Craftsbury Academy senior Dylan Washer (left) was presented with his 1,000-point game ball from his grandfather Allen Reed (right) at a recent home game. Washer reached his thousandth point in Sharon on February 12, needing 37 points and getting 43. Allen Reed, who graduated in 1982 and is listed at the top of the school’s banner (center) was the first Craftsbury Academy student to reach 1,000 points and now, 42 years later, his grandson’s name will be added to the space left on the Chargers 1,000-point scorers banner.
SHARON – Dylan Washer joined his legendary grandfather Allen Reed in the Craftsbury Academy (CA) boys’ basketball 1,000-point scorer club last week, as the senior topped 40 plus points for the second consecutive week.
Washer reached the milestone last Monday, scoring 43 of his team’s 50 points in a two-point loss to Sharon Academy on the road.
The Phoenix earned their first win of the season behind Jack Doris’ 13 points, taking a 34-28 lead into the break.
Washer scored his 37th point of the night in the fourth quarter to reach 1,000 as the shorthanded Chargers battled back from a double-digit deficit but ran out of gas down the stretch. The senior big man has averaged 28 points per game over the last three weeks, including a career-high 45 in a win against Northfield earlier this month.
A loss to Division III power Richford at home on Wednesday couldn’t dampen an extra special Senior Night where Washer, along with teammates Sterling Blodgett and Chris Haefs were honored for their outstanding high school careers. Washer was given the game ball for reaching his career high milestone by a very special presenter, Craftsbury Academy legend Allen Reed. Reed graduated from CA in 1982 and his 1,674 career points stood as the gold standard for 35 years before Austin Masi set a new program scoring record in 2017. Reed’s name sits atop of the 1,000-point scorer’s banner that hangs in the Charger gymnasium and his grandson Dylan now joins him as the first to accomplish the feat since Masi in 2016.
“It feels great being up there on that banner with my grandfather and honestly, a dream come true to be up there with a bunch of great basketball players that played for this program. I couldn’t have done it without my team, they’ve been hitting me perfectly in my spots the last couple of weeks. Coach Brandon Berry told me going into the Sharon game that the team needed a big night from me and I was just trying to get us another win. It was kind of a bummer that it wasn’t at home, but it was great to be around family, friends, and teammates to celebrate it on Senior Night. It’s still amazing when I think about it and now I feel a lot of pressure is off my shoulders now that I’ve done it and we can just play ball,” said Washer.
The Chargers ended the regular season with a 65-38 home loss to Twinfield-Cabot over the weekend. Washer scored 17 and Blodgett chipped in with eight in the loss. The Trojans were led by Brayden Cushing’s team-high 13 and ended the regular season at 9-11. They’ll host ninth seeded Poultney on Wednesday night in the first round of the state tournament.
CA will travel to third seeded West Rutland on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Division IV playoffs.
