BROWNSTOWN— It was a 3-pointer, of course. It had to be. He’s famous around here for his long shots.

When the ball found him on the right side, his feet outside of the 3-point line and his defender trying in vain to close out, Jack Benter did what he’s done so many times before.

He let a high-arching shot fly, and then he watched the ball splash through the net.

This particular 3-pointer was the 255th of Benter’s high school career, but it was memorable. This one pushed Benter’s career scoring total to 2,000 points.

The shot came at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter and gave Brownstown Central’s boys basketball team a 14-0 lead over Mitchell (5-3) on Saturday night. The Braves (6-1) went on to defeat the Bluejackets by a final score of 75-36.

Benter and the scoring milestone were the main story, however.

The 6-foot-6 senior entered the game with 1,992 points. On his sixth shot attempt, he reached 2,000. He ended the game with 28 points, putting him at 2,020 for his career.

“Two thousand is really special,” Benter said. “After high school, I’ll be able to look back and see that scoring 2,000 points is something not a lot of people get to do. Not many people get to reach that goal, so to achieve that is really special.”

Indeed, in Indiana high school boys basketball history, only 70 players had reached that mark. Benter became the 71st.

By the end of Saturday’s game, Benter passed former IU Hoosier Luke Recker (DeKalb), Pat Manahan (Delphi) and Jeff Perlich (Churubusco) and currently sits at No. 67 on the list.

Some famous names are quickly approaching as Benter and the Braves look forward to another 20 or so games on their schedule. George McGinnis (2,070), Caleb Furst (2,087), Steve Alford (2,116), Shawn Kemp (2,134) and Kyle Macy (2,137) are just ahead of the local kid.

“That’s pretty elite company he’s getting up there with,” said Dave Benter, Jack’s dad and coach. “To be up there is pretty phenomenal. It doesn’t come easily. There’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the years. He’s always been skilled, but you’ve got to continue to work and get better, and he’s done that. He’s a student of the game.”

Shortly after the landmark shot, during a break in the game, announcer Brian Nuss informed the crowd of Benter’s accomplishment, drawing an enthusiastic response. Benter slapped hands with teammates on the court, but politely, if a little impatiently, waited for the moment to pass and the game to restart.

“When I came into the season, I knew I was halfway close, but I didn’t really know how close I was,” Benter said. “I just play the game, and if they go in, they go in. The game goes as it goes.”

Benter admitted that getting to the mark with a 3-pointer was fitting.

“That’s my game, so I feel like that was a good way to score my 2,000th point,” he said.

Benter and his teammates certainly turned the 3-point shot into a weapon against Mitchell.

The Braves ended with 13 3s as a team. Parker Hehman and Chace Coomer each made four 3-pointers, while Benter finished with three. Caiden Gwin and Pierson Wheeler also added one each.

Similar to Friday night when BC dismantled North Harrison by opening with a 27-2 run, the Braves jumped on top of Mitchell with a 26-3 first-quarter explosion that quickly sealed the game’s outcome.

“Both nights, I thought early in the game we were able to take the other team out of what they wanted to do,” the elder Benter said. “I really liked our pace offensively. Not just pushing the ball in transition, but our ball movement was more crisp. Our player movement was better. Our spacing was better. We’ve got to play at that pace, no matter who we’re playing. We’ve got to play at that pace to put pressure on the other team.”

Coomer’s hot shooting was a welcome sight for the Braves. The 6-foot-5 junior has struggled in the season’s early going but knocked down four of his six 3-point attempts. Two of them came in the opening minutes and spurred BC’s fast start.

“It’s just a matter of time,” Benter the coach said of Coomer. “He shot 51% from 3-point range last season on a large volume of shots. We knew his time would come. If you watch his shot, it’s so pure and he puts in so much time. It’s a good time to get going. We’ve got a tough stretch of games coming up.”

Coomer ended with 12 points and with Benter and Hehman was one of three Braves in double figures. Hehman finished with 16 points.

While the offense overwhelmed Mitchell, the defense, a point of emphasis for the Braves, also shined.

BC held its opponent under 40 points for the third straight game, forced 10 first-half turnovers and limited the Bluejackets to 25% shooting over the first three quarters.

“Defense was one of our main points this weekend,” Jack Benter said. “We’re trying to get better every game.”

The Braves will participate in the three-day North Daviess Tournament starting on Thursday. Six of the tourney’s eight teams enter either undefeated or with just one loss. Five of the teams are rated in the top five of their respective classes, according to the latest Sagarin Ratings.

Brownstown then follows with the one-day Hall of Fame Tournament on Dec. 30, which features Indianapolis Attucks, Kokomo and Brownsburg as the field’s other three teams. All three are ranked in the top 15 in Class 4A, according to Sagarin.

“Our schedule is really going to ramp up, so we have to be ready to play,” Benter said. “With the competition we’re going to be playing, we’ve got to get better every day.”

Brownstown Central 75, Mitchell 36

Mitchell (5-3);3;8;12;13;—;36

Brownstown (6-1);26;28;14;7;—;75

Mitchell (5-3): Gavin Robinson 3 0-1 6, Austin Mosier 1 2-2 5, Carl Chenault 2 0-0 5, Ben Seitzinger 1 2-3 4, Dawson Irwin 1 1-2 4, Bryson Shoults 1 1-2 3, Kale England 1 1-2 3, Nate Robertson 1 0-0 2, Lucas Gosnell 1 0-0 2, Aiden Pridemore 1 0-0 2, Connor Teague 0 0-0 0, Ethan Turner 0 0-0 0, Garrett Floerke 0 0-0 0, Totals 13 7-12 36.

Brownstown Central (6-1): Jack Benter 12 1-1 28, Parker Hehman 5 2-2 16, Chace Coomer 4 0-0 12, Colby Hall 3 0-0 6, Pierson Wheeler 2 0-0 5, Adam Stahl 1 1-1 3, Caiden Gwin 1 0-0 3, Lane Pendleton 1 0-0 2, Micah Sheffer 0 0-0 0, Greg Hutcheson 0 0-0 0, Owen Wischmeier 0 0-0 0, Carter Covert 0 0-0 0, Totals 29 4-4 75.

3-point goals: Mitchell 3 (Mosier, Irwin, Chenault), Brownstown 13 (Coomer 4, Hehman 4, Benter 3, Gwin, Wheeler).

Rebounds: Mitchell 28 (Mosier 5, Seitzinger 5, Robertson 5), Brownstown 35 (Benter 10).

Turnovers: Mitchell 14, Brownstown 5.

Fouls: Mitchell 5, Brownstown 10.

Junior varsity

Brownstown Central 63, Mitchell 24

Brownstown Central (6-0): Lane Pendleton 23, Carter Covert 10, Linkan Brittain 7, Preston Garrison 5, Drew Shelton 5, Brock Dean 4, Kye Trueblood 4, Owen Wischmeier 3, Kaisin Brock 2.