Keshequa / Nunda Basketball:
Individual Game Scoring Leaders
by Bob Gelser

Basketball has undergone many changes over the past 100 years. Rule adjustments have significantly influenced the style of play, as well as the chances for local players to earn the title of Individual Game Scoring Leader.

In 1937, one key rule required a jump ball at center court after every basket. Teams with a tall center could easily control both the game and possession. A skilled jumper could consistently tap the ball to a teammate, limiting the opposing team’s opportunities.

Nunda had such an advantage during the 1936–37 season with “Big” Ben Johnston. That year, Johnston set the single-game scoring record with 20 points. As shown in the photo below, he was a dominant force against any team Nunda faced.

“Big” Ben Johnston helped set the early single-game scoring mark in 1937.

After the 1936–37 season, high school basketball rules were changed to limit jump balls to the start of each quarter. After a scored basket, possession was awarded to the opposing team on an alternating basis. This shift made strong ball handling and an efficient offense far more important for scoring.

In 1940, Lawrence “Ernie” Goll made a run at the scoring record and ultimately tied it with a 20-point performance. What made this achievement especially impressive was the challenging season faced by Nunda, which had no home games and very limited practice facilities.

As reported in the Nunda News:

“Due to the fact that the new Central school was in process of being built and the old gym had been demolished, the Village building was converted into a semi-basketball court by erecting one basket and by pushing the chairs, which were used during the day in a classroom, around the walls. This left a space approximately 25 by 30 feet and only 12 feet high, which eliminated the ability to practice long-range shooting.”

Ernie Goll is shown below holding the basketball alongside the rest of the 1939–40 Nunda basketball team.

The 1939–40 Nunda basketball team, with Ernie Goll holding the ball.

The following season, Ernie Goll’s former teammate Emmett “Squat” Mann continued the scoring surge, setting a new record with a 22-point performance. At a time when teams rarely topped 40 points in the 1940s, Mann’s effort led Nunda to a 43–33 victory over Avon.

Unfortunately for Nunda fans, the game was played in Avon rather than in their newly constructed home gym. Mann (#7) is pictured below with his 1940–41 teammates, including Jake Essler.

Emmett “Squat” Mann and the 1940–41 Nunda team.

Freeman Barber is known locally for building Nunda’s first golf course. In 1943, he also made his mark in basketball, setting a new single-game scoring record with 25 points. The game was played in Mt. Morris, where Nunda defeated Mt. Morris 46–34.

Nunda News Clipping, 1943.

Notably, Mt. Morris player Gus Ganakas later went on to coach basketball at Michigan State University in the 1970s. After graduation, Freeman Barber (#9) and Ernie Goll (#8) both played for several years on Nunda’s town basketball teams.

Freeman Barber and Ernie Goll later played on Nunda town basketball teams.

In the 1950s, the style of play sped up, leading to higher-scoring games. Teams that combined strong outside shooting with dominant inside play from their center often found the most success.

As the 1955–56 regular season came to an end, Nunda qualified for the Class B Sectionals for the first time since the Ben Johnston-led team of 1937. The 1955–56 team was anchored by center Ebbon Johnson, who averaged an impressive 20.9 points per game. That season, Nunda set a team single-game scoring record with 92 points against Mt. Morris.

Freeman Barber’s long-standing record of 25 points in a game, set in 1943, was broken three times that season by Johnson. He ultimately raised the record to 41 points in an 83–54 victory over Livonia.

Ebbon Johnson

Ebbon Johnson, wearing #30 and holding the basketball, with the 1955–56 team.

In 1962, Don Martin finished his varsity basketball career with an average of 21.1 points per game, the first player in Nunda school history to surpass a 20-point career average.

During the 1961–62 season, he also set a new single-game scoring record, breaking Ebbon Johnson’s mark by scoring 46 points in a 91–66 victory over Lima.

The following year, Martin attended Syracuse University, where he participated on the freshman team alongside Jim Boeheim, who would later be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame after a 47-season coaching career with Syracuse men’s basketball.

Don Martin

Don Martin with his 1961–62 teammates.

In the 1960s, it was rare to attend a high school basketball game without seeing a member of the Timothy family in the lineup. Two sets of brothers—Don ’61, Dean ’66, Dana ’69, and Tom ’65 with Jack ’68—were all key contributors to teams throughout the decade.

The school officially transitioned to Keshequa Central School during the 1968–69 academic year. That same basketball season, Dana Timothy set a single-game scoring record with 47 points in a 96–58 victory over Letchworth. The team’s 96-point total remains a record today.

Dana Timothy and his Keshequa teammates.

Rule changes, most notably the introduction of the shot clock and the three-point line, have increased scoring opportunities for players from 1990 to the present. The 35-second shot clock prevents teams from slowing the game down and limiting their opponent’s chances to score. Meanwhile, the three-point line rewards strong outside shooters by granting three points instead of two for shots taken beyond the arc.

Between 1983 and 2006, the school produced four players who scored over 1,000 career points, yet none were able to surpass Dana Timothy’s single-game record of 47 points. In 1983, Tim Diemoz scored 1,080 career points, with a single-game high of 36. In 1993, Rob Baldwin totaled 1,727 career points and had a high game of 41 points. In 1994, J.J. Garwood scored 1,181 career points, also with a high of 41. Later, in 2006, Eric Kanouse reached 1,006 career points, with a top game of 35 points.

Fifty-seven years after Dana Timothy set the record, it was finally matched—and then broken—by Aiden Upright. He first tied the record with a 47-point performance against Hammondsport. Afterward, Coach Abijah Gath reviewed the scoring records to confirm Aiden’s place in school history, unaware that an even bigger performance was still to come.

Later that season, Upright delivered a remarkable game against Perry, scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter alone and finishing with 48 points to set a new single-game scoring record in Keshequa-Nunda basketball history. Adding to the significance of the moment, one of his teammates, Aiden Howe, is Dana Timothy’s grandson.

Aiden Upright finished his career with 1,153 points and is shown below with the 2025–26 team.

Aiden Upright and the 2025–26 Keshequa basketball team.

Single Game Record History

Conclusion

More than 500 basketball players have represented Nunda or Keshequa during the time frame noted above. Many of them likely dreamed of earning a spot on this list while practicing on home courts or in local gyms. To date, the eight players listed here have secured their place in Keshequa–Nunda basketball history as single-game scoring leaders.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Richard Kemp, Abijah Gath, and Tom Cook for their contributions and input in completing this document.