In the middle of the first quarter on Friday, from the left side of the court just outside of the 3-point line, Kyle Schleeter pulled up and launched a shot.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Bryant Uthlaut

He’s taken thousands of shot on that court, many from that spot. But this one came with 999 career points marked in  Fayette basketball scorebooks over the past three seasons. His shot was good and Fayette took a 9-2 lead on the way to a 57-50 win over Scotland County

“It meant a lot,” Schleeter said about reaching his goal in front of a packed house on Courtwarming night.

“I’ve played basketball here all my life and it was a special thing.”

Schleeter hit another 3-pointer during a 10-0 run that put the Falcons up 21-11 in the second quarter.

“We just played with intensity,” he said. “We started out the game strong, we talked well. We just started driving and let our shots fall.”

Cody Hilgedick gave Fayette a 42-26 lead late in the third quarter before Scotland County started heating up offensively. The Tigers cut the lead to four points with 1:26 left, but a steal and four free throws from Schleeter kept Scotland County from making it a one-possession game. Tyler Bartholomew went 3-4 at the free-throw line to seal the win.

Schleeter led Fayette with 20 points. Cale Polson was 2-7 from the 3-point line for 10 points and a team-high four assists. Hilgedick had four points and led the Falcons with four steals. Josh and Zach Henderson each had eight rebounds and finished with eight and five points, respectively. Bartholomew scored seven.

Fayette coach Jon Bishop said that his team fed off of the energy in the building while taking the 16-point lead.

“We were able to build off of Kyle’s success,” he said. “That was really a cool thing for all of us to experience. I thought we got in a flow, but we’ve got to keep at that, we’ve got to be able to close better and finish better. Obviously, really glad we were able to get a win.”

The Falcons once again have a winning record at 9-8, and have a 2-2 mark in conference play.