Mikell McGee breaks another Fannett-Metal record
As if Mikell McGee doesn't have enough records at Fannett-Metal, he added his name to the history books again Tuesday night.
McGee absolutely exploded in the Tigers' 90-79 win over Chestnut Ridge, scoring a jaw-dropping 55 points to break Fannett-Metal's single-game scoring record in boys basketball. He surpassed Stuart Moats' mark of 53 points in a game in a 1998 District 5 quarterfinal win over Berlin.
The two-athlete star now holds records for all-time scoring and single-game scoring in both boys soccer and boys basketball at F-M.
"This one is pretty high up there because I really didn't think I would get it," McGee said. "A couple other records, especially in soccer, weren't as unexpected. But that's a lot of points to score in a basketball game. I really didn't think that I'd be able to actually mark this one off."
But he did.
Late in the fourth quarter, McGee was informed that he sat just a few points from the record. He proceeded to reel off free throw after free throw to surpass the mark. McGee finished 24-for-30 from the line and scored four 3-pointers.
"I wouldn't really say it was my best shooting night, but I got a lot of free throws," McGee said. "Of course that really helps when you get that many, and I think I consistently scored. I wasn't really on fire or anything, but I was just pretty consistent throughout the whole game."
F-M coach Jeff Winegardner said, "He's a student of the game. He knows how to push the defenders' buttons to get them to commit, then he takes advantage of it."
McGee was helped along by a 14-point performance from Lucas Wingert, and Austin Raymer and Brandon Winegardner each added eight points. The Tigers held off a 32-point outburst in the final quarter from Ridge to ensure the victory.
"We just tried to limit our turnovers and kill some clock when we could," McGee said. "They fouled a lot at the end, and it actually worked to our advantage. We don't usually do very well under pressure, so whenever they fouled, that actually took some pressure off of us."