Lebanon senior Quenton Shelton became the all-time leading scorer in Lebanon boys’ basketball history after a layup with 5:30 left in the game against the Central Bulldogs on Tuesday night in Boswell Auditorium.
With the make, Shelton eclipsed the 2,000 point mark for his career, becoming the first player in program history to achieve the accolade. More importantly to Shelton, his team beat the Bulldogs 73-48 in an Ozark Conference matchup.
“This means a lot to me, you know I have been working four years for this,” said Shelton after the game. “I have put in countless hours after practice and before school, so this means a lot.
“I knew I had to get 26 points coming into the game, and I had that in the back of my head all night. I struggled at first because I kept thinking about it and was nervous, but then finally found my rhythm and got going a little bit. I was just happy we got the win more than anything.”
Shelton took time to thank both of his parents, Scott and Shannon Shelton, after the game and mentioned that without them being dedicated to the sport, none of the accolades he has achieved would be possible.
“They are my two rocks,” he said. “They have taken me everywhere. My dad has put me through shooting camps and own practices, and they have both taken countless hours to make sure I am becoming the best player I can be, and I want to say thank you to my grandma because she means a lot to me.”
Through 21 games this year, Shelton is averaging 25.5 points per game and shooting 53 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range after averaging 20.1 PPG as a junior. He also took the time to thank head coach Bill Brown for all that he has done for him the past two years.
“Coach Brown has pushed me where I need to be,” said Shelton. “He has taught me so many things like how to handle myself on the court and just be simple and get to the rim and score the easy points.”
Brown mentioned that the night was exciting for everyone in the program with Shelton’s historic achievement.
“What a night it was for Quenton,” he said. “The crazy thing is, he has over 2,000 points for his career and still has five or six, maybe even more games to go.
“It is a fun thing to be apart of, and I am glad that I have had an opportunity to coach every single one of these boys the last two years, but in regards to an offensive player, he (Shelton) is as good as I have been around.
“We worked a lot together last year, and he was trying to figure me out, and I was trying to figure him out. He has stepped up and made some nice passes throughout his senior year.”
As far as the game goes, Lebanon started a bit slow out of the gate and saw themselves trailing 18-13 at the end of the first quarter, but were able to cut the deficit to just one heading into halftime.
In the second half, the Yellowjackets got a solid third quarter from Shelton and junior Caleb Falzone, who scored eight of his ten total points in the third quarter and extended their lead to 14 heading into the final quarter.
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