Lawson, a 5-10 senior point guard for the Indians, recently broke the school’s scoring record of 1,310 set by Gene Fogle in 1951, years before the 3-point shot.
Lawson, who broke the record when he scored 18 points in a 66-58 win against Valley View, fittingly on Hall of Fame night, has scored 1,375 points in four seasons with one regular-season game tonight and the Indians are hoping for a deep tournament run.
He started playing basketball as a young boy, and his ball handling, shooting and defensive skills developed over time, said his father, Nick Lawson, who coached his son through the sixth grade.
Lawson said it was always “basketball, basketball, basketball” for his son.
Blake called basketball his “first love.”
But at 5-10, college basketball coaches didn’t recruit Lawson, despite his deadly shot and court leadership.
Then late last year, after Lawson had 1,300-all purpose yards and 26 touchdowns for the Indiana, he was contacted by the coaching staff at Taylor University.
During the college visits, his father said Taylor, a small Christian college, “felt like home.”
So after this basketball season, Lawson will turn in his basketball for a football.
Until then, he’s enjoying the ride his senior season. The Indians are 14-7 overall, 8-3 in the Buckeye Division of the Southwestern Buckeye League and one game behind Oakwood. Carlisle needs to win tonight against Valley View and hope Oakwood loses to Brookville to share the league title.
John Giles was hired as Carlisle’s head coach four years ago, Lawson’s freshman year. While Lawson’s scoring is impressive, what fans don’t see is the work he puts in when no one is watching, Giles said.
“He works his tail off in the off season,” Giles said this week after practice. “He has not missed a workout in four years. His work ethic has been huge for the program to improve and set an example for the younger players.”
As Lawson sat on the bleachers in Eddie Crowe Court, named after the great Carlisle basketball player, he looked up at the banner that lists the 18 1,000-point scorers in school history.
After this season, Lawson’s name will be added to the list that includes his sister, Kaylee, who scored 1,056 points.
“It felt really good to beat those records knowing those names up there,” Lawson said.
He gave much credit to his teammates for rebounding and passing him the ball.
“Without them, four guys would be guarding me,” he said.
On the night he broke the record, Guy Fogle, a nephew of Gene Fogle, was in attendance.
Giles said the support Lawson received showed how people “were there for Blake and his accomplishment. It was a great feeling for the community and the basketball program.”
CARLISLE’S ALL-TIME 1,000-POINT SCORERS
*-Blake Lawson, 1,375
Gene Fogle, 1,310
Alexia Murphy, 1,286
Andrew Goodpaster, 1,162
Rich Chamberlain, 1,149
Heather Imfeld, 1,144
David Langdon, 1,136
Braxston Campbell, 1,136
Heather Lieungh, 1,135
Eddie Crowe, 1,109
Justin Flor, 1,060
Kyle England, 1,092
Kaylee Lawson, 1,056
Tracy Bowling, 1,038
Connor Smith, 1,017
Nolan Burney, 1,013
Kelly Schwarber, 1,005
Tricia Collins, 1,001
Daulton Butler, 1,000
*-Through Tuesday’s game
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