Edmeston's Martin becomes Tri-Valley's all-time leading scorer
Mar. 5—Josh Martin scored a game-high 22 points and become the Tri-Valley League's all-time scoring leader in a win over visiting Richfield Springs, 55-44 on Thursday, March 4.
"It feels amazing," Martin said. "It's something that I worked really hard to do and it feels good to get there and accomplish this goal."
With 1,762 points, Martin eclipsed a 39-year record set by Bob Fassett (1,758) of Springfield Central, according to Edmeston head coach Darren Belden.
The league doesn't officially keep track of its all-time leading scorers, according SectionIVhoops.com, but Martin's Panthers point total is the highest in the section for a player from the Tri-Valley League.
Martin became the No. 6 leading scorer in Section IV history, according to SectionIVhoops.com.
"I think it's a big achievement for him when you can break a record that's been there for 39 years he's worked really hard to do it in-season and off-season he's definitely put in his time," Belden said.
"I think he was thrilled to death to finally get it over with tonight," he added.
Martin's achievement comes in a COVID-shortened basketball season that almost didn't happen for the Panthers after the Tri-Valley voted not to play high-risk winter sports.
Despite the Tri-Valley's decision, the Panthers were able to schedule a 10-game season independent of the league, with no league or sectional playoffs at the end of the year.
"It's disappointing," Martin said. "I was looking forward to it, but at this point I'm just happy to get back on the court and help out the young guys and have a senior year with my teammates."
In the first quarter, Richfield Springs jumped out to a 10-7 lead over the Panthers.
Belden said Martin struggled to shoot the ball in the first half because he knew he was close to the record. Richfield Springs took a four-point lead into halftime after outscoring the Panthers 13-12 in the second quarter.
"We played well as a team .... and then when that record got broken, then the team started to flow a lot better," Belden said.
Greg DeVries had 14 points and nine rebounds for Edmeston, which outscored the Indians 17-15 in the third quarter to cut their lead to two points.
Trailing by two, Edmeston held the Indians to just six points in the fourth quarter to seal the team's comeback victory.
Kyle Ough added 10 points and four steals for the Panthers.
Martin said he was glad the team was able to pull off the win and would not have been able to accomplish anything without the help of his family, teammates and coaches — especially coach Belden.
"I appreciate all the hard work he's done for me and trust he's had for me," he added.
Brady Young scored a team-high 12 points for Richfield Springs.
Edmeston 55, Richfield Springs 44
at Edmeston
Richfield .... 10 13 15 6 — 44
Edmeston .... 7 12 17 19 — 55
Richfield Springs: Brady Young 5 0-0 12, Dylan Hosford 4 1-1 9, Damon Thomson 2 2-2 8, Austin Bowman 2 3-7 7, David Leonard 2 0-0 4, Clay Bobnick 1 0-0 2, Conner Schefler 1 0-0 2, Jordan Delberto 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 6-10 44.
Edmeston: Josh Martin 7 7-9 22, Greg DeVries 6 2-4 14, Kyle Ough 4 0-0 10, Tyler Jennings 2 1-2 6, Colin McEnroe 1 1-2 3, Gavin McEnroe 0 0-0 0, Preston Graham 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-17 55.
3-point field goals: R 4 (Thomson 2, Young 2); E 4 (Ough 2, Jennings, Martin).
