It took Daniel Horton seven minutes and 40 seconds to start a new club on Friday night at the Bollinger Athletic Complex.
The Trinity Lutheran senior hit a teardrop shot — on the run from six feet — with 20 seconds left in the first quarter against Oldenburg Academy to total six points in the game and become the first player in program history with 1,000 career points.
Horton was presented the ball and stood at midcourt before he ran up to his parents to give them the prized ball.
“I just got the ball, went and scored really,” Horton said. “There wasn’t anything special about the play, my teammates put me in a good position. It feels great. I have a bunch of good teammates, my family and God. “
Cougars coach Aaron Rudzinski said the accomplishment is huge for the senior.
“We’ve had a lot of players come through here who were good offensively and never accomplished 1,000 points. Daniel has a lot of determination. He’s worked extremely hard. He came in as a freshman, tall and lanky, with a lot of talent. He’s a leader by example who wants to win.
“You can see his determination to win. He’s stone-faced all the time. It puts him out there for a moment, where we can focus on him as an individual.”
The Cougars came out with a narrow 55-50 victory against Oldenburg in their final home game of the season.
Trinity went on a 11-2 run to open the fourth quarter, capped by an and-one by Horton to go up 46-39.
The Twisters would get within five points, but free throws by Chad Stuckwisch and Dylan Maschino sealed the game.
To open the game, Trinity Lutheran senior Dylan Maschino buried a 3-pointer and followed up with a basket to take a 5-3 lead with 6:40 on the clock.
The Twisters went on a 9-0 run behind treys by Nick Bischoff and Drew Kloepfer, putting the visitors up 13-7.
After eight minutes of play, the Twisters held a 16-14 advantage.
Six-foot-five junior Ben Kinker recorded eight of the Twisters’ points in the first quarter.
Oldenburg’s Owen Sporleder converted an and-one opportunity to start the second quarter, propelling the Twisters to a 7-0 scoring string with 4:23 left in the half.
A pair of free throws by Trinity’s Jacob Schult cut the Cougars’ deficit to 29-22 at intermission.
The Cougars only recorded two field goals in the second quarter, one from Horton and the other by Schult.
A basket by Horton and 3-pointer by Stuckwisch to open the third quarter made it a two-point game.
The Cougars held the Twisters to three field goals in the third, switching to a 1-3-1 defense a couple minutes into the second half.
“We started gaining confidence when we switched to a 1-3-1,” Rudzinski said. “I think it put them out of rhythm and we got some nice shots off rebounds. It got the team fired-up and got to a point where we just needed to step on the gas. Schult and Horton worked inside well on them, creating mismatches.”
After 24 minutes of play, the Twisters led 37-35.
Horton led the Cougars with 21 points and Maschino had 11.
Kinker topped the Twisters’ scoring with 11.
The Cougars (15-7) won the battle of the boards 27 to 15, led by Horton’s nine rebounds.
Trinity concludes their regular season Feb. 26 at Rising Sun.