Sullivan Menard
Playing potentially his final home game for Division III Whitworth University, Sullivan Menard of Wasilla went off for a career-high 39 points in Saturday’s 91-84 win over George Fox in Spokane, Wash.
On Senior Night, emotions can run high and get the best of some players. Not Menard, though.
The 6-foot-3 guard saved his best for last as the 2019 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year matched career highs in 3-pointers (7) and rebounds (12) in the signature performance of his college basketball career.
This was the highest-scoring game this season by a men’s player from Alaska, surpassing the 35 points Jamari Lawrence scored for Southwestern Christian on Jan. 20.
Menard, of Colony High fame, poured in 26 points in the first half and buried five 3s, including a pair of four-point plays, to delight a sellout crowd of 850 at the Fieldhouse.
“It was super fun. Just one of those moments where I felt super confident that everything I was shooting was going to go in,” said Menard, who averages 15 points per game. “It’s awesome to have coaches and players who keep looking for me, so I just feel super blessed.”
He sank 14-of-27 field goals and 4-of-8 free throws to go with three assists. His previous scoring high was 29 points set two weeks ago.
Whitworth (16-7) improved to 12-2 in the Northwest Conference, one game ahead of Whitman with two games to play in the regular season. The Pirates are gunning for their first outright conference title since 2016, which comes with home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Whitworth sharpshooter Sullivan Menard of Wasilla. Photo by Caleb Flegel
Whitworth was down 17-10 before Menard got cooking. He poured in 12 of his team’s next 16 points, capped by a layup that tied the game at 26. It wasn’t long before the Pirates were down seven again, but Menard brought them back again.
He scored his team’s first five points of the second half, including a layup that gave his team a 47-41 lead. His final 3 pushed it to 76-65 with 6:06 left.
Menard has scored more points (354) this season in 23 games than he had (353) in 39 career games coming into the year.
With 707 career points, Menard moved into the top 100 on Alaska’s all-time college scoring list. Guys just ahead of him include Tom Feeney Jr. (708), Brent Fortuny (709), Chris Plooy (719), Alec Calloway (720) and Jason Lombard (722).
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