The 2016-17 high school basketball season produced several athletes who reached the 1,000 career point mark, eight of them in Cape May County. All six county high schools had at least one athlete join the 1,000-point club this winter season.
Wildwood’s Kyion Flanders reached the milestone on a layup early in the fourth quarter in the Warriors’ 74-65 home win against Pitman on Jan. 17. He led the game with a career-high 40 points. Flanders, a junior, had a total of 839 points this season.
Patrick Holden of Lower Cape May scored his 1,000th point on a free throw in the Caper Tigers’ 71-54 loss at Mainland Regional on Jan. 17. Holden, a junior, led all scorers with a game-high 31 points. He finished the season with 1,421 career points.
Trey Smith of Wildwood Catholic scored his 1,000th career point on a three-pointer in Feb. 3’s 80-43 win at Kingsway Regional. Smith, a senior, finished the game with 19 points for the Crusaders.
Cape May Tech’s Josh Wright scored his 1,000th career point in Feb. 8’s 68-46 win at Cedar Creek. Wright became the first Cape May County sophomore to reach the milestone. He led the Hawks with a game-high 22 points in the victory. On Feb. 23, Wright became Cape May Tech’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing the previous record of 1,110 career points held by 2003 graduate Keith Palek. The sophomore set the new record of 1,168 points with two more seasons to play with the Hawks.
Wildwood Catholic’s Caitlin McMullan scored her 1,000th career point on a foul shot in the first quarter of Feb. 12’s South Jersey Basketball Invitational Tournament game against Overbrook. McMullan, a senior, scored 18 points in the Crusaders’ 58-26 win. She will continue her basketball career at Division II Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Del. next year.
Middle Township’s Bridget Ruskey’s 1,000th career point came off a three-pointer in the first quarter of Feb. 16’s game at Pleasantville. Ruskey, a senior, led the Panthers with 14 points in the team’s 70-18 win. She will continue her academic and athletic career with the La Salle University women’s lacrosse team in Philadelphia next year.
Wildwood Catholic’s Caleb Fields scored his 1,000th career point late in the third-quarter of Feb. 21’s Cape-Atlantic League tournament game against Ocean City off a three-pointer. Fields, a junior, scored 23 points in the Crusaders’ 79-66 victory.
Luciano Lubrano of Ocean City had 999 points heading into Feb. 23’s home game against Pleasantville and scored his 1,000th career point in the first quarter. Lubrano, a senior, scored 32 points in the Red Raiders’ 75-60 win. He finished his high school career with 1,077 total points.
