45 points: Kendle joins Kevin Braswell as Sharks record-holder
"[Kevin Braswell] is a great player and this is a great club. It’s an honour to be in that same category with him."
It was a bittersweet type of Saturday night for American Jeremy Kendle.
The American yet again inked his name into the Southland Sharks record books. Kendle’s 45-point haul against the Taranaki Airs at ILT Stadium Southland equalled the record for the most points scored by a Sharks player in a single game.
He joins fellow American Kevin Braswell as Sharks players who have scored 45 points in a game.
Braswell’s 45-point haul came in 2014, which was also against Taranaki. Interestingly both Kendle and Braswell were 35-years-of-age when they notched up theit 45-point tallies.
When quizzed by The Tribune soon after Saturday night’s showdown against Taranaki if Kendle was aware he had just joined Braswell as the record holder for points in a game, he responded: “I’m aware now.”
“I left a few out there. [Kevin Braswell] is a great player and this is a great club. It’s an honour to be in that same category with him.
“He’s a legend in this area of the world, so it’s an honour,”
Earlier in the season Kendle had already broken the Sharks record for the most assists in a game. His 20 assists against the Manawatu Jets toppled the record of 12 previously set by Braswell and Jared Weeks.
While Braswell’s 45-point haul came during a victory in 2014, unfortunately, the special individual display by Kendle on Saturday night was part of a losing cause.
The Sharks were beaten 103-93 in a game at home which they probably would have circled as being vital in terms of the playoff hunt.
Kendle’s disappointment after the game was evident. Particularly coming off such a massive performance against the Otago Nuggets just six days earlier.
American point guard Kendrick Ray was superb for Taranaki with his 32-point haul against Southland.
“Credit to those guys, they came out and had a good game plan. They played well, the inclusion of Ray is a big help for them. We just couldn’t do much with his ability to make plays tonight,” Kendle said.
“It wasn’t our best effort, but we are starting to make strides in the right direction. We’ve just got to shake this one off and prepare for a big double-header weekend.”
That double-header Kendle talks about are two games in two days in Auckland.
Southland will play the Auckland Tuatara on Saturday night before backing up 23 hours later to play the Franklin Bulls in Sunday.
Kendle remained confident the Sharks can give the competition a good shake despite Saturday night’s result against Taranaki.
“We’ve still got our playoff hopes. This league is tough, everybody is beating up on everybody, so we’ve just got to have a good outing next weekend.
“If we can get back to .500 (a 50%-win record), we think .500 will make finals. We’ve got a good run home, we’ve just got to be a little more consistent.”