Babbitt sets scoring record in losing effort

It was a bittersweet night for Luke Babbitt and the Galena High School boys basketball team.

Babbitt became the state's all-time leading scorer when he scored 31 points on Saturday in Las Vegas, giving him 2,623 points for his career. Babbitt broke the record set by Armon Johnson and Prince Fowler, who both finished with 2,616 points.

But Babbitt's milestone came on a losing note as the Grizzlies fell to Desert Pines 77-67.

Babbitt hit two free throws with about five minutes left in the third quarter to set the record and reach the 2,617 mark. The game was briefly stopped to honor Babbitt as Galena coach Tom Maurer and his coaching staff, Babbitt's teammates and everyone else in the gym gave Babbitt a standing ovation. Babbitt's parents were also in attendance.

"We moved on and that's the way Luke wanted it," said Maurer about the brief celebration.

"We lost so that was disappointing," said Babbitt about setting the record in a game in which Galena lost. "You don't play to break records, you play to win."

Babbitt, though, admitted that he was glad he doesn't have to focus on the record any more.

"I just wanted to get it over with mostly," he said. "Now it's over with I can just think about winning."

But Babbitt did say that all of his teammates throughout his career shared in the record.

"I've had the best teammates that you can ask for," he said. "All four years I've probably had the best teammates possible."

As far as the game, Galena led 34-28 at halftime, but Desert Pines outscored 26-13 in the third quarter and continued to pull away in the fourth quarter. Maurer said Galena's inability to take care of the basketball and Desert Pines' rebounding was the difference.

"We got really beat on the boards pretty bad," Maurer said. "Their kids deserved to win. They just really, really did a good job og getting to the rim."

But Maurer said his team will benefit from a tough weekend in which it also beat Eldorado 74-73 on Friday. "I was pleased with the competition we played," he said.

Note: Maurer said a special ceremony will be held during this Friday's home game against Fallon to honor Babbitt for setting the scoring record.