BASKETBALL

Boys Basketball: Middlesex's Robel joins 1,000-point club

Lauren Knego
Courier News and Home News Tribune

Middlesex High School's Jake Robel was running out of time.

Against Point Beach on Wednesday in the NJSIAA Central Group I quarterfinals, Robel entered the game 18 points away from the 1,000-point milestone. With the game drawing to a close, Robel only needed two more points. 

"Against Point Beach it was coming down to the wire, and I still needed a few more points," Robel said. "I finally got it."

BOYS & GIRLS BASKETBALL: NJSIAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES

BOYS BASKETBALL: ST. JOSEPH WINS THIRD-STRAIGHT GMCT TITLE

BOYS BASKETBALL: MIDDLESEX ADVANCES IN CENTRAL GROUP I

Robel threw down a dunk in the final minute of the game to reach 1,000 points. He became the fourth boys basketball player to reach the milestone for the Blue Jays. 

"I was amazed, stunned and filled with joy," Robel said. "When I was younger, I always dreamed of scoring 1,000 points in high school. It means for all the work and effort I put into it all these years and all of my coaches and the camps I went to, it had a meaning to it."

Robel finished his career with 1,001 points, a feat he accomplished in three years. He's planning on continuing his basketball career in college, and has it narrowed down to Wilkes University or Misericordia University.

"It’s great, I enjoy playing the sport," Robel said of playing in college. "I love it, and I don’t know what I would do without basketball."

Robel joins a host of other players who scored their 1,000th point this season. 

  • Bridgewater-Raritan's Aaron Gao reached the milestone with a 14-point performance in a loss to Piscataway in the first round of North 2 Group IV on Tuesday.
  • Isaiah Daniels-Porter became the ninth player for Carteret to reach 1,000 points. He scored it in the third quarter against Piscataway on Feb. 23 and currently has 1,043 points. 
  • Plainfield's Romey Talley scored his 1,000th point on Feb. 22 against Bernards.
  •  Bishop Ahr's Alex Santiago reached 1,000 points in a Greater Middlesex Conference quarterfinal against Old Bridge on Feb.18.
  • Dan Pilsbury of Watchung Hills reached 1,000 points this season and  became the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,139 points on Feb. 17. 
  • Linden's Tavon Jones reached 1,500 points on Feb. 9, and teammate Mikey Watkins scored his 1,000th point on Feb 3.