It really was the most poetic way for Cal Atherton to etch his name into Newburyport basketball history.
You don’t have to research too long to realize how dominant the Clippers have been as a program this decade, currently in the middle of trying to win their eighth straight CAL Kinney title. So you could imagine the All-League players and complete teams that the Clippers have jogged onto the court over the recent years, meaning that even an athlete as talented as Atherton didn’t play on the varsity team as a freshman back during the 2022-23 winter season.
But on Friday night, Atherton still became the 10th athlete (fifth boy) in Newburyport history to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.
… In just three years.
And needing 37 points to reach the mark heading into his team’s home game against Rockport, he hit that number right on the button.
… In just three quarters.
“He has absolutely earned everything that he’s achieved,” said Newburyport coach Mark Elmendorf, who took over the program four years ago and has seen Atherton’s entire journey. “He is such a great young man.”
It really is impressive to think about.
Three years: 1,000 points exactly.
And what’s crazy is that Atherton still has plenty of time left in his senior year.
The milestone was the highlight of another dominant night for Newburyport, which throttled Rockport from start to finish to earn the 100-44 blowout victory. The Clippers (13-0) remain undefeated on the year, and still have at least seven games left this season for Atherton to build on his current career total. A number that includes at least one Division 2 playoff game, which is likely to grow seeing as the Clippers came in at No. 9 in the latest rankings.
So could Atherton get 10 more games?
“A great player, but an even better young man,” said the official Newburyport boys basketball “X” account.
And thinking in those terms, you could do some simple math.
Atherton is the first Newburyport athlete to hit 1,000 points since former great Parker McLaren (1,059 points) reached the milestone during the 2019-20 season. McLaren’s older brother, Casey (NHS ‘19), still holds the school’s all-time scoring record with 1,340 points, and right behind him is Wall of Famer Rachael Wile (NHS ‘00), who holds the female record with 1,326 points.
Those two are most likely well out of reach.
But after Friday’s latest explosion, Atherton is now averaging 24.9 points per game this season. Should he maintain that impressive scoring mark and the Clippers get 10 more games, then you’re looking at 200-to-250 more points. Which would move Atherton to third all-time, passing legend Junior Dagres (NHS ‘53) who is currently in third with 1,113 points.
Again … in just three years!
There’s good reason why Atherton has been both a two-time Daily News All-Star and two-time All-CAL First Team selection over the past two seasons — and is on his way to even more lofty accolades this winter. He is still working through his college decision and future plans, but has plenty of options to play at the next level.
And you couldn’t have asked for a better way to join the 1,000-point club.
Nearly a 40-bomb into history.
Atherton nailed five 3s and went into the halftime break on Friday night with 27 points, already getting the home crowd buzzing that history was about to be made. Then with 13 seconds left in the third quarter, the lightning-quick guard blew past his defender right to the hoop, and an easy layup sent his teammates and the student section into a frenzy.
And, yeah, there was no reason to play in the fourth after that.
Newburyport had already built a commanding lead at that point, and the duo of Zayd Leanna (21 pts) and Thomas Thoreson (11 pts) were also having strong games as well. The Clippers will now only have one game this upcoming week, with Pentucket coming to town on Tuesday night.