Blackmore breaks 1,000 point milestone

BONNERS FERRY — Braeden Blackmore scored his 1,000th point in his high school career for the Bonners Ferry Badgers on Dec. 16 against Rogers High School.

With two minutes left in the second quarter, Blackmore grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast, scoring a lay-in, giving the Badgers a 10-point lead over the Pirates.

Head coach Nathan Williams called a time out, where it was announced over the intercom that Blackmore had just scored his thousandth point for Bonners Ferry High School. Blackmore then received an engraved ball to commemorate the accomplishment, a bear hug from Williams and a standing ovation from the crowd.

Blackmore told the Herald that it feels great to have made such an accomplishment. At the time of announcing his benchmark goal, Blackmore said he had no idea what was going on.

“Coach had mentioned something about my points, but I’m not sure what he meant,” he said, adding that at the time, he didn’t fully understand the accomplishment.

Williams said it was so impressive that Blackmore nearly passed the 1,000 point mark in his junior year.

“He only needed 31 points coming into this season,” he said. “Knowing that, I told him, you’re averaging four to five points a game, I need you in double digits the next game.”

Williams said this was said knowing that if he scored nine or more points against Rogers that he could be honored in front of the home crowd.

“I’m so happy for him, it’s a tough thing to do,” Williams said.

In 2020, Holly Ansley for the Badgers girls basketball team achieved the 1,000 point mark.

A video highlighting Braeden Blackmore’s 1,000-point milestone is available on YouTube on the Cal Bateman channel named “Braeden Blackmore 1,000 and Counting.”