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Becker hits career milestone with 1,000th point

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HARTINGTON - The Cedar Catholic student section went wild on Friday night when Matthew Becker scored a layup in the fourth quarter.

At first glance it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense, Cedar had the game in hand for much of the second half, and it was only Becker’s ninth point of the game as O’Neill had done a good job defending him through much of the night.

But during the next timeout, it made sense to the rest of the gym as it was announced Matthew Becker had scored his 1,000th point in his high school career for the Trojans.

An appropriate applause soon rained down from both the home and away bleachers in honor of Becker.

For the senior, he knew instantly he had reached the accomplishment.

“I saw the lane open up and it was just like ‘okay I guess I will get a thousand here’, but it was a pretty good all-around team win.”

ON the night, Becker went 4-15 from the floor, and he often had a hand in his face whenever he went up for a shot.

Knowing there is a milestone looming overhead can’t help with that, especially after missing a dunk in the first half, but Becker reached the millennium mark nonetheless.

Matthew Becker is the ninth boys' basketball player to reach 1,000 points, and he is set to start climbing that ladder this season to see where his name will rest in the record books.

As a freshman, Becker scored 253 points. He increased that output to 320 points as a sophomore, averaging 12.3 points per game, the second most on the team. Last year, he again increased that output to 400 points, leading his team with 16 points per game. 

If Becker were to keep pace with the increase he has seen each season, he could potentially jump into the top three.

Currently, James Kaiser leads Cedar’s All-Time Leading Scorers list with 1709 points. Following Kaiser is Ryan Samelson with 1670, Neil Wortmann with 1361, Matt Hames with 1284, Tom Vlach with 1249, Steve Becker with 1116, Jaime Jones with 1077, and Jarryd Schieffer with 1046.

Just two games into the season, Becker has 27 points. If he were to have similar production to last year’s 400 points, he could pass his uncle Neal Wortmann. The younger brother to Cedar girls basketball coach Craig Wortmann, Neal graduated in 2001.

Becker smiled at the mention of him reaching 1,000 points, but he quickly turned the conversation back to his team, calling it a “good all-around team win.”

If the team can continue to produce around Becker, who knows the potential of this team come February. 

For Becker to get to the top of the list and replace Kaiser, it would take a remarkable effort by the entire Trojan team. That would include strong showings in Holiday tournaments as well as the playoffs. Hypothetically, if Cedar Catholic played 30 games this season, Becker would need to average just over 24.5 points per game or 736 total points in his senior outing.

For Becker to top his uncle Neal Wortmann, Becker would need 388 points on the season, less than what he accumulated in his junior season.