FRENCH LICK, Ind. — A southern Indiana high school junior has knocked a basketball legend out of the history books.
Deion Edwards scored 56 points in Springs Valley High School's 101-98 win over Austin on Jan. 13. His final point, a free throw with less than two minutes remaining in overtime, eclipsed Larry Bird's record for most points scored in a game in school history.
“For that record to go down, it meant a lot as a community as a whole,” Springs Valley head basketball coach Jonathon Bowles told WAVE-TV. "That record lasted 50 years."
Bird set the scoring mark with 55 points against Corydon on Jan. 19, 1974.
Edwards knew he had the hot hand in last Saturday's game, but was just trying "to keep scoring, just trying to win the game." Edwards didn't find out about his historic feat until after the game, but he had a clue something was up as he stepped to the free throw line.
“I didn’t know for sure, but I was kind of thinking because my mom was in the background jumping up, saying to hit the free throw, hit the free throw, hit the free throw,” he said.
Also in the crowd to witness the record-breaking performance was Bird's brother, Eddie.
“There are a lot of guys talking about playing with Larry Bird,” Bowles said. “These guys will be able to say we played with Deion, who actually has the single-game record.”
According to MaxPreps, Edwards is averaging 23.1 points per game, while shooting 50% from the field and 30% from three-point range. He's also averaging a team-leading 7.8 rebounds per game.