H.S. basketball: Grayson Thomas makes history for Greenfield, reaches 1,000 points (Videos)

GREENFIELD — Grayson Thomas is in a class by himself in Franklin County.

The sophomore reached the 1,000 point milestone for the Greenfield boys basketball team in a 98-94 win over Commerce at Nichols Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

Fans packed the gym for the event, with parking lots full all over Greenfield High School. The history-making basket came on a 3-pointer in the first quarter. Thomas is the first boys basketball player in Franklin County to accomplish the feat as a sophomore.

Commerce played on as usual after the basket. But moments later, play stopped and Thomas got his moment in front of the home fans. Father and coach Angelo Thomas got the first hug, followed by his teammates.

“It’s a testament to him,” Angelo Thomas said. “They are here to witness something that I thought was very special. Him being the youngest kid to ever score 1,000. It’s a good accomplishment. A good feather in his cap. Now another feather in his cap that I think he wants is a Western Mass. championship and to see what he can do in the states. I think if we hit our stride at the right time, circa Mahar in 2012, we have a chance. That’s all you can ask for.”

Then came hugs for mother Tiffany Thomas and sister Savannah Thomas. Thomas even grabbed a microphone to thank everyone in attendance. Grayson Thomas joined Angelo Thomas and Jon Breor in the 1,000 point club for the Greenfield boys basketball team.

“It was amazing,” Thomas said. “It brought me to tears a little bit. I loved it. When I hit that three I was so excited. I thought they were going to stop it so I turned around to celebrate but the play kept going. But I started to get emotional. Tears of happiness.”

The sizable amount of people in attendance cheered loudly for Thomas.

“I was amazed,” Thomas said. “I loved the environment. That just makes me play better.”

Thomas did, in fact, play better after the milestone. Thomas proceeded to score a career-high 50 points on the Raiders in the comeback win for the Green Wave in independent play. The Green Wave (9-3) trailed by as many as nine points in the third quarter before coming all the way back to pull out the victory.

Even with Thomas scoring 50 points, the Green Wave needed contributions up and down the roster to get the win. Conner Bergeron scored 19 points for the Green Wave. Davian Bala dove on the floor to secure a possession late in the fourth quarter. Gavin Arsenault scored on a smooth, euro-step finish in the fourth quarter to give Greenfield an 88-84 lead. DaSean Carter took it to the rim for a finish to make it 98-92.

There were many contributions in the high-scoring affair.

“We got into a back and forth,” Angelo Thomas said. “Defense was almost non-existent overall tonight. We got some stops when we needed them…in the fourth quarter we made some plays down the stretch.”

A series of technical fouls at the end of the third quarter helped the Green Wave go into the fourth quarter tied, 76-76. One of the technical fouls led to the ejection of a Commerce assistant coach. The Raiders are ranked 59th in Division 3 in the latest MIAA power rankings.

The first half was a bit scattered and sloppy for the Green Wave. Greenfield came out in the second half with a more measured approach.

“That’s a Division 3 team,” Angelo Thomas said of Commerce. “I schedule teams like Commerce for speed and quickness. It’s something we don’t get to see a lot of on a regular basis. It’s good to get a win against those guys. It’s good to get a win against a team from Springfield.”

Greenfield plays at Pioneer Valley Regional on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.