J.J. Starling, only a sophomore, surpasses 1,000-point milestone in B’ville’s win over West Genesee (video)

Baldwinsville, N.Y. — Scoring 1,000 points for a high school basketball career is an extraordinary accomplishment, but what mattered most for J.J. Starling on Friday was a win over the defending Class AA state champions.

Starling stood at 995 points entering Baldwinsville’s first game of the new year and needed only five more to join the exclusive club.

In front of a packed gymnasium at Baker High School, the highly-recruited sophomore scored 33 points and exploded for 16 points in the fourth quarter to lift Baldwinsville over West Genesee 57-52.

Starling said he was a little nervous before the game began, but credited his teammates for doing a good job of motivating and allowing him to find his offensive rhythm.

The Bees trailed 10-7 at the 2:08 mark of the first quarter, when Starling received a pass from senior forward Boden Nicholson, took three dribbles and pulled up for the 3-pointer that would clinch his highly-anticipated achievement.

Following the basket, the game was stopped and Starling posed for photos with his teammates and family. West Genesee senior guard Will Amica, who reached the same scoring milestone in December, also walked over to welcome Starling to the 1,000-point club.

“It was exciting, but that’s not my ultimate goal,” said Starling, a 6-foot-2 guard who received basketball scholarship offers from Syracuse University and the University of Washington in 2019. “My ultimate goal is to get a championship, but it still felt good getting it in front of a packed crowd.”

Among those in attendance was Syracuse assistant coach Gerry McNamara, who signed autographs for several fans at halftime. Although Starling received an offer from Syracuse, he and McNamara weren’t allowed to speak with each other following the game due to NCAA rules.

Starling said he didn’t realize McNamara was in the bleachers until the middle of the game, when he realized he needed to “step it up.”

“It was fun seeing faces like (McNamara) and I mean if you have a player like that in the gym, people want to come see him,” said second-year Baldwinsville coach Mike Lewis. “J.J.'s earned that respect to have the type of people like that to come and watch him.”

Starling reached his milestone by converting on a combination of layups, floaters, three-pointers and free throws.

But despite being cheered on his every move by the crowd, the proudest person in the gymnasium was Starling’s mother.

“I was very excited for him, but I was more nervous for the team winning the game," said an overwhelmed Satonya Starling, who sported a black hoodie with a photo of her son on the front and back. "It wasn’t even about the points, but it’s like when they both meshed together, it was better than Christmas Day.

J.J. Starling and family

J.J. Starling reached the 1,000-point milestone during Baldwinsville's 57-52 victory over West Genesee on Friday, January 3, 2020. (Mike Curtis | mcurtis@syracuse.com)

"I’m so choked up full of tears and trying to hold them back because it means a lot for the team and for Johnathan to get his 1,000 points as a sophomore. I’m glad that he was able to get it back together and get back into the game.”

The Bees held a 28-22 lead at halftime, with Starling leading the way with 15 points, while Amica led the Wildcats with 10.

West Genesee closed the third quarter on a 15-3 run, including a coast-to-coast layup by Amica to take a 39-35 lead into the fourth quarter.

Baldwinsville trailed by as much as six points early in the quarter, and Lewis called a timeout. Coming out of the break, Starling caught an in-bounds pass and sank a corner three-pointer while fading out of bounds, which caused the crowd to find the same energy it had in the first quarter.

On the next play down, Starling dribbled his way to the middle of the paint for a floater, cutting West Genesee’s lead to 41-40 with 6:20 remaining in the game.

With 4:19 left, Starling pump-faked for a three-pointer and drew a shooting foul on Wildcats senior guard Anthony Dattellas, giving him three free throws.

With the gymnasium as quiet as a mouse, a Wildcats fan yelled as Starling attempted each free throw, but the result was the same every time.

Swish.

12 of Starling’s 33 points were from the stripe.

Baldwinsville led 51-48 with just under a minute to go, and Amica attacked the rim in hopes to score a layup or draw a foul. Instead, he was met by Bees senior guard Daniel Fabrizio, who blocked his shot toward Starling, which led to a floater to clinch the victory.

“My coach told me to take over, and that’s what I did,” Starling said.

West Genesee (5-3) was led by Amica’s 23 points. Senior center John Benson and junior forward Adam Dudzinski both finished with 10. The Wildcats have lost two straight games and will look to rebound at home against Henninger on Tuesday.

In addition to defeating the No. 21 ranked team in the state, along with eclipsing 1,000 points, Starling climbed to second on Baldwinsville’s all-time scoring list.

Starling’s 1,028 career points trails only Brett Botsford’s 1,070, who played for the Bees from 2004-08.

With an additional 42 points, he’ll stand alone as the all-time leading scorer in program history, which shouldn’t take long considering his 30.3 scoring average.

Baldwinsville (6-2), which has won four consecutive games, will continue league play on Tuesday as well for a match-up at home against Liverpool.

“(This win) boosts our confidence and shows us that we’re a contender and we can compete with anybody, especially beating a team like that with a top guard in New York," Starling said. "We’re showing that we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

Box score

Contact Mike Curtis anytime at mcurtis@syracuse.com or find him on Twitter at @MikeACurtis2.

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