With help from Nic Sanker’s big offensive night and a dunk to send the game to overtime, Covenant’s short-handed boys basketball squad found a way to edge out Regents 59-53 Thursday night.
Sanker led the Eagles with 20 points, picking up where his brother Jonas, who exited the game with an injury early, left off. Sanker’s dunk at the end of regulation forced the game to overtime by tying it up at 50-50.
Sanker got some help offensively from Will Maupin with 15 points and another 11 from Eli Bennett and nine from Bryson Alley.
Regents built an 11-5 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 26-18 by halftime. That early success was fueled by Landon Swingler, who scored 14 of his 25 points before the break and Quinton Renigar scoring 12 of his 21 points in the first two frames.
In the second half, Sanker got on track and Bennett and Alley each hit crucial 3-pointers in the third quarter to help cut the Regents lead to 37-36. With Sanker’s dunk heading into overtime, Covenant had a ton of momentum and Bennett helped the Eagles cash in with two 3-pointers in overtime. Those buckets helped give the Eagles some separation to close out the game.
The Eagles face a quick turnaround as they square off against North Cross on the road Friday. Regents will look to bounce back Friday night too against Ridgeview Christian on the road.
