By Melissa Moore-Randall
With just 25 seconds remaining in his high school basketball career, Revere’s Ethan Day scored his 1000th point. With the help of his unselfish teammates and an assist from Eric Mayorga, Day scored his 65th point of the night to reach the milestone. In addition to scoring his 1,000th point, Ethan also broke a school record by scoring the most points in a single game.
Ethan’s record setting performance did not go unnoticed. He was featured on Fox25 news last week by sportscaster Butch Stearns and was named the Greater Boston League Co-MVP the same week.
Day is only the 3rd player in RHS history to accomplish the feat joining Sal Bottari (1987) and Trae Weathers (2010). Through the years, it was rare to see Day without a basketball or shooting hoops at the local basketball courts. With just two varsity points his freshman year, Day’s hard work and perseverance led him to an unstoppable senior year averaging 25.1 points per game.
Day, a senior tri-captain, is both humble and proud of his achievement. “It feels great, and I’m honored to be only the third basketball player in RHS history to score 1000 points. It is a big accomplishment and takes a lot of hard work. I knew during the season that I would have a chance of hitting it. However, as the season was nearing the end, I didn’t think I would be able to do it. At the beginning of the game,I didn’t think I had a chance of scoring 65. But at half time, I heard I needed 33 more points and I knew it was possible. My teammates really were helping me out and looking to get me the ball and opportunities to score. Without my teammates helping me during the game I would not have been able to do it. They weren’t worried about anything else other than winning and helping me score. I enjoyed my last four years at RHS. I got to meet a lot of new people and build relationships that will last for a very long time. Being in the basketball program and around all the players and coaches have helped me a lot. They have made me a better player and an even better person. I will forever be grateful for all the experiences and memories I have had.”
Coach David Leary reflected on a night no one will ever forget. “I honestly thought it was possible but very unlikely. He needed 92 points going into the Patton Tournament and got 27 against Hamilton Wenham. The first thing we did on the bus ride up was ask him if he wanted to try to do it. He didn’t know exactly what he needed, but said he wanted to try. Coach Bob Sullivan, a 1000 point scorer himself at Savio, came up with a game plan of rotating 4 players at a time so they could all be a part of it. Before the game, we asked his teammates if they wanted to try to help him try to reach 65 points to reach the 1000 point goal for his career, the rest was totally up to Ethan. He needed to make shots and that he did! He was so efficient shooting 15-20 FG, 5-12 3FG and 20-24 FT. It was a surreal experience to witness and be a part of, a night our team and families will never forget!
No one was more proud of Ethan’s achievement than his Mom, Danielle, and Dad, Bill. “It was unbelievable and epic. He began playing on varsity as a freshman scoring 2 points and ended as a senior with 1000 points. We are beyond proud. We are a 4th generation Revere family, and seeing his name on the banner is going to be surreal. Going into the game, we didn’t think it was going to happen. He had to score 65 points in one game. However, with the support of his coaches and his teammates, he did it. Even as the other team still double and tripled guarded him. Now that’s determination.”
Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe was proud of Day for putting Revere on the map. “Ethan’s dedication to the sport was on full display all season. Reaching a milestone accomplishment of 1000 points scored is quite the feat especially since it seemed almost out of reach late in the season. But perseverance and a determined young man showed everyone how it pays off to go full throttle to the very end. It’s fitting that he made it to 1000 points. He will never have to second guess a tough game or missed basket and he will forever be etched in the history of Revere High School Basketball.”
In addition to closing out his senior year and joining the 1000 point club, Day also closes out the “Day RHS Basketball Era” that began 8 years ago with his older brother, Dillan, a senior at the University of Rhode Island. Like his older brother, Ethan’s basketball days started in 3rd with the Revere Recreation basketball league.
“Dillan and Ethan Day had such a fantastic career at Revere High School and a huge impact on our Boys Basketball program. They are both winners. Dillan had a great 4 year career for us moving up to varsity midway through his freshman season. Dillan got better each season, and he was one of our biggest leaders and helped the 2019-2020 team qualify for the MIAA Division 1 State Tournament. Unfortunately his senior year, they didn’t have a chance to make another run at it because of the Covid 19 restrictions.. Ethan, like his brother, got moved up to varsity at the end of his freshman season. He got to dress for our 2022 first round D2 win in the MIAA State Tournament against Springfield Sci-Tech, and our second round loss at Scituate in which he scored his first career basket. Ethan’s sophomore year he was very important in our success as a team coming off of the bench as our 6th man and supplying us with the scoring punch we needed. We qualified for the D2 MIAA State Tournament again and travelled to Plymouth South for a first round game. After an 11-0 run late in the 4th quarter, Ethan made the tying basket on a fast break and got fouled. Lining up to shoot the go ahead free throw, Ethan was visibly laughing at a fan under the basket lifting his shirt up and shaking his belly to distract him. We called timeout to compose the young sophomore, and he then calmly went out there and sank the go ahead free throw. The past two years Ethan’s ability to score has kept us pretty much in every game (lost 13 games by 5 points or less in that time frame). The largest accomplishment for both Dillan and Ethan was not the wins, or the tournaments, or the points but the Day brothers were each voted captain of their team’s their senior seasons unanimously. That just shows you how important these two were to our basketball program, and they will both be sorely missed. Danielle and Bill should be so proud of the two fine young men they have raised!” added Coach Leary.
