Published: January 21, 2018

Jimmer Fredette and Nick Minnerath led the way as the American duo combined to score 56 points for the Shanghai Sharks who knocked off the Fujian Sturgeons 112-105 on Sunday.

Fredette totaled 28 points on 11-for-28 shooting from the floor and 3-for-3 from the foul line. The former BYU star added a game-high seven assists, six rebounds and a steal in 44 minutes on the floor.

Minnerath totaled 28 points of his own while registered a game-best 12 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench as the Sharks won their third game in a row to improve to one game over .500.

Shanghai also got big contributions from Lo Wei and Zhang Zhaoxu in the important win. Wei came off the bench to record 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field while Zhaoxu chipped in with 12 points and five boards.

Zhao Tailong and Wang Zhelin paced the Sturgeons in the loss. Tailong totaled 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field, including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc while Zhelin added 20 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Manny Harris chipped in with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 41 minutes as Fujian dropped to 12-17 with the loss.

On the season, Fredette is averaging 37.2 points on 46 percent shooting from inside the arc, 43 percent from 3-point range and 96 percent from the free-throw line. He also contributes 6.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.9 steals in 40.6 minutes a night.

Up next for Jimmer and the Sharks is a battle with the league-leading Zhejiang Guangsha Lions who are 23-6 on the season. They are led by Cortney Fortson, Ioannis Bourousis and Hu Jinqiu. Fortson is a dynamic point guard who is averaging 30.5 points, a league-best 11.5 assists and 7.6 rebounds. Bourousis is the main presence on the backboards averaging 11.1 rebounds to go along with 18.9 points while Jinqiu manages 19.4 points on 68 percent shooting from the field with 8.8 boards a night.

Photo credit: By Bagumba (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons