ENDERLIN — Carson Bartholomay broke an Enderlin school record that stood for more than 30 years with his 52-point performance in the Eagles' win over New Rockford-Sheyenne on Friday, Feb. 3.
Former Enderlin star Mike Opheim set the previous single-game scoring mark in 1990.
“It feels pretty good (to break the record),” Bartholomay said. “Obviously, it’s a lot of points but, in the moment, you don’t really think you’re scoring that much. But, when the game is done and you realize how many you scored it’s really cool.
“Right away it didn’t feel like I did score that many. But, it finally makes all those shots you get up on the weekend and all the time and effort I’ve put into playing basketball, it finally gives me a little bit of recognition of all that work I've put into the game.”
Bartholomay said that it was probably best he wasn’t aware of the record.
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“Sometimes, when you know you’re close it is harder to just score,” he said of Enderlin's 74-69 win. “So, maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t know how many I was scoring. I think it helped out everyone just trying to get the win instead of focusing on one guy scoring. I think it was better not knowing what was going on and worrying about it after the game.”
Bartholomay said the feeling of accomplishment from breaking Opheim's record is enhanced by the knowledge of all the players who went before him.
“There’s been a lot of great basketball players that have come through Enderlin that didn’t get the record that definitely could have,” he said. “For me to get it, it just adds another piece of the cake to my time at Enderlin.”
Prior to Friday, Bartholomay’s high game mark was 33 points, which was special in itself.
“It was pretty neat to beat that because my mom had scored 32 and that was our family career high,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “So, I was able to beat that, which was cool, then I crushed that out of the water with 52.”
The record-breaking performance came less than a month after Bartholomay surpassed the 1,000-point career mark.
The closest anyone came to the record in recent history was Joe Hurlburt, who now plays at the University of Colorado, with 42.
“There’s been a few guys who had gotten close but never got over that hump,” said Enderlin coach Calvin Kraft.
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Bartholomay was 16 of 31 from the field, 5 of 13 from 3-point range and 15 of 17 on free throws.
Like Bartholomay, Kraft was unaware of how close the record was to being broken during the game.
“No one really knew and we didn't really discuss it,” he said. “As he was scoring, everyone knew he was probably getting close to 40 or 50 but we didn’t know until the very end.”
Kraft said that the achievement is a testament to the work Bartholomay has put in since his first year on varsity as an eighth-grader.
“It is very cool,” he said. “He has been a big part of our program now for the last five years with playing up as an eighth-grader. He has come through the ranks and been all region the last couple years. Everyone knows he’s our guy. It was fun for him to have a good game, shoot at a high percentage and get a win at the same time.
“A lot of blood, sweat, tears and hours go into his skill level and it came to light there.”
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