Pearson Carmichael of Summit comes an elbow shy of Les Schwab Invitational scoring record
HILLSBORO, OREGON - An errant elbow to the nose might have been all that stood in the way of Pearson Carmichael and the Les Schwab Invitational scoring record on Thursday afternoon.
The Summit (Oregon) standout and Boise State commit had 44 points — three shy of the tournament record (47) — when he took a flailing arm to the face and left the game with a profusely bleeding nose midway through the fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-6 guard didn't return. Still, he now owns the 2023 tournament scoring high over projected top 2026 NBA Draft pick Cameron Boozer, who had 37 on Wednesday.
"It's not a surprise," Summit coach Jon Frazier said. "Obviously he's one of the best players in the state. We get to see every day in practice how tough he is. To do it on this stage was quite the performance.
"Once he sees one or two go through, I think that hoop gets pretty big for him. He can score in bunches."
If it were up to Carmichael, who teammates and friends call "Peanut," he would have called his own number and checked back in to go for the record.
He was informed of how close he was to the record while being tended to in the training room. He rejoined the bench shortly after and begged and pleaded his coaches to let him sub back in.
All in all, he converted on 13 of 21 shot attempts, including seven 3-pointers, and 11 of 12 free throws. This all happened two games after pouring in 42 points on Grant on Dec. 19.
Carmichael entered the prestigious Pacific Northwest showcase determined to show out.
"I'm a little underrated," he said after Summit's 96-75 win over host Liberty (5-2). "I came out here and wanted to show everyone who I am — who we are.
"I tried to go back in and break it, but I was proud of this team and the way we played."
Carmichael entered halftime with 23 points. As he crept closer to the record, set in 2018 by Grant's Aaron Deloney, the official scorekeeper continued to feed the Summit (5-2) bench Carmichael's point total.
Meanwhile on the court, Carmichael put down one bucket after another, blissfully unaware he was inching toward local history.
"At the end of the day, we have a lot of respect for Liberty and I'm not going to put a guy in to go stat-chasing at the end of the game," Frazier said.
Also in question was the status of Carmichael's nose. He said he's a "maybe" for Summit's next consolation game against Jesuit on Friday at 2 p.m.
"I don't think (it's broken)," he said, his voice muffled by the rolls of gauze plugging his nostrils. "But it might be. I don't know. 50-50."
Carmichael and the Storm have done what they set out to do — show the rest of the state what Summit basketball is about.
"They zoned us, they box-and-oned us, they trapped — they were kind of throwing everything at him," Frazier said. "He was unfazed by it ... he's a selfless teammate; all he cares about is winning."
-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveor
