ATTICA — In what might have otherwise seemed like an innocuous non-league game in late December, Isaac Mason made it noteworthy.

The Seneca East junior guard broke the school single-game scoring record for the second time in six days by hanging 47 points on visiting North Baltimore in an 88-61 victory Thursday night.

Mason first set the record last Friday by dropping 46 in a 72-67 loss to Buckeye Central. He had initially tied the old mark with 43 against Danbury back on November 27.

The self-effacing Mason refused to take all the credit for his seeming innate ability to shoot a basketball so well.

“I’ve been playing pretty well this season and my teammates give me screens and they move the ball around to me,” Mason said. “It’s really an honor to be able to score this many points in a game, but it’s really to the fact my teammates help me out and they just allow me to shoot the ball even when the shots aren’t going in.”

It appears that scoring in the 40s is habitual for Mason and it’s a habit first-year Seneca East coach Anthony Langhurst is not tiring of any time soon.

“When you’ve got Isaac Mason, it’s nice to just flatten guys out and you’ve got a guy that can get you buckets,” Langhurst said. “He makes coaching pretty easy and pretty fun. Sometimes you just gotta sit back and enjoy the show.”

It didn’t take Mason long to get warmed up. He had 14 points in a face-paced first quarter that the hosts led, 29-20, when the dust settled. Mason did so by hitting an efficient five of nine shots from the field, including three 3-pointers.

North Baltimore’s Mitch Clark helped the visitors maintain proximity with 10 points in the first period and nine more in the second as the northern Tigers drew within five several times in the second quarter and went to halftime trailing just 45-39.

“(Clark) is just a great, physical player and he was eating us up inside,” Langhurst said. “But we just kind of made a short adjustment at halftime and the kids kind of responded.”

The adjustment was effective, as Clark was shut out in the third quarter. However, four of his teammates picked up the slack, combining for 13 points, with three 3s to keep North Baltimore within 60-52 by period’s end.

“They hit some shots but when we were getting our arms up and wreaking a little bit of havoc, the kids responded well and we got some easy baskets,” Langhurst said. “When you see the ball go in the hole, sometimes jumpers seem to find the way to go in too.”

The game remained close midway through the fourth quarter. North Baltimore (2-5) was within 68-60 on a three-point play by Clark with 4:35 left. But Seneca East (3-5) finished the game on a 20-1 run to turn it into a rout.

“We really pushed the ball out and got some easy layups in transition,” Mason said of the run. “We beat them back. That really helps us in the game to score points.”

Clark finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead North Baltimore. Gunner Kepling added 15 points and Caiden Phillips had nine.

Alex King seconded Mason’s record-setting 47 with 13 points and Kadin Snay added 10 for Seneca East. Mason also had 16 rebounds. He entered the week leading the Northern 10 Athletic Conference with a 10.7 boards per game average.

“You look at him and you wouldn’t think it, but he’s sneaky athletic and he’s a lot more physical than his frame shows,” Langhurst said of his scoring prodigy. “We’re not only counting on him for leadership offensively, but we need him in there rebounding too because a lot of times we’ve got four guards out there. He’s got a knack for the basketball like the real good players do.”

Mason reflected on his monster night.

“I missed a few early but the I kind of got in my rhythm and just kept going from there,” he said. “Not many people get to do this and it’s just an honor to be able to play that well and consistently.”

Box score

North Baltimore   20    19    13      9 — 61

Seneca East            29    16    15    28 — 88

Stats

North Baltimore: (2-5) Shots 22-58; 3-pt shots 5-19 (Caiden Phillips 2, Gunner Kepling 2, Isaiah Boyd); Free throws 12-17; Rebounds 36 (Mitch Clark 14); Turnovers 18. Scoring: Caiden Phillips 3 1 9, Isaiah Boyd 2 0 5, Owen Clark 2 0 4, Gunner Kepling 5 3 15, Mitch Clark 10 8 28.

Seneca East (3-5): Shots 32-68; 3-pt 11-30 (Isaac Mason 6, Alex King 3, Graham Gibbs, Lucas Hicks); Free throws 13-23; Rebounds 44 (Isaac Mason 16); Turnovers 9. Scoring: Graham Gibbs 2 1 7, Alex King 5 0 13, Isaac Mason 18 5 47, Aidan Hines 0 2 2, Kadin Snay 3 4 10, Blake Foos 1 1 3, Lucas Hicks 1 1 4. Keeno Ruffing 1 0 2.

JV: Seneca East 22-20 (2 quarters).