Junior basketball player Henry Brandt broke the record for three-pointers made in a boys basketball game by scoring nine three-pointers in a home game against Columbus Academy Friday, Feb. 12.
The previous record of seven three-pointers was set in 2017 by Ashton Lusiak, and Brandt broke this record in the third quarter and scored an additional three-pointer to set the new record at nine three-pointers, he explained.
Columbus Academy is Bexley’s rival, so this was a special game to break the record in, Brandt said. When he broke the record, Brandt said his teammates were thrilled and congratulated him with high fives.
Junior basketball player Chris Mitchell added that the team celebrated Brandt’s accomplishment even more after the game.
“There was a big celebration down in the locker room after the game,” Mitchell said. “There was screaming, cheering and throwing water.”
However, Brandt said he was not as enthusiastic as his teammates were because he was more focused on the game.
“When I broke the record, I was kind of excited, but I didn’t react that much,” he said. “I was more excited that we were crushing Academy.”
Boys head basketball coach Todd Phillips explained that he was not surprised Brandt broke the record. Brandt plays a large role on the team: he is a shooting guard and the team’s leading scorer, he and averages 14 points per game, Phillips said.
“He’s a shooter,” Phillips said. “Some guys are scorers, but Henry is a shooter that scores. If anyone was going to break the record on this year’s team or probably next year’s team, it was going to be him.”
Brandt shot 45% from the three-point line in the game; he shot 20 three-pointers in the game and made nine of them, Phillips explained. He added that Brandt was able to shoot so many three pointers because of his teammates’ efforts.
“Our guys did such a great job of getting him open and giving him the ball,” Phillips said. “They were selfless and kept looking for him because they knew that he was really hot.”
Phillips said he is proud of Brandt’s accomplishment because of his effort.
“I’m really happy for him,” Phillips said. “He has worked really hard, and he has improved his shot a great deal in the past 12 months. He’s become a lot more confident in himself as a shooter.”
Brandt explained that he was able to improve his shooting abilities by practicing often in the offseason.
“Shooting outside in the backyard for hours has always been the biggest thing for me to improve my shot,” he said.
This season has been special because he couldn’t play last season due to a knee injury, he explained. He said he was uncertain about what his role on the team would be this year, and he is thankful that he could play again.
“It’s just nice to finally be out there playing after watching for so long,” he explained.
Phillips added that Brandt is an important part of the team because of his skill, but also because of who he is as a teammate.
“Henry is the epitome of what you want a teammate to be,” Philips said. “He comes in and works hard every day, and he genuinely cares about his team.”
Phillips added that Brandt is a highly coachable player and chooses to lead others by example with his constant effort and reliability.
“Henry is very consistent, that is his mark of leadership,” Phillips explained. “We know every day in practice what he is going to give us, and in every game we know how he is going to perform.”
Brandt said the team had a successful season with a record of 10-7, and they started to come together as a group in their last few games, including the Columbus Academy game. He felt better about the team playing together cohesively in the game rather than his own personal achievement, he explained.
“The best part of it wasn’t me breaking the record, but it was that we won and played so well together,” Brandt said.
