Crim: Payson’s Schwartz views his milestone scoring achievement as team accomplishment

PAYSON, Ill. — One by one, seniors and their parents were introduced before last Friday night’s boys high school basketball game between Payson Seymour and Western.

Blake Schwartz’s name was called last. After exchanging hugs with his mom and dad in front of the Payson bench, he was asked by the public address announcer to step to midcourt for a special presentation.

Three nights earlier, Schwartz became the all-time scoring leader in Payson history during a road loss to Macomb. As the announcer read from his script and Payson coach Tyler Duschinsky presented Schwartz with a commemorative basketball, the overflow home crowd rose to its feet to applaud the achievement.

Schwartz was visibly touched as the extended ovation reverberated through the cozy gymnasium.

“It hit me that it was going to be my last home game,” he said. “I’m just so thankful that I’ve played for Payson all four years. It’s fun to come out and play for this community. Man, I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me.”

Schwartz then went out and gave the fans something else to cheer for, scoring a game-high 23 points before exiting early in the fourth quarter of a 59-23 victory over Western, pushing his career total to 1,624 points and assuring Payson, now 16-14, will finish the season with a winning record.

“His biggest thing is he wants to win,” Duschinsky said of the 6-foot guard. “If that means getting the ball to post players or finding a teammate with an open look, he’s good with that. He outworks people. He’s a great teammate and a great kid.”

Paul Lentz had held the school’s career scoring record of 1,596 points since his four-year career ended in 1993. He was a three-time All-Pike County Conference selection and was named the area’s high school player of the year by the Quincy Herald-Whig following his senior season.

Lentz went on to play at Quincy University and helped the Hawks reach the NCAA Division II tournament three times in four seasons. He was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a player in 2001.

Schwartz entered the Macomb game needing seven points to surpass Lentz. Fans young and old sported handmade signs in anticipation of reaching the milestone. The closest any player had come to matching Lentz’s record was Schwartz’s older brother, Cole, who graduated in 2020 with 1,586 points.

The record-breaking points came in typical Schwartz fashion. With Nolan Sparks inbounding the ball from underneath the Payson basket, Schwartz circled around a screen on the right wing, broke to the lane, took a bounce pass and drove through two defenders for a layup.

“Attacking the basket and finishing the way he did was very fitting,” Duschinsky said. “He’s been hounded, punched and elbowed the entire season and continues to battle. He’s willing to sacrifice his body for the betterment of the team. He leads us in charges taken. 

“Anybody willing to sacrifice their own body and accomplish what he has been able to do personally says a lot about him.”

So did his reaction after the game when he was approached by a photographer requesting a photo of the new career scoring leader.

“The first thing he said was, ‘Can we get a team picture?’ ” Duschinsky said. “To him, the record was for everybody, not just himself. He’s a heckuva teammate and a heckuva competitor who happens to be a good scorer.”

“It’s a team game,” Schwartz explained. “It’s not all about yourself. I wasn’t going to just shoot the ball to get the record because I want to win. (The record) means so much to me and my family and to this community, but I wouldn’t be here without my team.”

Schwartz, a varsity member for four seasons and a starter for three, is averaging just shy of 19 points per game this season despite being the focal point of opposing defenses. That’s slightly below his 19-point scoring average as a junior, when the Indians managed just 12 wins after advancing to the sectional the year before.

Schwartz rarely leaves the court. He often brings the ball up the floor to set Payson’s halfcourt offense or leaks out for fast-break opportunities. He can beat defenders off the dribble, score in traffic or spring free for jumpers from the perimeter.

He’s shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and averages 3.5 triples per game. And he’s an 81-percent shooter from the free-throw line, which he gets to often.

Although he knows he enters most games a marked man and often finds himself being double- and triple-teamed, Schwartz is quick to deflect praise.

“We’re not focused on one person scoring,” he said. “My teammates look for me and I look for them. We’re focused on playing the team game. My main focus is to be a team player to help everybody get open shots and just play for everybody on the court.”

Payson, seeded eighth in its 16-team Class 1A sub-sectional, opens postseason play Monday night at seventh-seeded Liberty. The Eagles defeated the Indians 56-47 the first game of the season in late November and again 49-42 on Feb. 7.

While Schwartz realizes any game he plays hereafter could be his last in a Payson uniform, he tries to not think that way.

“It’s just another ballgame,” he said. “We just have to come out and play the game of basketball and be confident in each other. Everything else will take care of itself if we do that.”

Only when the season draws to a close will it be time to reflect on the memories. And, in typical fashion, Schwartz hopes another player will someday break his scoring mark.

“It will be sad when the season ends, but it has been a great four years with this community and I know the next generation and the one after that will be great,” he said. “Records are made to be broken, so I’m excited to see who’s next.”