By Cris Greer
WKTV Managing Editor
With an 81-47 win over Saranac Tuesday, the Lee boys basketball team kept a near-perfect season moving along.
The Legends improved to 13-1 overall, their only loss coming on January 16 by one point to Charlotte (45-44). Quite a turnaround from last season, where they finished 5-16 overall, 2-6 in the Alliance.
“Overall, our team played great versus Saranac,” said Lee Coach Dominic Shannon. “Energy was appropriate, effort was strong and we have improved each game since taking our only loss of the season.
“Clarence Lewis really set the tone early in the game defensively, and by the end of the game, tied the steals record with seven steals, which was set a few weeks ago by our freshman point guard Jr. Metcalf.”
Junior guard Marc Whitfield led Lee with 20 points and 10 assists, followed by Joe Russau with 19 points.
“Marc is very elusive in the open court and great at finding his teammates,” Shannon explained. “He’s our best playmaker on the team. Marc has been close a couple times to 10 assists, but last night notched his first double-double of the season in a team win over Saranac, which I was the varsity head coach at for two years.”
Shannon said his team’s defense has been the anchor.
“Our wing/front court players, Ny’Zhem Marshall, Joe Russau and Keontae Taylor, have really been a huge disruption in the paint by altering shots and starting the break,” Shannon said. “We’re dangerous once we get out and run the court. As we head into March, as coaches we want to keep practice competitive and energetic.
“With the season stretching across a few months, it can be tough at times to keep energy and effort high, but I think our staff has managed to do a great job of keeping the boys engaged.”
Sitting atop the Alliance League at 3-0, Shannon talked about his team’s opportunities.
“We are in control of our destiny with a huge conference game this Friday at home versus Tri-unity Christian,” Shannon said. “Our goals are set high for this team, but our immediate goal is to win the Alliance crown, and it must be done defensively.”
