hit the three. He works hard. He never lets up. They got him the ball nicely down deep. They were really looking for him."

Devin Sheehy, back in action after missing only one game with a broken thumb, added 13 points off the bench and gave the Gladiators a spark.

"He's a difference-maker," St. Francis coach Keith Haske said. "We're definitely a better team with him in there."

Michael Jenkins added 11 points and Damon Sheehy 10. But the night belonged to Sheldon.

"I'm so happy for him," Haske said. "He's such a great kid. He puts in so much time. He's much more aggressive inside this season. I think that's made a huge difference in his game. He's been in the weight room and paid the price. I'm happy for him. He deserves it."

Sheldon had 21 points in the first half, 25 in the second.

"He got us going right away and was consistent through the whole game," Haske said. "I thought his teammates did a great job getting him the ball in good spots."

Benzie was led by Cory Taylor's 25 points. The senior center scored Benzie's first 12 points.

Nathan Oren and Corey Weaver added 17 apiece. Oren netted 14 in the first half — he hit three 3-pointers — while Weaver picked up all of his points in the second half.

"We hung in there," Huskies coach Lynn Walker said. "Starting the fourth quarter, we were eight points down. The (final) score doesn't tell what the game was.

"We got tired out there. There's only eight of us. But I give a lot of credit to my kids. That (St. Francis) is a Final Four team we played. They're No. 7 in the state and they deserve it.

"I'm very happy with how we played. This will help us down the road."

Haske, meanwhile, was pleased with the win, but saw room for improvement.

"We didn't play good defense tonight," he said. "Benzie did a great job attacking and making the right pass at the right time. I was impressed with them. That's probably the best I've seen a team take us on as far as our press and our pressure. They had a great plan."

Haske said the Gladiators also need to cut down on turnovers.

"We had some horrible turnovers," he said. "We're not near where I think we're going to be. We have a long way to grow in a short time. We've just to make sure we focus on getting better every night."

St. Francis won the JV game 79-49 as Tanner Hobbs scored 18 and Noah Phillips 12. Javier Rodriguez had 14 and Brett Harris and Evan Witkop 11 apiece for Benzie.