Matteo Fortuna celebrates scoring 1,000 points in his basketball career with his coaches and teammates on Feb.
Brookfield High School senior Matteo Fortuna hit a rainbow three-pointer Feb. 27 to shoot his way into the Warriors’ record book.
Matteo became the 11th student and seventh boy basketball player to score 1,000 points in a career for the Warriors, and he did it in the Division III semi-final playoff win over Hanoverton United on United’s home court. Matteo finished with 20 points in the 52-38 victory.
“It means a lot,” Matteo said. “I’ve been working hard for two years straight. I couldn’t have done it without my team. My family was supporting me. My coaches worked very hard to get me my points and make sure I get open.”
Matteo scored 10 points in the first half of the game, and the Warrior rooters watched his points add up on the scoreboard as he closed in on 1,000.
“Coming out of halftime, I knew I was about nine points away,” he said. “Once I got to 16 points, I knew, I’m getting this three. Shawn (Dungee) hit me (with a pass) when I was wide open. It felt amazing right when I seen it go in.”
A game earlier, on Feb. 22, Matteo achieved a more rare feat, passing 500 points for the season. Brookfield Athletic Director Ken Forsythe said the school’s record keeping is not that thorough, but he has found documentation of only one other boy to eclipse 500 points in a season, Jeremy Quinlan, Brookfield’s all-time leading scorer on the boys side.
“Makes me so proud, all the work I’ve put in through the years, since I was younger, and even this past summer, putting in all the work; it feels great,” Matteo said.
At the completion of the United game, Matteo stood at 1,001 points for the season, 527 of them coming this year. He scored 443 points as a junior, and 31 as a sophomore from his time attending Cardinal Mooney High School. This year, he was Brookfield’s leading scorer, averaging 22 points a game.
Update: Matteo scored 10 points March 1 in a losing effort to Cardinal Mooney, bringing is high school total to 1,011 and his season total to 537.
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Brookfield High School basketball players who have scored at least 1,000 points in their careers are:
Boys
Jeremy Quinlan, Class of 2013, 1,219 points.
Isaiah Jones, Class of 2023, 1,211 points.
Donovan Pawlowski, Class of 2023, 1,186 points.
Paul Guin, Class of 1967, 1,112 points.
Conner Stevens, Class of 2020, 1,093 points.
Brian Hiner, Class of 2017, 1,060 points.
Matteo Fortuna, Class of 2024, 1,011 points.
Girls
Bailey Drapola, Class of 2019, 1,644 points
Morgan Bonekovic, Class of 2008, 1,636 points.
Sophia Hook, Class of 2023, 1,561 points.
Susan Dobosh, Class of 1983, 1,102 points.
