Points burst in last game thrust Marksberry past 1,000 points

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LOOGOOTEE

Talk about last-minute developments.

Trinity Lutheran senior guard Jack Marksberry waited until just about the last minute of his last game, the last minute of his high school basketball career, to, ahem, make a mark, it might be said.

As the seconds clicked off the game clock in Saturday’s 63-38 regional loss to Barr-Reeve, Marksberry hit a three-pointer here, a three-pointer there, plus a few free throws, to finish with 21 points.

Unbeknownst to few Cougar fans who are not members of the Marksberry family, he began the day needing 18 points to reach 1,000 points for his career.

"I didn’t know until right before the game," said Trinity coach Ryan Crase.

Brent Marksberry, Jack’s father, is the clan’s mathematician apparently. A few days ago, after Trinity won the West Washington Sectional to advance to this game in the Indiana High School Athletic Association boys basketball state tournament, he happened to mention to his son just how close he was to reaching the milestone.

This sudden, unadvertised, literally final-minute climb into the exclusive club made the 6-foot-3 Marksberry the sixth Jackson County player to record 1,000 career points this season alone, an unprecedented number that has left players, fans and coaches agog.

Katherine Benter of Brownstown Central, Grace Meyer of Seymour, and Bailey Tabeling of Trinity Lutheran, were the girls who accomplished the feat this season. Trinity’s Sydney Jaynes was already in the club entering the 2020-21 season and became the school’s all-time leading scorer this winter.

Cable Spall of Crothersville and Marksberry teammate Tyler Goecker, who was also playing Saturday, topped 1,000 points earlier this season and is also the Cougars’ all-time top scorer.

"I hadn’t added it up," Crase said of Marksberry’s total. "He would have had it a long time ago."

One reason for that thinking and Marksberry’s approach to 1,000 was likely so underplayed was him missing the first eight games of the season due to a broken collar bone suffered while mountain biking last summer. He didn’t dress until January.

For that matter, up until a few days ago, Marksberry himself said, "I had no idea" he was sneaking up on 1,000. "My dad told me."

Barr-Reeve (26-2) broke the game open in the third quarter and after that, Trinity let Marksberry take almost all of its shots. He hit two three-pointers early in the fourth quarter and that’s when he realized he was close enough to 1,000 to perhaps reach it before time ran out.

Marksberry scored all 13 of Trinity’s points in the fourth period.

Although it may not seem very sexy to reach a special mark on free throws, Marksberry did so in a showy way. Marksberry missed an inside shot, got his own rebound, and did so twice more before being fouled. He made the first foul shot, missed the second, got his own rebound again, was fouled again, and made two more free throws.

There was just 1 minute, 9 seconds to go on the clock.

Teammates, family, and fans in the know gave Marksberry an ovation as he came out of the game — Crase was not taking him out until he had exhausted the chase.

Marksberry sat down with 1,003 career points.

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