In the hallowed halls of New Ulm High School where the echoes of basketballs dribbling echoed through the gymnasium, two names stood poised to redefine history: Colton Benson and James Osborne. Colton Benson is on the verge of breaking the New Ulm boys scoring record and James Osborne is neighboring 1000 points.
Colton Benson, a senior of the New Ulm Boys basketball team, has started every single game since his freshman year. Even though Colton’s freshman season was cut short because of COVID-19, he is still close to this remarkable accomplishment. Benson had 107 points in his freshman year, 530 points in his sophomore year, and 772 points in his junior year. In his junior season, he averaged 28.59 points per game, which was 5th in the state.
“Colton is a smiling, loving person who comes with the energy and positive attitude every day, and I’m just lucky he’s great at basketball,” basketball coach Matthew Dennis said. Colton Benson is 34 points behind Reece Melby (a graduate student from 5 years ago) for the New Ulm High School boys’ scoring record.
Another major accomplishment this year for the New Ulm boys’ basketball team is reaching the 1000-point mark. Just like Colton, James Osborne has been playing/ starting every varsity game since he was a freshman. James Osborne scored 156 points his freshman year, 419 his sophomore year, and in his junior year, he scored 395 points, averaging 15 points per game last season. James Osborne is currently at 970 total points in his high school career.
“The explosiveness and work ethic set him apart from many athletes in the state; like him going to state for high jump just shows the athleticism, and his explosiveness on the basketball court is like nothing I’ve ever coached since I’ve been here which makes him different then others,” basketball coach Matthew Dennis said.
