Correspondent photo / Lowell Spencer South Range’s Landon Moore drives to the basket against Lowellville. Moore scored his 1,000th point during the game against the Rockets.

BEAVER TOWNSHIP — The South Range Raiders boys basketball team has enjoyed many successful seasons and has had some outstanding performers. Among those who have stood out on the hardwood is their current 6-foot-3 senior forward Landon Moore.

A three-year letterwinner, Moore has carved his name into the history books at South Range with his extraordinary career which included reaching the 1,000-point milestone in the Raider’s recent contest against Lowellville this past Tuesday night. He needed 15 points heading into the game and he was able to reach the magical moment midway through the third quarter of the game.

For Moore, it was a goal he had always dreamed of obtaining.

“It means a lot to reach 1,000. I saw Chris Books do it and it was amazing how everyone cheered for him, and the school and community rallied around him. It has always been a goal of mine to get 1,000,” said Moore, who averages 20.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

But what makes his reaching the milestone even more special is that it has been a rare occurrence in the Raiders basketball program history.

“He is only the third player in the school’s history to reach that 1,000-point mark,” Raiders head coach Pat Carden said. “He has worked really hard for it, and he has been a very important player in the program.”

In addition to Chris Brooks, who reached the milestone back in the 2018-19 season, the only other Raider to reach 1,000 points was Chris Hatch back in the 1990s. Ironically, Hatch also reached the 1,000-point plateau in a game at Lowellville just like Moore.

“This means a lot,” Moore said about joining a small group in the Raiders history books. “It is a goal that not many people have accomplished.”

Moore is the oldest son of Courtney and Bobby Moore. He has a younger brother Dante. One of Moore’s biggest influences has been his father. He explained that he and his father often play a game of one-on-one in the family’s driveway to sharpen his basketball skills.

“My dad works with me and trains with me. He keeps advising me to push through things. We practice in the driveway and really go at it. I usually win obviously,” Landon said with a chuckle.

Although this is just the first year for Carden in the Raiders program, he was quick to notice the attributes that make Moore such a special player.

“He has the height and athleticism, and it seems like he has the knack for putting the ball in the hoop. One thing he has really improved upon this year is his shooting,” he explained. “Last year, teams kind of sagged into the paint on him. This year they have to guard a little bit more. He shoots it better.”

As thunderous as his performance is on the court, Landon is a young man who is very quiet off the court. But he has proven to be a senior leader in his actions in both practice and the games.

“He is not a vocal leader, but he is the type of player that as he feels good in the flow of the game, the other guys just rally around him. He keeps us going,” Carden explained. “When he goes hard in practice, we improve. That is where we make our strides, and since the beginning of the season to now, he has improved vastly.”

Landon is a two-sport athlete who was also a part of the Raiders state championship football team in his junior year, playing wing back and defensive back. However, it is in basketball that he has excelled, and he plans to continue his playing career in college.

“I intend on going to college and playing basketball. I’m still undecided on where I’m going though, but I have had a couple of schools look at me,” Moore said. “I plan on majoring in either finance or sports management in college.”

Although Moore is not a very vocal young man off the court, he is a powerful force on it. That resounding effort has now etched his name in the South Range record books for future Raider players to emulate much like former Raider Chris Brooks did for him.

sports@vindy.com