College Hoops: Sullivan Menard hits GW; Jahbez Sellers grabs 17 rebounds; Ashlyn Parduhn clutch for Clark; Isaiah Moses ranks 2nd in Big West in assists

Sullivan Menard

With his jump shot on ice, Sullivan Menard of Wasilla revved up his driving game Saturday.

The senior guard drove Whitworth College into the winner’s circle after his go-ahead layup with 7 seconds left provided a 74-71 win over previously undefeated Elmhurst in Spokane, Wash.

With his team down 71-70 in the closing seconds, the 2019 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year scored a layup and then sealed the deal with two free throws with 5 seconds left.

Whitworth used an 8-0 run in the final 36 seconds to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and snap a four-game losing streak while stopping Elmhurst’s 11-game winning streak.

Menard (Colony) finished with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting to go with nine rebounds and four assists.

He’s averaging 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 11 games for the Division III Pirates.

Menard has always had a lethal jumper but over his last five games he has made only 26% of his 3-pointers on 10-of-38 shooting, which caused a slight dip in his scoring.

He poured in 18 points against Santa Cruz but saw his average fall to 10 points in the other four games in this three-week stretch.

However, Menard has found other ways to contribute, like cleaning the glass. The 6-foot-3 Alaskan has averaged 8.4 rebounds in that span, highlighted by a season-high 12 boards against Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Clark’s Ashlyn Parduhn of Fairbanks puts the ball the floor. Photo by Steve Butler

At Clark College, freshman Ashlyn Parduhn of Fairbanks enjoyed a productive weekend for the Penguins as the 5-foot-7 guard averaged 19 points in three games at the Lower Columbia College Holiday Classic in Longview, Wash., leading her team to a 1-2 record.

She scored a season-high 21 points in a 61-60 win over Pierce and converted a three-point play late in the fourth quarter to pull Clark within 58-57.

Parduhn (Lathrop) had 18 points against both Bellevue and Lower Columbia in the other two tournament games.

She is averaging 11.1 points per game and posted her lone double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Yakima Valley.

Ella Roberts

Another former Lathrop player, Ella Roberts of Fairbanks, rebounded nicely after her first bagel in more than two years. The senior guard scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting for George Fox in a 62-57 overtime loss to Calvin in Newberg, Ore. She was limited to 19 minutes due to foul trouble.

When she was in the game, she made plays. Roberts hit a free throw to forge a 49-49 tie with 1:45 left in regulation and then gave George Fox a 51-49 cushion with 62 seconds to play. In OT, her free throw pulled her team within 53-52 early in the extra period.

Roberts was coming off a scoreless game, the first time that had happened in 57 appearances dating back to the season opener of her sophomore season at the Division III school.

The 5-foot-9 Roberts is averaging a career-best 8.9 points to go with 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in nine games.

Jahbez Sellers

At Spokane Community College, Anchorage’s Jahbez Sellers has been a double-double machine and then hit the jackpot with a career-high 17 rebounds.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore owns eight double-doubles in 15 games and is averaging 16.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He ranks 11th in the NWAC in rebounding.

Sellers (East) has gone crazy of late by averaging 23.4 points and 10.6 boards over his last five games.

Sellers was sensational in an 84-67 victory over Shoreline with game highs of 19 points and 17 rebounds. Dude had a double-double in 15 minutes of the second half (13 & 10).

His 17 boards represent one of the highest single-game totals for a college player from Alaska.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS

20 – Damen Bell-Holter, Oral Roberts 2013
18 – Burt Wallace, UAA 1998
18 – Peter Bullock, UAA 2002
17 – Vernaldo Butler, Biola 1995
17 – Peter Bullock, UAA 2003
17 – Peter Bullock, UAA 2004
17 – DeMarcus Hall-Scriven, Skagit 2021
17 – Traivar Jackson, Pima 2022
17 – Jahbez Sellers, Spokane 2023
(Only one player on this list stood under 6 feet. Hint: He played his high school ball at ACS when it had a carpeted court.)

Sellers along with fellow Alaskan and former East teammate Damarion Delaney give Spokane quite the 1-2 punch, reminiscent of when another former T-birds tandem of Jaron Williams and Kaeleb Williams rocked Spokane jerseys a few years ago.

Delaney ranks 10th in the NWAC in scoring at 19.5 points in 15 games and has bagged a 30-burger three times, including two games with 32 points.

He’s furnished shooting percentages of 49/41/83 and has added four games with seven assists.

At UC Riverside, Anchorage’s Isaiah Moses collected 21 points to key a 79-77 win over Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference.

Isaiah Moses

The 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year made 8-of-14 field goals, one 3-pointer and all four free throws, including a pair with 11 seconds left to that put Riverside up 78-75.

Moses (Dimond) has reached double figures in 11 of 14 games, including three with 20 points or more. He leads the team in scoring at 13.6 per game.

He also ranks second in the Big West with 5.0 assists per game and before the Santa Barbara matchup had seven assists against UC Irvine and nine dimes against Idaho.