By the end of the week, it’s likely the Salamanca boys basketball program will have a new all-time leading scorer.
On Friday night, junior Lucus Brown became only the third 1,000-point scorer in the history of the Warriors’ boys basketball team. It shouldn’t take him long to catch up to the first two.
With 1,002 career points, Brown sits just two points behind 1968 graduate Chuck Crist’s 1,004 for second. He’s only 12 away (or 13 from breaking) the all-time record of 1,014 points set by Jack O’Rourke (2008).
Brown scored 24 points Friday in a game when his team needed most of them: a 50-39 win over Allegany-Limestone, the defending Section 6 Class B champion and a rival in the CCAA West I division.
Averaging 16.1 points through seven games after a 21.2-point per game sophomore year, Brown could very well set the record in his next game as the Warriors face Olean Tuesday night in Salamanca.
Warriors coach Adam Bennett has seen big shots from Brown before, most notably in last season’s playoff run to the state Class C semifinal as the team won its first sectional title since the 1960s and first-ever regional. Brown joined the varsity team as an eighth grader and has made the Big 30 First-Team All-Stars as a freshman and sophomore.
“His love is basketball,” Bennett said. “That’s all he wants to do and he’s in the gym every day. What he cares about is winning and he cares about playing the best for his teammates. As long as he continues to do that he’s going to be the best basketball player to ever go to this school and he’s going to have a career far beyond Salamanca in basketball. I’m just really proud of him. He deserves this.”
Brown knew how many points he needed to reach the century mark Friday night. So did many of the Salamanca students and supporters in the stands who let out a larger-than-usual cheer for his milestone shot. But the junior focused on securing the victory, not forcing his own shots.
“I didn’t really pay attention to that,” Brown said of how close he was to 1,000. “I was just focusing on winning the game. My team stepped up pretty good, some offensive rebounds, defensive stops and a lot of great (plays).”
Reputed as one of the top defenses around, A-L tried its best not to give Brown easy looks at the basket. Many of his shots were deep or well-defended, but it didn’t matter.
“I wasn’t really scared at all,” Brown said. “I was just calm and following my shot. I got so many shots (up) during the spring and summer so I just kept working and repping on those shots and getting the work in every day, just 1% better every day.”
Brown now has a chance to rewrite some team records with the rest of his junior season, then his senior year next winter ahead of him.
“Making the 1,000 points and surpassing the other two players, that means a lot for me,” he said. “For school history, actually making history in the future maybe. (I think of) all the dedication and hard work I put in together to make it.”
