Published: February 4, 2018

Jimmer Fredette had his fourth 40-point performance in his last five games as the Shanghai Sharks dropped a 104-98 decision to the Liaoning Flying Leopards on Sunday.

The former BYU guard finished with a game-high 41 points on the strength of 6-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the foul line. He also totaled a game-best and season-high 14 rebounds while adding five assists in 43 minutes.

Fredette did most of his damage on the offensive end in the second half as he scored 29 of the team’s 51 points to keep the Sharks within striking distance.

Cai Liang had a strong showing as well as he finished with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor while Luo Hanchen chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Sharks also got nine points and five rebounds from Nick Minnerath in 29 minutes off the bench.

Lester Hudson paced the Flying Leopards with 37 points, seven steals, six rebounds and five assists while Han Dejun registered 13 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Bass added 13 points and eight rebounds as the Liaoning improved to 27-8 on the season.

Through 35 games, Fredette is averaging 37.9 points on 47 percent shooting from inside the arc, 43 percent from 3-point range and 96 percent from the free-throw line. He also contributes 7.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals in 41.2 minutes.

Up next for Fredette and Shanghai is a battle with Shandong Golden Stars who are 25-10 on the season and in fourth place in the CBA standings after a 132-103 win over Jiangsu Tongxi Monkey Kings on Sunday.

Some familiar faces for the Golden Stars are former NBA players Ty Lawson and Donatas Motiejunas. Lawson is averaging 25.1 points, 6.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals while Motiejunas is putting up 23 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 35 games.

Another player to watch for Shangdong is Ding Yan Yu Hang who is having his best season in his seventh year with the Golden Stars averaging a team-best 25.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 34 games.

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