Covenant’s boys basketball team knew that they were going to be in for a physical battle with Carlisle Tuesday night and most everyone knew Jonas Sanker could reach a career milestone too.
The Eagles managed to handle both tasks, with Sanker pouring in 31 points to easily reach 1,000 career points while Covenant pulled away from Carlisle for a 66-47 win. In typical fashion, Sanker was quick to move past the individual and turn focus to the team.
“This is a big individual step for me but our team still has a lot of big goals for the season,” Sanker said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
With Covenant up just 27-22 at the half, Sanker went to work in the second half, knocking down four 3-pointers while handling business at the free throw line, going 6-for-8 at the charity stripe. A combination of knocking down outside shots and attacking the basket turned Sanker into a nightmare matchup for the Indians who simply couldn’t neutralize him as fouls started stacking up.
“The last few games he’s been on a tear — I think he’s really starting to understand his place in the offense,” said Covenant coach Clark Walker. “To get 46 (points) and 19 (rebounds) against Eastern Mennonite, who we found out is No. 1 in Division III. We’re thankful the guys around him were looking for him.”
Sanker is just a junior with a lot of basketball ahead of him, and he joins just a handful of 1,000 point scorers in Covenant’s boys program history including all-time leading boys scorer Phillip Bartleski’s 1,836 points.
Sanker reaching the mark in a crucial home win over the Indians was a perfect setting for the accomplishment. Sanker has been responsible for a ton of wins for the Eagles in football and basketball over the last couple of years, and he’s now helped push Covenant into the No. 7 spot in the first VISAA poll and a 7-3 record a year after Covenant went 6-19.
“We really knew this was going to be a battle but the big difference was staying in there on defense and forcing tough shots,” Sanker said.
Nick Sanker finished with 10 points and Eli Bennett chipped in 11 for the Eagles against Carlisle.
“We’ve got to be consistent in our effort, defense is our identity,” Walker said. “I was proud of our guys, they fought really really hard especially on the defensive end.”
