Micah Ford scored a team-high 13 points and finished 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter as Toms River North held off Shawnee, 54-51, in the South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals at RWJBarnabas Health Arena in Toms River, New Jersey on Monday, February 26, 2024. Kevin Emmons/South Jersey Sports Zone
TOMS RIVER - Micah Ford was surprised when he reached 1,000 career points.
The Stanford football commit reached the milestone in a 73-30 triumph over crosstown rival Toms River East in the first round of the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs last Wednesday. Ford grabbed an offensive rebound and scored before the buzzer sounded and a message was delivered by the public address announcer.
An expression of shock grew large on Ford's face when the announcer stated that he reached 1,000 career points. He was congratulated by teammate Jeremiah Pruitt before a swarm of teammates joined the celebration.
"It just worked out perfectly," Toms River North coach Rory Caswell said. "In my years of coaching, you don't really see too many genuine moments. When he got his 1,000 points and he had no idea when we stopped the game, we have some video of it, he had just a genuine smile because he had no idea. That was a very cool thing."
"I didn't know I was that close to 1,000 points," Ford said. "My coach did a good job of hiding it and making it a surprise for me. I thought I was 100 points away and I was going to fall short. It was a shock.
"I've been talking about my (goal of reaching) 1,000 points since before the season. It's always been a goal of mine to get because I think the last person to get 1,000 points here was (Lackawanna College defensive lineman) Najae (Hallenback) or (Monmouth guard) Jakari (Spence). It's just a good accolade to achieve. Most importantly, I'm just proud of my guys that we did a job today. They fuel me to be the person that I am on the court."