Sussex Tech standout surpasses 1,000 point milestone

VERNON — Despite a slow start to their season, the Sussex Tech Mustangs boys basketball team has reason to celebrate in senior guard Bryce Louis.

Surpassing the 1,000 point milestone by sinking a pair of free throws in the first quarter of a 50-53 loss at Lenape Valley on Jan. 7, the 18-year-old Barry Lakes resident now stands poised to break the school record of 1,220 points set by Ed Paiva in 1976.

“It was a goal I had when I started playing,” Louis said of the 1,000-point milestone, “but I didn’t actually think I could do it.”

Now with the school record in his sights, Louis remains focused on a less individual goal.

“I’m just hoping we can get some wins for the team,” he said. “Everybody is trying to get me to go for the record, but we’ll see what happens as the season goes.”

Paiva, Louis’ physical education teacher at Sussex Tech, broached the subject with Louis earlier this year.

“He actually wants\ed me to break it,” Louis said. “He thinks I can do it.”

Mustangs basketball coach Dan Gibson agrees with the current record holder.

“I think he has a very good chance of breaking [the record],” he said, noting that Louis needs to average at least 12 points per game to surpass the milestone and he is currently averaging 17. “It’s just a matter of when and how far above it he will go.”

As coach of Louis for his entire four-year basketball career, Gibson said he “knew right away Bryce was going to be something special.” Calling his talent in the beginning “raw,” Gibson said Louis set himself up for success through an uncommon dedication to the game.

“It all comes down to how much work he’s put into it in the offseason,” he said.

Future plans
Louis enrolled at Sussex Tech for the Information Technology program and plans on continuing those studies after graduation. He has acceptance letters and academic scholarships from universities such as St. Peters, Fairleigh Dickenson, Rider, Stevens and Yale, but says he’ll be holding off on making a decision until the end of February.

One thing he does know — he’ll continue to rack up his point total at whichever school he chooses.

“I’ve talked to all the coaches and will play basketball at school,” Louis said. “I’ve been playing since I was five or six years old,” he added. “It’s my natural thing.”

Natural talent aside, Louis credits most of his success to the quote he lives his life by, from Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”