By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

GREENSBORO — Neither Tyler Sanborn of Elkin nor Rhett Bonner of Yadkinville knew a whole lot about Guilford College basketball — or each other — when the two were being recruited coming out of high school.

But the two have played a big role over the past few seasons in helping put the Quakers on the map as an NCAA Division III power.

Their contributions to the Guilford program will be honored this evening as the Quakers celebrate senior night in their home finale against Emory & Henry. Tip off is 7 p.m.

Sanborn and Bonner have started all 23 games for Guilford this season. All but two of those contests have ended in victory. The Quakers have been ranked among the nation’s best by D3Hoops.com all winter, including a brief stint at number one a few weeks ago.

Sanborn could bring home some national awards when the season is complete. He heads into tonight’s contest averaging a team-best 20.3 points and 13.9 rebounds per game, along with 42 blocks. Bonner provides 14.6 points a game (third-best on the team) and has dished out a team-high 69 assists.

Looking back, both Yadkin Valley players are more than happy they landed at the quaint campus in Greensboro, even though both dreamed of playing for bigger programs growing up.

“When I was recruited by Guilford I was like, ‘Well maybe that’s plan B or plan C. I want to go for a Division I scholarship,” Bonner said. “But the quality of basketball is really misunderstood when you say D3. It’s more pure here.”

Sanborn’s rise to national prominence at the college level has been meteoric. He was a tall high school player, standing 6-foot-9 during his days at Elkin High. But he wasn’t particularly overpowering or refined.

Then he got to Guilford and had to go against Ben Strong, a multi-year conference player of the year and one-time national player of the year, in practice. The light bulb went on, and Sanborn has since trimmed down, firmed up and developed a potent back-to-the-basket game, including a deadly hook shot. Some teams simply can’t stop him.

“Ben was great for me,” Sanborn said. “I came in and had never really played against anyone bigger than me or my own size. That forced me to get better. I knew I wasn’t going to get to play if I stayed the same as I was.”

Sanborn was a fourth-team D3 All-America pick a year ago. He was the MVP of the NCAA Tournament sectionals, eventually helping the Quakers reach the Final Four in Salem, Va.

This year, he’s enjoyed double-doubles in about every contest and seems a regular pick for conference player of the week.

“Tyler has really had to work on his body,” Guilford coach Tom Palombo said. “He did a lot of work in the off-season. And Tyler is still improving. He can still get better.”

Bonner, who played his high school ball at Forbush and North Forsyth, came to Guilford by way of Presbyterian. He knew that his playing time would be limited at Presbyterian, which was transitioning from NCAA Division II to Division I, so he sought a transfer at mid-season of his sophomore year. It was granted, and Bonner joined the Quakers for the second semester. He quickly fit in with his new teammates, including Sanborn.

Bonner had a 28-point game earlier in the season against Hampden-Sydney and has garnered weekly conference awards as well.

“Rhett is the point guard who makes the smart decisions,” Sanborn said. “We’ve had games where he is always going to make that big shot. He wants that. He’s got that kind of confidence in his game.”

Ironically, Bonner and Sanborn never really knew each other in high school, though both were stars for their respective area school teams. The two met the summer after graduation, playing together on the North Carolina Gators traveling team.

That group won a state championship, which served as a nice preface for what the two would do together while at Guilford.

“Rhett was probably the MVP of that team, and we had some guys who were going to the ACC and guys going to Memphis,” Sanborn said. “When I heard he was thinking about coming here, I was like, ‘We need to get him. That is going to put us over the hump.’ The next year we won a conference championship and then the next we went to the Final Four.”

Palombo, in his seventh season with the program, has had good fortune mining the Yadkin Valley area for talent in recent years. Gabriel Lowder of Yadkinville is a sophomore in the program. He’s averaging 15 minutes a game, scoring 4.4 points per contest.

Sophomore Eric High of Dobson has been a reserve contributor the past two seasons and could see more playing time starting next year.

“There is great basketball in that area,” Palombo said of the Yadkin Valley. “Plus it’s cool to play close to home. Parents, friends and family can watch you play. You’re a big deal, especially when you’re having success.”

Both Sanborn and Bonner aim to graduate from Guilford with degrees in sports management. Both would like to continue their playing careers, even if that means playing overseas.

Bonner has designs on one day joining the coaching ranks at the college level.

Sanborn has thought about that as well but seems more reluctant to hang up his high tops as a player just yet. Ben Strong, his former teammate, is now playing professionally in Israel, giving him inspiration to press on.

“I really want to play next year, so hopefully that will work out,” Sanborn sad.

But first, there is plenty of unfinished business with this season. The regular season finale is Saturday at Randolph. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament starts Feb. 25. And then, it’s March Madness and time for the NCAA D3 tournament, where maybe only a couple of thousand fans show up but where the competition is just as fierce and intense as any ACC contest.

Guilford had been riding a 15-game win streak through the back half of the season, eventually moving up to the No. 1 in the national rankings.

But a 90-63 loss to Eastern Mennonite last week brought a dose of humility to the team. Then again, it might be what players and coaches needed to refocus for the stretch run.

“We were on our high horse,” Sanborn said. “We were feeling pretty good about ourselves but we came out and didn’t play well at all. But I still feel like we’re capable of doing anything we want to do. We’ve just got to work hard and be ready to take the challenge as it comes."