Austin Parker achieved a longtime goal by surpassing the 1,000-point mark Friday in Indian Lake’s 65-50 win over Graham.
A senior, Parker becomes just the fourth Laker boy to reach 1,000 point and the ninth Indian Lake basketball player overall to accomplish the milestone.
Paker scored 27 points in the win. His 1,000th career points came in the third quarter on a foul shot. The game was halted and he was presented with the game ball. He now has 1,011 career points.
“It was a goal that he’s been chasing for a very long time,” said IL head coach Zach Overturf. “We’re proud that he could do it on our home court in front of our home crowd.
“Every game we know that he is going to give us his best and put his team in a spot to help win a basketball game.”
Parker came into the night tied for the Central Buckeye Conference lead in scoring with 20.3 points per contest. He has now scored over 20 points in eight games and had a career-high 39 points in a game earlier this season.
“Austin is unique in the sense that he has the drive and the mindset to better himself,” said Overturf. “In return, it helps to better the others around him. He holds himself to a higher standard. He’s been able to score at all three levels at the rim, in the midrange and on the perimeter.”
Friday’s game saw Indian Lake (11-9, 7-2) take an 18-16 lead after the opening quarter and build a 31-24 advantage by halftime.
Graham (2-19, 2-7) was able to clip the Lakers 15-14 in the third quarter, but still trailed 45-39. Indian Lake cemented its win with a 20-11 run in the fourth quarter.
Also for the Lakers, Zander Barnes scored 13 points, Luke Jackson had eight points and Clay Jacobs added seven points.
Graham took the junior varsity game 55-41. Logan Evans led the Lakers with 14 points. Indian Lake finishes CBC Mad River play at home on Friday against Northwestern.