With basically two full seasons left in his Blue Valley Northwest career, junior Clay Custer became the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer Saturday during a 55-51 win against Valley in Des Moines, Iowa.
Custer, who has helped BV Northwest reach the state championship game the last two seasons, scored 699 points as a freshman and sophomore.
He needed 16 points to break former Huskies and UMKC standout Michael Jackson’s career record (715).
Custer, who signed with Iowa State last month, scored 10 during a lopsided season-opening win against Bishop Miege and eclipsed Jackson with 15 points against the Tigers from West Des Moines.
“He had no idea and I had no idea until I looked it up right before the season started,” BV Northwest coach Ed Fritz said. “It is impressive, but what’s most impressive is that he does it in a team setting.”
The 67-39 win against Bishop Miege provides ample evidence.
“That first game, he only had 10 points, but everybody else was open,” Fritz said. “He did a great job getting them the ball. I’m just proud that he’s such a unselfish player. But he’s also always ready to practice, always ready to play and does a great job in the classroom.”
With Custer on the floor, BV Northwest is 48-4 during the last three seasons.
Assuming the Huskies make similar runs to the last few campaigns, Custer could have another 48 games to add to his record.
“I would think that it will be really hard for the next guy to come through and break the record after he’s done,” Fritz said. “He had pretty good seasons as a freshman and sophomore, so that record’s going to be up there.”
BV Northwest, 2-0, faces Nixa, which is ranked No. 2 in Missouri Class 5, during the Hy-Vee Shootout on Saturday at Avila University.
Blue Valley boys start strong
A year ago, Blue Valley’s boys were embarking on a 6-16 season, but a few late-season results provided reason for hope.
The Tigers snapped a seven-game skid by knocking off BV North, who would go on to finish third at the Kansas 6A state tournament, then toppled Bishop Miege during the first round of sub-state.
Building off that success with a strong offseason, Blue Valley reached the final Saturday at its own Shootout before faltering against Highland Park from Topeka.
Still, it was an encouraging start for the Tigers, who knocked off Olathe Northwest and Sumner Academy en route to the second-place finish.
“We had a little bit of success at end of last season, so we were cautiously optimistic,” Tigers coach Chris Hansen said. “Making it to the final definitely boosted what they thought about themselves, but there’s a lot that remains to be seen and I think they also know we have a long way to go.”
Still, led by 6-foot-8 senior forward Charlie Marquardt, who averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds in leading the charge, getting off to a strong start can’t hurt for a Blue Valley team that needs some earl-season confidence.
“If we could have scripted a start to the season, I think this would have been a really good start for us,” Hansen said. “That’s a big deal, but we haven’t accomplished anything significant yet.”
BVW girls match last season’s win total
Blue Valley West’s girls won only two games a year ago – a total the Jaguars matched in claiming third last weekend at the Joplin Freeman/Lady Eagle Classic.
Behind a strong fourth-quarter defensive effort, BV West outlasted Nixa (Mo.) in the opening round, a team that it lost to by 22 last season.
Senior Jordan Wright, the only senior on coach Frank Lapointe’s squad, led the way with 11 points.
On Friday, eventual runner-up Harrison (Ark.) rallied past BV West, 2-1, for a 44-38 semifinals win, but the eighth-seeded Jags completed a remarkable run by taking down Marshfield (Mo.) 43-34 in the third-place game.
Wright, a transfer from BV North and all-tourney selection, and freshman Emily Engelken scored nine apiece in the third-place contest.
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him at twitter.com/todpalmer.
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to <a href="mailto:tpalmer@kcstar.com">tpalmer@kcstar.com</a>. Follow him at twitter.com/todpalmer.
