It was bound to be a special night for Batesville High School senior Colt Ryan.

For the first time in his four seasons as a Bulldog, it was his senior night ... the final time to don the blue and white in front of the home crowd.

Add to the mix, the Indiana All-Star candidate was on the verge of setting the all-time scoring mark at BHS and unknowing to him or anyone else the single game scoring mark – a record of 51 points scored by Curt Clawson in 1977.

Ryan entered the game against Shelbyville four points shy of the 1,700 scored by Michael Menser. Given his 26 points per game season average it was not a matter of if, but when he would break the record.

He scored the first two points of the night to give the Bulldogs an advantage just 20 seconds into the game.

Following an Alex Jobst field goal to make it a 4-0 game, Ryan pulled up from well behind the 3-point arc and buried a patented jumper at the 6:19 mark.

“At the beginning of the year I thought it was an attainable goal, but we had more important things to accomplish as a team,” Ryan commented.

It did not come as a surprise to BHS head coach Aaron Garrett.

“When he sets a goal he usually makes it happen,” Garrett commented. “And he has done it the right way ... he is an unselfish player that has produced on good teams.”

The officials stopped play and everyone rose to their feet to show their appreciation for his achievement.

Emerging from behind the Batesville bench was the now former record-holder Michael Menser. In a brief ceremony, Menser presented Ryan with the game ball.

“The record going from Michael (Menser) to Colt is great,” Garrett said. “They are both great role models and representatives of the BHS basketball program.”

The student section led the way with a standing ovation, but it was not long before the celebration concluded.

Six points and two minutes into the game, who would have imagined what was about to unfold.

The senior guard dazzled fans and opponents with a 15 point effort in the first quarter and added another 16 in the second.

Athletes talk about being in the “zone” and that was definitely where Ryan found himself Thursday night.

Now with 16 minutes and 31 points in the books, Ryan was on pace to set the single game scoring mark.

He flirted with the notion in the first game of the season with a 42 point effort against Jac-Cen-Del. Since then, the record really has not been in jeopardy.

The halftime break did not seem to bother him. Ryan picked up where he left off with a three-point play.

Ryan went from 34 points to 45 in what seemed like moments and it was clear a second record was going to fall.

Much like the career mark, it was just a matter of when.

Ryan, just as it was a trademark of Menser, has made it a habit to score at the end of a quarter no matter what kind of defensive pressure is applied.

He did it again at the end of the third quarter to pull within one point. A cool 50 points were scored over the first 24 minutes of the game.

The game, which was well in hand at 68-43, was stopped again at the 7:32 mark in the fourth quarter.

After scoring points 51 and 52, BHS head coach Aaron Garrett called a time out as teammates greeted Ryan as he left the floor to his second standing ovation of the game.

“I felt good in the Jac-Cen-Del game, but this was different,” Ryan said. “I just thought if they were going to keep falling then I would keep shooting.

“Thanks go to my teammates. A lot of teams would not let one player get off 34 shots ... they are a big part of all this.” he added.

“This was the best I have seen and they (shots) were coming from everywhere,” Garrett said.