Conestoga’s Darryl Caldwell scores 1,000th point

Berwyn – Conestoga senior guard Darryl Caldwell, who wears jersey No. 1, became the No. 1 man of the night during the Pioneers’ 67-56 win Tuesday evening against visiting Marple Newtown when he scored his 1,000th career point.
With 2:01 left in the first quarter, Caldwell scored on a transition layup, and when the ball dropped through the net, the home crowd stood and gave the Conestoga senior an ovation that lasted several minutes. The game was stopped, and Caldwell posed for a photo with his mother, Christy, and Conestoga head coach Mike Troy.
Just after the game, Caldwell reflected on his magic moment: “I remember bringing down my man, getting the layup, and then feeling a sense of relef that it was all over.”
Troy said, “Darryl has a nautral feel for the game and understands space really well. He has terrific vision on court, and [excellent] decision-making.”
Caldwell, who finished the night with a game-high 22 points, needed only two to reach the 1,000-point milestone before the game. The Pioneers got off to a slow start, but Caldwell’s record-breaker seemed to unlock the floodgates, as the home team outscored Marple 25-5 in the second quarter to pull away.
Troy said, “I think everyone was trying really hard to get Darryl his 1,000th point early in the game,” said Troy. “Once Darryl scored, everyone relaxed, and we stepped up defensively, got some steals and turnovers [in the second quarter].”
Conestoga trailed Marple 14-10 late in the first quarter, but then went on a 28-5 tear with a high-tempo pace. Pioneer junior guard Scott Shapiro nailed a trey from the right side at the buzzer to cut the visitors’ first-quarter lead to 14-13; made a steal and layup to tie the score at 15-15; then hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to put Conestoga ahead for good.
Conestoga senior guard Andrew Larkin (who finished with nine points) continued the Pioneers’ 12-point run when he converted a steal into a basket; then senior guard MJ Lezanic (who scored 13 points) scored insdie twice to give the hosts a 25-15 lead. A Pioneer takeaway and Caldwell layup completed the 12-point run and made the score 27-15 with 3:48 before halftime.
Toward the end of the second period, Caldwell nailed a couple of treys from the left side – the second one just before the halftime buzzer – to give the Pioneers a 38-19 halftime lead. The senior guard, who is getting some Division 2 and 3 interest from colleges, continued his solid scoring in the second half to finish with 22 points.
Conestoga also got solid scoring Tuesday night from junior forward Charlie Martin (eight points).
With 37 seconds left, Caldwell was taken out of the game and basked in one last standing ovation from the Conestoga crowd.
Fun facts – Darryl Caldwell
Favorite player: “LeBron James – I’ve loved [his play] since I was 6 years old.”
Favorite pre-game pump-up song: Feelin like Diddy, by PnB.
Favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption.
Favorite TV show: Special Victims.
College favorites: Currently, West Chester and Kutztown University. Leaning toward majoring in sports management.
Siblings: Oldest of three children – sister KC is a freshman at Conestoga.