Daniel Wagner was a bit caught off guard when the McAuley Catholic faithful erupted following his third quarter layup.
“It was surprising,” Wagner said. “I didn’t think I made that good of a layup. Then I realized what had just happened. It was a pretty amazing feeling.”
A 6-foot-2 senior, Wagner surpassed 1,000 career points in McAuley Catholic’s 75-59 victory over Jasper on Thursday night.
Wagner entered the night needing 17 points to reach the milestone. With 15 points already in the books, Wagner scored on a strong drive down the lane with 5:11 remaining in the third quarter to hit 1,000.
After Wagner scored his 17th point, Warriors coach Tony Witt called a timeout, and McAuley’s fans gave Wagner a standing ovation and the school’s student section began chanting his name.
“It felt really great,” Wagner said.
“It was awesome to see,” Witt said. “It’s cool to experience that as a player, but I think it’s even better as a coach to be a part of that. His work ethic has been great.”
Wagner, who finished the night with 23 points on seven field goals and 9-of-11 free throws, said he never imagined he’d reach 1,000 career points back a couple of years ago.
“It wasn’t really an accomplishment I thought I could get when I started playing varsity my sophomore year,” Wagner said. “I didn’t think it was a possibility at all. The game has just come to me, it’s been great. The key has been putting in the time, working hard, staying with it and relying on my teammates. I’ve been playing with these guys since elementary school, so we have a bond. Those guys have kept me going.”
Senior Matthew Dohmen also had a memorable night. Dohmen scored a game-high 26 points. He hit four 3-pointers.
“Matt was big for us,” Witt said. “We’ve been waiting for him to break out. I’m glad he did that tonight on a win.”
Senior Thomas Black added 11 points for McAuley (5-10).
As far as the game, McAuley got off to a blistering start, as the hosts scored the first 19 points of the night.
The Warriors were able to take control early by pushing the pace.
“We had a great start,” Witt said. “We disrupted how they wanted to play and we were playing fast. We turned them over and we capitalized on their turnovers. That was big for us. That’s something we haven’t done lately.”
The Warriors led 21-9 at the end of the first quarter and the hosts were up 41-18 at the half.
McAuley extended its lead to 57-25 in the third quarter.
Jasper cut its deficit to 16 points in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles would get no closer.
“It was kind of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation for us tonight though,” Witt said. “Luckily, we pulled it out.”
Jasper’s Jared Tidball scored 22 points and Ethan Cawyer added 19 points.
The Warriors return to action on Friday night at Exeter.
Congratulations to McAuley Catholic senior Daniel Wagner for scoring his 1000th career point tonight! #WarriorPride @JACS1885 @warriorsports_ @SoMo_Sports @J_GlobeSports @KSNLocalSports @KODESports @koamfox14sports @scoreboardguy @OzarksOzone @SWMOBasketball pic.twitter.com/iL6iZpyoVF
— Coach Howard (@McAuleyAD) January 29, 2021
