The University of New Brunswick has a new notch on its belt: it’s now home to the highest-scoring Canadian men’s university basketball player of all time.
On Friday night, fifth-year player Javon Masters needed 26 points to break the total points record held by Boris Bakovic since 2012.
He got them, plus 13 more, and was named player-of-the-game after outscoring all other participants, en route to establishing the new record at 2,296 points and counting.
“The support system has been phenomenal and I feel like — not just for myself but the university and the province as a whole — they have something to be proud of,” Masters said.
“I became more aggressive in the second half, I could see that some of their guys were getting tired and we were able to get on transition and get some easy baskets.”
Teammate Will Legere praised Masters both for his ability to put the ball in the net as well as inspire and motivate the team.
“Every single night he brings it no matter what and that’s really tough to do in this league,” he explained. “He’s captain of the team, he’s the rock, he’s a solid guy that you can always rely on.
“Having Javon Masters makes the game a lot easier,” he said.
Despite being on the brink of history before the game, Masters didn’t let the thought of entering his name in the history books distract from his main goal.
“I wasn’t really thinking about the record, I was thinking more about getting the win,” he said. “To be at the top of the mountain really means a lot, but at the same time I’m still focused on our team right now and what we need to do to win an AUS title.”
UNB followed up their Friday night win with another victory over the visiting St. Mary’s Huskies 94-85.
Masters added nine more points to the tally pushing the record to 2,305 in the process.