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MISHAWAKA — The moment was fit for a king.
Moments after 4A No. 2 Penn’s major 66-52 win over 3A No. 1 Mishawaka Marian, Penn’s student section spilled onto the court.
In the midst of the madness was the man that led the Kingsmen to victory, senior guard Markus Burton. But you wouldn’t have known it until he emerged on the shoulders of a fellow student to the serenade of “M-V-P” chants.
Here are you Friday night high school basketball scores
Noah Applegate ready to slide back to second place on Penn all-time scoring list
Burton was the Kingsman at the pinnacle of his castle.
And on this Friday night he desrved every second of it, moving to the top of Penn’s record books, then willing the Kingsmen to their first win over the Knights in nine seasons.
Burton, who finished with a game-high 32 points, became the new all-time scoring leader, surpassing Noah Applegate’s record of 1,709 career points in the first half.
“I was just playing, trying to get the win,” Burton said. “Not keeping track of my points. When they told me in the locker room (at halftime) I was really happy.”
Then he scored his teams first nine points of the second half, balooning a nine-point halftime lead to double-digits. The Kingsmen’s win was a complete team effort, seven scorers combining to shoot 51% from the floor, but Burton, as he has been all season, was the catalyst.
Burton worked to become a scoring machine
Burton had a killer mentality only few in this state could replicate. And the 4,500 sold out crowd at Penn witnessed why the senior could be the leading candidate to win Mr. Basketball.
But a career that will go down as one of the best ever in Northern Indiana Conference history didn’t always look that way. It wasn’t until last year where Burton garnered the attention of college coaches and eventually Notre Dame, where he is signed to play next winter.
“It was a process,” Burton said. “My freshman and sophomore year weren’t too good. Then junior year I had that big shoot up and this year I’m playing pretty well. I’m just glad I’m doing it.
The aspects of his game that got the next level interested was on full display against the Knights.
Burton was too quick for Marian’s defense to stay in front of. He finished through contact at the net and scored from range, connecting on 3-of-5 shots from behind the arc.
In the instances the Knights did contain him, Burton’s teammates stepped in for support.
Trey Miller scored 11 big points off the bench and Penn’s other four starters combined for 17.
Marian was led by Deaglan Sullivan’s 15 points. Two other Knights, Deuce Owens and Jackson Price, also scored in double figures, but the main difference was Burton was wearing a different color jersey.
“I thought our defense was very good throughout the enitre contest,” Penn head coach Al Rhodes said. “Overall we were extremely aggressive and tried to play team defense and were successful in doing that.
“We are midseason for us and feel like we still have a lot of areas we can improve.”
State title contenders?
Behind Burton’s memorable career has simply been a desire to win.
To win an NIC title, which the Kingsmen won a share of last year and are now the front-runners after Friday’s win. Penn next hosts South Bend Saint Joseph, who lost its first league game to Elkhart Friday night.
And to win a state title, which Penn looks like it could be a contender for.
The points record? Meh, not that important to Burton. The prize at the end of his final high school season has been his goal.
“We went down to Southport and beat Zionsville,” Rhodes said. “We played Ben Davis tough at the Hall of Fame tournament. They should feel like they can compete with anyone.”
As long as No. 3 is still in uniform, that won’t change.
Penn 66: Markus Burton (32), Trey Miller (11), Joe Smith (8), Dominic Bonner (6), Joey Garwood (5), Dylan Derda (2) , Josh Gatete (2)
Mishawaka Marian 52: Deaglan Sullivan (15), Jackson Price (11), Deuce Owens (10), Dar’e’on Thornton (7), Elias Norgaard (7), Ben Warnell 2
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